Sore thigh muscles - am I overdoing things?

[r04DiE]

Awful. Riding before breakfast is hell. I do it every few months because I've no choice and I just feel drained for the rest of the day.

Never done it myself, I usually just rush something down before heading out the door. Don't think I'll be trying it though!

Gels and "recovery drink"s are junk food. Much of the rest of the advice is OK but nothing special and stuff that most people would do anyway, surely?

Most of the time, I have no idea what I should be eating. I've never looked into it, but maybe I should start.

 

[vickster]

Never done it myself, I usually just rush something down before heading out the door. Don't think I'll be trying it though!

Most of the time, I have no idea what I should be eating. I've never looked into it, but maybe I should start.

A decent varied diet

 

[Levo-Lon]

I had continually sore thigh muscles from cycling a few years ago, and it turned out I had iron (and perhaps other vitamin) deficiencies. Once I rectified those, the soreness all but vanished.

worth checking... @r04DiE
i have B12 injections every 8 weeks.. used to be 12 week jabs

i used to have lots of muscle ache when it was low..
get a blood test..your prime age for things to start breaking ,dropping off etc

 

[r04DiE]

...your prime age for things to start breaking ,dropping off etc

Gee, thanks. No, really, thanks

 

[Levo-Lon]

Gee, thanks. No, really, thanks

Your welcome

 

[ayceejay]

The thing with questions like this is that the are so many variables in the answer which is why I think they all should be taken with a pinch of salt although the more that is known of the symptoms the better.
From the answers you gave to my questions here are some things you should look at because I think you may be pushing too high a gear before warming up - ride for five/ten minutes in a low gear without pushing too hard and stretch/foam roll at the end of your ride. Have a look at your pedal stroke as newcomers to clipless pedals often have a problem in that muscle. See to your saddle height and bring it up slightly. Try to spread your rides out more evenly or go for a recovery ride or two in the 4 days you are not working. Pay attention to your diet and take something with you for the ride - flapjack maybe (not too much sugar)

 

[Kajjal]

If your old bike was fine and it only happens on your new bike, unless you have dramatically changed your rides distance , frequency or intensity it is the bike setup. I had this a little when I changed bike and had the saddle too high causing hip and shoulder pain as I was over stretching and too tense.

 

[r04DiE]

The thing with questions like this is that the are so many variables in the answer which is why I think they all should be taken with a pinch of salt although the more that is known of the symptoms the better.
From the answers you gave to my questions here are some things you should look at because I think you may be pushing too high a gear before warming up - ride for five/ten minutes in a low gear without pushing too hard and stretch/foam roll at the end of your ride. Have a look at your pedal stroke as newcomers to clipless pedals often have a problem in that muscle. See to your saddle height and bring it up slightly. Try to spread your rides out more evenly or go for a recovery ride or two in the 4 days you are not working. Pay attention to your diet and take something with you for the ride - flapjack maybe (not too much sugar)

Many thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts. I think the main things that I will concentrate on are warming up, stretching, breaks/recovery and diet. All thanks to you and others on this thread. If those things don't help then I will be looking at setup.

Not easy for me to do recovery rides as I work 5 days a week but I can use the motorcycle for two days. Been using clipless for many years now so I don't think that's an issue.

Thanks again

 

[r04DiE]

OK, well just to update all of you good people. I took a week off the bike and could only manage 1 ride this week due to the kids being off on holiday. The ride was much better after the rest, legs felt good and easy to get my heart rate into the 150's. Before it was sitting at about 130-140 and things got really painful if I tried to push for a higher rate.

So, after reading your advice, which has reinforced my belief that I was overdoing things, I will concentrate on diet and breaks. Now, can any of you guys recommend a good book or site that I could use to adjust my diet. I've got a busy home life, little time to cook or prepare stuff and all my miles are done commuting. I don't get the time to go out on the bike for pleasure, well, hardly ever.

What I really need is "The 200-km-a-week commuter's guide to breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner".

Basically, at the moment, I have two white slices of buttered toast and a cup of tea before leaving for work.
Lunch is usually soup and an apple (chicken & sweetcorn with a bread roll on cycling days)
Vegetable soup and an apple (on motorbike days)
Dinner could be anything, might be spaghetti bolognese, shepherd's pie, chicken curry, sometimes we have fish.

Any advice, as usual, will be greatly appreciated.

 

[vickster]

Get a low GI cookbook perhaps

Porridge for breakfast, ditch white toast

Add more veg and/or salad at meals

 

[ayceejay]

You will not get any disagreement on vicksters views over the breakfast that is totally inadequate so start there.
Apart from that there doesn't seem to be enough carbs in your diet until you get to dinner time so there is not much balance.
A basic understanding of sports nutrition would help and perhaps you could then join the dots yourself. Just google 'sports nutrition' and see what you find. I suggest you start with porridge or muesli for breakfast and maybe an egg and then have a snack of fruit and nuts when you get to work.
This break down of your diet may explain your initial problem.

 

[jefmcg]

... and what do you all think of this for dietary advice for the commuting cyclist? Something I bookmarked a long while ago.

I think this is pretty good advice. Sure, if you can't tolerate cycling on an empty stomach, then have something before you leave home, but try it first. It works for me.

The rest of the advice is good. I particularly commend the idea of making extra for dinner and having the leftovers the next day (or later) for lunch.

If you have worked hard, you will have depleted your muscle glycogen. That's the carbs your muscles store to power work. There is a window after exercise when you can replace it more easily; so get some carbs in straight away. https://www.google.ie/search?q=repl...s-android-zte&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

 

[ayceejay]

I missed that earlier for some reason.
My opinion is that it is a bit severe for the purposes of answering this question, I respect Ed Clancy but this is a different animal entirely.
Emptying the body of its energy source and then replenishing it is not a healthy solution and neither is running on empty to burn fat if there is no time for a nutritious breakfast a blender would be useful. That article contains a lot of good advice for a serious athlete but I don't think our OP is claiming that status.

 

[Slick]

Hi, I'm new to this particular forum but I just wanted to add my tuppence to say there is loads of good, no great advice and links in this thread. I had a similar issue which I was able to get on top off but there was still lots I could be doing.

Thanks

 

[cyberknight]

Interesting , by the end of the week my thighs are not sore but can be tender.