Let me talk about my husband for a second....

Rae6503

He's training for a 100 mile mountain bike race next summer. He rides to work twice a week on a road bike (17 miles each way, with some good hills). He does long mountain bike rides (20-30 miles) 2 or 3 times a week.

I have finally convinced him he needs to eat more because he wasn't having any energy on rides and actually got dizzy once. He's lazy when it comes to eating (he just won't put in the effort to feed himself) and was probably only eating about the same as me which was 2000 or so calories, and yeah burning 1000+.

Now, I on to my question.... He has been having some serious sore legs. They seem to never get better. Really sore where he can barely walk in the morning. This has probably been going on for a month. I'm trying to convince him to take a week or so off until the soreness goes completely away. He thinks he needs to "work through it". He's a year from his race. Taking a week off isn't going to kill him....

Who is right?

GTOgirl1969

He's not taking in enough nutrients to feed his muscles- that's probably why he's getting tired and having leg pain. I'm just giving my (very) uneducated opinion, but he probably needs to do both- take a few days off to rest and start taking in more protein and good carbs.

Marcellus_08

I think you're right. Not saying that because I'm a girl. But has to listen to his body. One week off will benefit him in the long run. Never know how hurt he can get and then won't be able to run at all.

melindenmark

I think you are right, but men will be men....

jillybeanruns

Logging 40-90 miles a week on a bike isn't going to require a week off to recover, unless there's an underlying issue. He needs to watch his water and food intakes (that goes without saying) but also he should be stretching and using a foam roller. $20 says he doesn't stretch well and his muscles are probably super tight and I would imagine there are some knots in his muscles (hence the foam roller). Nothing drastic needs to be done, he just needs to take some time and do some "maintenance" stuff for his muscles.

Kelly_Wilson1990

I would also add that he is probably not drinking enough water.

koosdel

You are. Every one should take a week to de-load from time to time.

glittermouse

I vote you are right. I have no medical, nutritional or scientific evidence to back this up. I just think that some rest days will go a long way to making that soreness go away. I also was thinking that if he isn't properly fueling his body that some of the aches and soreness could be caused by a deficiency in something--vitamin, mineral?--again, I have no knowledge to back this up. Just a hunch.

spaztastic13

Yes he needs to eat more and with all that riding he definantly needs to do some serious stretching and he needs to rest at least twice a week ...he does have a full year so resting wont hurt!!!

smashleymcgee

I had the same leg issues a few years ago when I started running a lot more. Honestly, the only thing that truly worked was taking off a week. It sucked, and I really had to watch myself after that.

Eating well- getting plenty of carbs and protein is incredibly beneficial. Also, make sure he is fully hydrated as that will also cause cramping.

ItsMeLori

He needs to take rest days and make sure he is eating right. Potassium is important. Protein for his muscle repair.... men lol

Strive2BLean

You are DEFINITELY RIGHT! He should also be eating more too. Is he losing weight? Pain that doesn't go away is not a good sign. I do know how stubborn husbands can be though. I have one of them. lol Good luck.

ladybug91254

I agree he is probably not giving his body enough or maybe not the right nutrition and he will sabotage himself. Eat plenty of healthy food and also is he drinking lots of water? Not hydrating your body will cause muscle cramps/soreness.

maryzcontrary

magnesium. I think it's nutritional from what you describe -- you might get him into a good epsom salt bath for a long soak initially, to let him soak some in -- then I would encourage him to try a low dose, good quality supplement. google stuff about magnesium deficiency ---

Kaycurrier

My husband has been in the military 17+ years, he has the same mentality in that he doesn't care if he eats or not as long as he pumps he water. I have finally got him to realize that he was only hurting his bodu (his run time has slowed). Sounds like your husband not only needs to eat more calories, but feul his body correctly. Leg pain is a sign that he needs more potassium (same thing my husband has and he is a rider as well). Dark leafy greens, bananas, ect. Maybe he is afraid that he will be undoing all his excersize if he eats more? In that case, show him some healthy combinations that can help fill in tohse extra calories, grilled chicken or fish, cobb salad, fruits, veggies, and healthy grains, brown rice and noodles? hope this helps, I pretty much have to make all of my husbands mals or snacks or he just won't eat and even then sometimes he still doesn't. His metabolism might have slowed, like my husband's did, because his body is trying to hold onto the food he gives it and save it for the bike rides. In that case he needs to jump start is metabolism, eating like 6 small meals a day, like an infant (actually we should all eat 5 small menals a day but for active people it's 6). Good luck, hope his legs feel better!

LorinaLynn

I'm not really a fan of Dr. Phil, but I do like a few Dr Phil-isms.

Especially, "And how's that working for you?" How's his way working for him? It's not. He's in pain and feel crappy. That means it's time to try something new.

Rae6503

He is REALLY inflexible but has been making an effort to stretch the last few years. He actually just got some yoga DVDs to help with this. But I will definitely look into a foam roller for him.

I will look into potassium and magnesium for sure.

He was loosing weight and on purpose. He has some endurance race book that has rations for optimum height and weight. He was over them (although it was all due to muscle). But he decided he doesn't want to lose any more. The eating more thing just happened in the last few days and who knows if he's really doing it when I'm not around but has been having seconds at dinner and such.

And yes! He was in the military. So that's where a lot of his silly ideas come from. But yeah, he was 20 then. And yeah, he could run 15 miles with a ruck sack and smoke a pack of cigarettes after and be fine (he stopped smoking 5 years ago). But now he's almost 40! He's got to be nicer to his body if he wants grand things from it. Silly men indeed.

pooeies

I don't think it's about right or wrong.

It sounds like your husband is pretty "hooked" on his exercise routine and may actually feel anxious or guilty about taking some time off. While I would probably take the time off if it happened to me, I could still totally relate to that feelings of not wanting to "rest". I got sick last week and coud not do my run on the weekend. It took me 2 days to get over the fact that I didn't run. I am training for a 1/2 marathon and it's still 1 1/2 month away, and I am only 3 miles shy of the distance. So, I think it will not be the end of the world.

As an aside, I also have a husband who is very thin and lean and does not exercise nearly as much as I do now (lucky genes), but I have noticed that he kind of follows my lead on the food intake, so he is not eating enough for his height and body (I think).He is about 6' tall. He too is "lazy" about eating, and I too worry a bit that he needs to eat more/better. My husand could come home saying that he is "starving", and then grab a small handful of tortilla chips and salsa and graze on that for 1/2 hour and then suddenly not be hungry or not worry about what to eat for dinner. That is not a meal, but if I don't put it together, that might just be his meal. My husband does not eat unhealthy or junky, I just don't think he eats enough sometimes. It sounds like your husband might be a little bit like that too. What I would do if I was you (and I do) is cook extra food at dinner or the weekend, and just have it ready so it's easy to grab during the week. Then, you can pack your husband some grilled chicken and rice or other carbs so he doesn't even have to think about it. I would also sneak him in some bananas and oranges. Well, I hope that helps. We did a 150 mile charity bike ride a few years ago, and it was extreme (and we didn't even race. We rode). Good luck to your husband, and good luck to you.

tameko2

I hate rest days so when I started experiencing a lot of soreness and tiredness, instead of resting more (I do OCCASIONALLY take a rest day and I have sloooow walk days) I stepped my nutrition up -- primarily I dialed the protein way way way up. I also started having a protein bar or a scoop of protein powder after any intense workout -- and an intense workout for me is HALF what he does or less so maybe i'd have 2 scoops of powder.

I don't suppose you can get him to journal his food? I think its nutrition -- when I stepped up the protein for recovery my muscle soreness was 100% better, seriously.

Also before working out if he hasn't eaten for a while he probably needs to eat a little - and if they are really long hard workouts he might need to be ingesting some calories and carbs in the form of a few sips of sports drink while he works out. sports drinks get a bad rap for their high sugar content and I think they are still TOO high in sugar -- I never have them unless I'm stomach sick but cutting them with 50% water helps -- but endurance athletes NEED to replenish.

bethanyranes

I vote you are right. I have no medical, nutritional or scientific evidence to back this up. I just think that some rest days will go a long way to making that soreness go away. I also was thinking that if he isn't properly fueling his body that some of the aches and soreness could be caused by a deficiency in something--vitamin, mineral?--again, I have no knowledge to back this up. Just a hunch.

Totally off topic, but I have to tell you I was completely mesmerized by your stripper pole bunny for like, 45 seconds, LOL!

muffintopminx

More Water and a Foam Roller for sure. I don't think a week off would hurt but if he can't do it, maybe he could do a scaled back "recovery week" with some extra stretching sessions and maybe even a bit of yoga.