# How do i.......stop my legs aching



## cockney (9 Dec 2011)

Been cycling for about a yr nothing major 3-5 miles a day but when the going gets a bit tough i get like an aching in legs thought they'd be use to it by now ......am i just unfit?


----------



## Blue (9 Dec 2011)

Assuming that you don't have any health issues, it could just be that you keep doing the same thing so keep getting the same results. If you go out for 5-10 miles on the week-end, or something like that, you may find that the 3-5 mile rides stop hurting.


----------



## ushills (9 Dec 2011)

cockney said:


> Been cycling for about a yr nothing major 3-5 miles a day but when the going gets a bit tough i get like an aching in legs thought they'd be use to it by now ......am i just unfit?


 
Try upping your cadence, burning legs=too low cadence, burning lungs=too high a cadence. Go for somewhere in the middle.


----------



## Fab Foodie (9 Dec 2011)

Ride harder more often ... it sound stupid, but your legs build to the extra effort!


----------



## Dan_h (9 Dec 2011)

Blue said:


> Assuming that you don't have any health issues, it could just be that you keep doing the same thing so keep getting the same results. If you go out for 5-10 miles on the week-end, or something like that, you may find that the 3-5 mile rides stop hurting.


 
I have to agree with this, your body adapts by overloading then recovering. If you keep doing the same few miles then your body will only adapt as far as it needs to in order to cover this distance. You need to push it further in order to adapt to longer and longer distances. Soon your 3-5 mile rides will seem like a warm up!


----------



## NormanD (9 Dec 2011)

If it really gets bad then a cold bath soak in cold water will help a great deal, it tightens the muscles and forces small tears in the muscles to repair quicker.


----------



## Blue (9 Dec 2011)

NormanD said:


> If it really gets bad then a cold bath soak in cold water will help a great deal, it tightens the muscles and forces small tears in the muscles to repair quicker.


That ones hard to do at this time of year!!

It's something I strongly believe in as a remedy for the damage inflicted by hard interval sessions and the like. However, I doubt if riding 3-5 miles would create that sort of damage.

That said, it was heartening to read your post as I sometimes think I am alone in my madness as I lower my nether regions into the chilly depths of a cold bath.


----------



## Dave 123 (9 Dec 2011)

Lay in bed every morning and gently S-T-R-E-T-C-H your legs for a few minutes, worked and works for me.


----------



## addictfreak (9 Dec 2011)

Agree totally with the stretching. I often spend about 10-15 mins doing variouse stretches.

Nice MX5 by the way! Wish I still had mine.


----------



## gbb (9 Dec 2011)

cockney said:


> Been cycling for about a yr nothing major 3-5 miles a day but when the going gets a bit tough i get like an aching in legs thought they'd be use to it by now ......am i just unfit?


Just to check something not so obvious Cockney ?...where are your legs aching ?
If its on the thighs, above the knees, check your saddles not too low, that'd give you horrible aching thighs.


----------



## Monkspeed (9 Dec 2011)

gbb said:


> Just to check something not so obvious Cockney ?...where are your legs aching ?
> If its on the thighs, above the knees, check your saddles not too low, that'd give you horrible aching thighs.



I second this, did 18km the other day with my seat too low and got lots of thigh burn and aching knees. Raise your seat a cm and see how you go, keep raising it till it gets comfortable. You will just know when it feels right. 

Also what the others have said about body adaptation is very true. Doing lunges is one thing, doing them while holding 4kg dumbells is quite another. Its amazing how the body adapts to just walking, but add some weights and its a whole new ballgame.


----------



## NormanD (9 Dec 2011)

Blue said:


> That said, it was heartening to read your post as I sometimes think I am alone in my madness as I lower my nether regions into the chilly depths of a cold bath.


Oh I've slithered my way into an ice cold bath or two, gasping for breath and swallowing hard the two lumps that have appeared at the back of my throat!! ... No you're not the only one that's done this madness, but it works


----------



## Peteaud (9 Dec 2011)

Hot, very hot bath and a long soak works for me.

Seconds what others have said about saddle height, in fact I raised min another cm last weekend, made a massive difference.


----------



## MattHB (9 Dec 2011)

More miles! And stretch them out properly afterwards. You'll learn to love it.


----------



## cockney (9 Dec 2011)

Ta guys thought i was going to get the p**s taken out of me,have my seat height roughly to my hips.Ta for the mx5 comment really fun,and by the way seems to be my quads thay ache.


----------



## Hip Priest (9 Dec 2011)

I think position is the first thing to look at. When I started cycling, I had all sorts of pain, until I learned how to set up the saddle and handlebars. Experiment with your position, saddle first. Your legs should be almost, but not quite straight at the lowest point.


----------



## BigonaBianchi (9 Dec 2011)

_'Dr. Boab'_ suggests painkillers in the water bottle


----------



## Keith Oates (9 Dec 2011)

If you put your heel (with the shoes you cycle in) on the pedal and raise the seat until your leg is straight, then that is a good starting point for setting up the height of your saddle. After that move it up or down in small increments until you feel comfortable. It may take a while to get your ideal position but when you have then it is well worth the effort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## HLaB (9 Dec 2011)

Keith Oates said:


> If you put your heel (with the shoes you cycle in) on the pedal and raise the seat until your leg is straight, then that is a good starting point for setting up the height of your saddle. After that move it up or down in small increments until you feel comfortable. It may take a while to get your ideal position but when you have then it is well worth the effort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Keith Oates (10 Dec 2011)

There are always exceptions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## topcat1 (10 Dec 2011)

and don't forget to take a rest day, it's amazing how much better you ride after a short time off


----------



## Col5632 (10 Dec 2011)

My legs feel tired after day 2 of my commute but i do play 1 hr of football after day 2 of my commute but i hardly ever do anything over and above my commute anymore


----------



## ColinJ (10 Dec 2011)

I'm not being funny, but after a year of riding I think you should be able to ride 3-5 miles a day, every day, never need a rest and your legs shouldn't ache! We are talking about less than 30 minutes gentle exercise there (or less than 15 minutes of vigorous exercise).

Are you climbing any hills in those 3-5 miles? If so, how long are they and what gradient? How long does it take you to cover 3-5 miles? 

You will not be properly warmed up if you just go out and attack flat out from a cold start. In fact, it takes me at least 5 miles to warm up so I would never ride quickly on a 5 mile ride (unless I'd warmed up on my gym bike before the ride)! You'd be better off doing 3 miles slow and 2 miles fast, than trying to do 5 miles fast. Better still - do a 5 mile slow warm-up, turn round and ride 4 miles back fast, and then slow down for the last mile or so to relax your legs again. That would be a nice little work-out which you should be able to complete in under 45 minutes. Once that starts to feel ok, extend your range. But once you start doing longer, harder rides you will need easy recovery or rest days so factor them in to your plans.

I reckon you might well have your saddle too low - follow Keith's advice on that.

I think you might be using too high a gear too. Aim to be pedalling at a cadence (revs/minute of the cranks) of (say) 80-90. Select whatever gear you need to achieve that at the speed you are riding at.

Let us know how you get on!


----------



## fossyant (10 Dec 2011)

I'll back colin up a bit on this, but your legs will always ache if you've been riding hard. If it's just a-b, and not trying..dunno.

My legs always ache TBH - miles/effort - you just get used to it/able better to deal with it. Keep training ! No pain no gain


----------



## johnr (12 Dec 2011)

Are you getting enough fluids in? I can usually attribute any aches I get to not having drunk enough.


----------



## Ashtrayhead (14 Dec 2011)

On top of all the advice already offered, get a regular Swedish deep tissue massage, not just the legs but the back also.


----------



## Garz (15 Dec 2011)

Ashtrayhead said:


> On top of all the advice already offered, get a regular Swedish deep tissue massage, not just the legs but the back also.


 
Where do you get these from?


----------



## HLaB (15 Dec 2011)

Garz said:


> Where do you get these from?


----------



## VamP (16 Dec 2011)

ColinJ said:


> I'm not being funny, but after a year of riding I think you should be able to ride 3-5 miles a day, every day, never need a rest and your legs shouldn't ache! We are talking about less than 30 minutes gentle exercise there (or less than 15 minutes of vigorous exercise).



This.

Your body will will be doing very little training adaptation in such short rides. You need to ride more to see any improvement, and you need to push yourself on your rides to improve significantly. 

Or carry on as you are, but accept that you will not improve.


----------

