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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 10:41:21 GMT
Fellow Tribanistas and Btwin owners
As Posted on the whos getting out their thread, i did my longest ride to date on my T3 Red on Fri of 19 miles
on two occasions now i have experienced calf pain the first time was agonizing on my left calf and i had to stop immediately
it went away as soon as i massaged my left calf and rested for a few minutes, and although it was still there i could cycle home
this time i was aware of it coming on and cycled in an easier gear and slower this happened after a 1 mile fairly steep ish hill climb
reading some stuff on the www i have moved my cleats back on my dhb m01 shoes but not changed the rest, there are four holes
in the base of the shoe and my cleats are screwed in to the top pair of holes angled ten to two ish as my feet hang naturally in this
position when sat dangling my feet i have never known why there are two positions on the sole of the shoes interested to know
the info seems to suggest that moving back takes the strain off the calfs, before this i had my cleats pretty much spot on because
no pain anywhere except my calf muscles also my saddle is as far as it will go now and this has resulted in my sit bones being
correctly positioned now and iam not finding myself on the nose of the saddle have a rido 2 prostate friendly saddle my Triban is a
54 and iam 5 feet 7.5 tall with a flipped stem and its now 90mm long which is perfect the rides are comfortable and iam not troubled
with saddle pain at all or any numbness i dont want to mess up what i have done fitwise as i feel nicely dialed in to the bike if its a
fitness issue thats fine but if i can do anything to keep me pain free in my calfs iam happy to receive any advice given here
I can see the old position of my cleats so i can always move them back .......................... thanks Whitestarb52001 (Justin)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 11:03:50 GMT
Not sure moving the cleats will help in the long run but certainly worth a try. Does the pain feel like cramp? Do you get calf pain when doing any other exercise? How do you warm up? Do you stretch and/or massage the muscles regularly?
I used to get aches in my calfs when I started running and a physio friend regular use of a foam roller before and after exercise. Might be worth giving one of those a try but beware they look like harmless rolls of foam but are (if you are doing it correctly) pain inducing little buggers.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 11:08:55 GMT
Hi Its very much like cramp................ enough to make me stop immediately ................. to be honest my warm up was rubbish meaning none except peddaling easy for the first five mins i do stretches to cool down though .........................
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Calf Pain
Aug 25, 2014 11:11:55 GMT
via mobile
Post by Lance Pharmstrong on Aug 25, 2014 11:11:55 GMT
Bananas and EPO!
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Post by ianmoss on Aug 25, 2014 15:42:12 GMT
Lack of water and salts contribute to cramp, maybe look at plenty to drink before a ride as well as on the bike. Also get some High 5 tabs to keep your electrolites topped up.
No mention of you saddle height in your post, a heel down position can cause calf pain too.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 18:01:34 GMT
''Lack of water and salts contribute to cramp, maybe look at plenty to drink before a ride as well as on the bike. Also get some High 5 tabs to keep your electrolites topped up.''
Ditto with Ian on this one, check the simple things first, hydration is so important(in all weather)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 19:24:35 GMT
Hi Saddle height is set to Kops principal and i cant touch the floor on the saddle have to come onto the crossbar to put my foot down i have 1 Spesh big mouth bottle filled to the brim with tap water dont know about eloctrolytes and diabetes does it involve adding sugar I finish my ride with about half the water left on a 20 miler roughly how much do you consume i know there are a lot of variables but a ball park figure would be helpful as iam pretty sure iam not drinking enough thanks for all the tips so far
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2014 20:36:49 GMT
Hi Its very much like cramp................ enough to make me stop immediately ................. to be honest my warm up was rubbish meaning none except peddaling easy for the first five mins i do stretches to cool down though ......................... I certainly consider the cool down and stretching as different activities. My bike cool downs involve higher cadence pedalling and generally taking it a bit easier on the final mile before home, I then shower and stretch out when I get out of the shower. On my runs I warmup by riding 1-1.5 miles on the turbo to warm up, doing some light stretches, going for my run, riding 1-1.5 miles on the turbo to cool down then stretching and foam rollering. It is quite easy to stretch the calf while on the bike but stopping, putting one foot down on the floor, keeping the other foot in the pedal and pushing the heel down. Repeat the other side. On my commute I have to cross several bust roads and use these stops to stretch out as I've described. You can do the heel down calf stretch on the bike while coasting along if you want.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2014 8:48:03 GMT
Justin, I've just noticed an article on foam rollering on the Briish Cycling website if you are interested, here is the link; www.britishcycling.org.uk/insightzone/features/article/izn20140807-Physiotherapy-Foam-Roller-Routine-0?utm_medium=email&utm_source=British+Cycling&utm_campaign=4569274_Copy+of+Member+News+7+August&utm_content=Foamrollers&dm_i=BM6,2PXOA,H6NUZO,9X0EM,1 There are lots of videos, some good some bad, on rollering on youtube etc, GCN did a good one that I used as the basis of my massage sessions, link is here; www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO1VRTv-GJs
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Post by erictherat on Aug 26, 2014 9:30:58 GMT
I feel it is unlikely to be cramp - after a 20 mile ride in our summer! think cleat and saddle position are mre likely. (please take with a pinch of electrolyte as I can't claim to be expert). on the subject of salts... - I use half teaspoon of Lo-salt in my bottles for long rides instead of sachets.
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Post by Radchenister on Aug 26, 2014 9:42:24 GMT
Re drinks, for rides done on Glycogen stores (circa up to 1.5 - 2 hrs or sometimes a bit more), no need for sugars although you can if you like. Just use low sugar squash, pinch of salt (I use sea salt but LoSalt is not a bad idea), I also add a pinch of bicarb, plus a drop of lemon (for potassium) - job done, pretty much what's in all the fancy Isotonic stuff; I don't add much, it doesn't need to taste horrible - you only really need to add a little extra if you have a good diet the rest of the time. At present your distance is doable on just the energy stored in your system but if you ride beyond 2 hrs then you're going to deplete this reserve - on a 3 or 4 hr ride it's good to start eating energy snacks in the second hour and keep it up at intervals, also good to have had a decent (but light-ish) meal 1-3 hrs before. On longer rides, I would do the same drink mix as above but perhaps use watered down fruit juice; I've set my Garmin to beep every 15 minutes and take a couple of slugs at this timing. Check with your doc but I would have thought some form of moderate fruit sugar intake wouldn't be too much of a problem when riding bigger distances, you can also do some research into lower glycemic nutrition for endurance exercise, which is advisable for people with diabetes, it's well documented on the internet - there's also a whole cycling team to look at as a case study. www.teamnovonordisk.com/When you first start cycling, it's worth remembering that you do get the odd pain at times and you will take a while to get accustomed to things but this eases over time, as you get fitter and more robust (although I still suffer on cold damp days or when tired). You shouldn't really cramp though, contrary to our last poster, cramping on short rides is almost certainly down to diet and hydration (assuming you're warmed up and stretched first, as others have outlined). It also takes time to get used to nutrition and hydration issues of course, you need to acclimatize and practice like with anything else but if you put some attention to it, you'll find out what works - popping jelly babies a few minutes before hills may not be an option for you but taking an oat bar 15 minutes before might. Electrolytes are important, along with adequate hydration, before, during and after - this strikes me as your first thing to tackle, then move onto solid nutrition as your distances increase. I suspect if you watch your hydration and diet for the few hours before riding, the issue will go away. The suggestion about bananas is sound, I eat one before going out sometimes if feeling shredded but best not get on the EPO.
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Post by russplym on Aug 26, 2014 11:29:29 GMT
I used to swim a lot when I was younger so calf cramp was a massive danger when your planning on doing some distance.
As has been said, obviously Hydration is a big point with this, but Electrolytes and Salts are equally as important and you should be stocking your body up prior to going out.
One of the best things to do this with? Ready Salted Crisps! (walkers low fat pref) Quick and easy to eat, wont fill you up so no bloat/gas, loads of instant salt intake and a few extra Carbs for energy - Combined with a bottle of water pre-workout and it works wonders for preventing cramp. (assuming ready salted crips are ok on a diabetic diet? I've no idea tbh).
It's all well and good taking a Water/Electrolyte/Sugar/salt cocktail out with you, but if your tanks empty prior to going out then all your going to be doing is drip feeding and causing it to run on fumes all the way around. Pre-fuelling is as/if not more, important than fuelling as you go.
Obviously this is assuming that your calf issues are indeed cramp and not due to another underlying issue.
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Post by Radchenister on Aug 26, 2014 11:45:57 GMT
Bananas are a slightly better option than crisps, as is porridge for breakfast (with a few extra bits added to pizazz it up, nuts, fruit, natural yogurt - I even chuck a single egg omelette on mine if riding a lot on consecutive days for protein) and make sure you're eating your greens / 5 a day etc .
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Post by russplym on Aug 26, 2014 11:57:56 GMT
Ha, I know crisps are a poor choice for pre-fuel, but if your heading out and you've only got 5 minutes to get something down you that will stave off cramp - a pack of ready salted is hard to beat.
Obviously if you've got 30mins+ to prep then salted porridge, bananas, chicken sandwich etc. are much better options.
I used to go for an hours swim training straight after school/college so wouldn't have time to get a proper meal down me and if I didn't get some salts in, I was almost guaranteed to cramp in the final 15 minutes. So i used to grab a pack of ready salted from the vending machines outside the changing rooms and wolf them down - almost never cramped if i did this.
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Post by Radchenister on Aug 26, 2014 13:08:54 GMT
A quirky one but if it worked for you then great - although a banana and an iso drink would probably be better, if you can source it of course. On a ride they're good fuel as well, I can open a banana with one hand, I'd have to bite open crisps or ride no handed (which I can do but we know what happened to Contador so not recommended) - carrying them is the deal as they go a bit funny if warmed in the back pocket - you can always improvise !
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