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MyFitnessPal Community

My quads are on FIRE!

dakotababy

Hey everyone! I need some advice/ideas. I just did a crazy-long bike ride, dont know the Km's, but I biked for 6 hours with small breaks through out (total of 8 hours on the highway)

One thing I noticed...my lungs were fine, never really out of breath. However - my quads were absolutely on fire and were killing me! I eventually tapped out because my quads just could not take it any more. How do I prevent this?

I have decided that next year, I would like to do a half marathon. I am terrified for the same quad burning pain to happen again. Do I need to lift more? Do more cardio? Just train more?

I am thinking it was the Lacaid acid build up is what I am referred too, not DOMS. The DOMS kicked in afterwards. It wasn't pretty.

Replies

TrailBlazzinMN

Moar fuel. If you are eating plenty of food for biking such a long distance, I would recommend trace minerals/electrolytes or something like this:

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/trace-minerals-research-ionic-tonic-32-fl-oz/tm-1035#.Vfjhvt9VhHw

dakotababy

So that would be the same for running? Burning quads are due to lack of electrolytes while exercising?

TrailBlazzinMN

Yes it would be the same but you have to look at intensities. Since it was a long bike ride and your quads gave out before your lungs did, I would steer in the direction of needing more fuel. Did you eat anything while you were biking or have any energy packs? If not, that's where I would start first.

And lack of electrolytes is part of the equation but not everything. If you don't have the calcium for muscles to contract or the magnesium to help them relax (along with potassium, sodium, etc), you can experience cramping, dehydration, etc.

dakotababy

I was eating CONSTANTLY. Clif bars, Almonds, Sandwiches, Quest bars, cheese. I had water, powerade.

I powered through the pain for a while, and then after 6 hours I just hit a wall and tapped out. The burning in the quads came and went...However, I found the pain went away when I had a bunch of powerade...then I stopped drinking that and went back to water. Then the pain came back.

DopeItUp

How often do you do these crazy long bike rides and how often are you training cycling in general?

dakotababy

Never and Never. I did it once, wont do it again for a long time.

DopeItUp

Oh, well that's all it is. You can't do something you're totally unaccustomed and expect not to have crazy pain. I still remember the first time I used an elliptical, I thought my pants were going to catch on fire my muscles burned so badly. That was after, oh say...three minutes.

Nothing you can really do except train harder (or at least, train at all) in preparation for your rides/runs.

CM_73

One thing is to check that your saddle is at the right height. Too low will cause excessive strain on your quads. It's probably just because you're not used to it though, as above, that's a fair distance for a first ride!

msf74

dakotababy wrote: »

How do I prevent this?

Improve your aerobic conditioning. You'll be fine.

The most obvious explanation is you did not have sufficient aerobic conditioning to meet the demands of your effort and so had to keep drawing your anaerobic system to sustain it. You then maxed out your anaerobic ability leading to the build up of acid in muscles leading to the pain, fatigue and therefore the need to stop (it used to be believed that this was lactic acid but the current thinking is that it is not and training your body's ability to process and recycle lactate can improve performance not hinder it.)

vadimknobel

try adjusting your saddle position, I find lifting the saddle by 0.5 inches makes a big difference in terms of which muscles get used more

sjohnny

DopeItUp wrote: »

Oh, well that's all it is. You can't do something you're totally unaccustomed and expect not to have crazy pain. I still remember the first time I used an elliptical, I thought my pants were going to catch on fire my muscles burned so badly. That was after, oh say...three minutes.

Nothing you can really do except train harder (or at least, train at all) in preparation for your rides/runs.

Generally people build up to this volume of exercise and don't go do it their first time.

You'll be fine doing a half marathon if you train the way people generally train for half marathons. Start with low volume and low intensity and slowly build a good solid base of mileage. If you've never run a mile in your life and you go out and try to run 13 miles one day you're going to be in pain. And possibly injured.

AllonsYtotheTardis

dakotababy wrote: »

Never and Never. I did it once, wont do it again for a long time.

Well, there's your problem.

It doesn't have to be an all or nothing sort of thing. In fact, it's usually better somewhere in the middle.

giantrobot_powerlifting

Six hours? Burning quads?

Do what I'd do, take a bus.

LiveLoveLift48

dakotababy wrote: »

Never and Never. I did it once, wont do it again for a long time.

Well, this is exactly why your quads are on fire. You did too much. If you want to do a half marathon or any long biking event you need to train up to that properly. Look online for training programs designed for that . You will probably be hurting for several days....take some ibuprofin, maybe some epsom salt bath soaks will help and stretching and foam rolling if you can take it .

besee_2000

Yeah I can run like none other but put me on a bike and my quads are yelling WTF! Make sure to stretch a good bit after that and pace yourself in the future. Your cardio sounds fine but your muscle memory needs practice.

DYELB

dakotababy wrote: »

Hey everyone! I need some advice/ideas. I just did a crazy-long bike ride, dont know the Km's, but I biked for 6 hours with small breaks through out (total of 8 hours on the highway)

One thing I noticed...my lungs were fine, never really out of breath. However - my quads were absolutely on fire and were killing me! I eventually tapped out because my quads just could not take it any more. How do I prevent this?

I have decided that next year, I would like to do a half marathon. I am terrified for the same quad burning pain to happen again. Do I need to lift more? Do more cardio? Just train more?

I am thinking it was the Lacaid acid build up is what I am referred too, not DOMS. The DOMS kicked in afterwards. It wasn't pretty.

ice bath and a fifth of vodka