unable to sleep the night of LEG day.

californiabella
californiabella Posts: 152
in Fitness and Exercise
has anyone else experienced this restless phenomenon? :yawn:

I love leg day, but lately I'm hesitant to go hard just for the mere fact it takes a while to fall asleep later the same night. :huh: when I do fall asleep, I usually wake up tossing, turning, and wanting to kick my legs around. I went to bed around 11 last night-- didn't fall asleep until 3am or so.

Yesterday my legs were definitely fatigued after my workout and felt heavy the rest of the night. no pain, no soreness, no burning sensation of the sort. My legs just felt like dead weight as I was lying in bed. A general, uncomfortable feeling of needing to "shake em" out. definitely not DOMS type of problem which is actually setting in right about now (love it :laugh:) ...

I noticed this happens regardless of the time I work out... morning or night! I don't want to have to supplement with a sleeping aid to get a good night's sleep seeing as how I usually sleep good every other day of the week that's not leg day.

anyone else find themselves dealing with this? if so, how are you managing?

Replies

  • snagproof
    snagproof Posts: 2
    I have this problem also. So far the only help is muscle relaxant pills, but I'd rather not take those too often.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I'm really not sure what to tell you, I haven't experienced this specifically, but you might want to mention it to your doctor. It could be something due to an underlying health issue. I personally had some issues this time last year that were neurological, I was dealing with numbness in my limbs, etc.
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
    so glad there are at least 3 of us in the world! I thought I was imagining it...I boosted the magnesium on leg day this week and that helped...magnesium is a bit of a natural muscle relaxer and it is a mineral we all need that we no longer get enough of in our food. try it out and see if it helps...take it about 30 minutes before bed time.
  • tkcasta
    tkcasta Posts: 405 Member
    I find that yoga helps. I only do it a couple times a week, but just opening up my muscles like that when I've been hitting them so hard with weights all week is super helpful. For me it just really releases all the tension. Maybe try a little just to see if it helps. Tara Styles has some good "in bed" yoga routines that are like 5-10 minutes on her youtube site.
  • tavenne323
    tavenne323 Posts: 332 Member
    On days I strength train, I take one or two ibuprofens before going to bed. It helps with relaxation and soreness the next day.
  • californiabella
    californiabella Posts: 152
    so glad there are at least 3 of us in the world! I thought I was imagining it...I boosted the magnesium on leg day this week and that helped...magnesium is a bit of a natural muscle relaxer and it is a mineral we all need that we no longer get enough of in our food. try it out and see if it helps...take it about 30 minutes before bed time.

    Thanks! I've heard about the benefits of magnesium before, but it never dawned on me to try it. Gotta run to the store and grab some before next leg day for sure!
  • californiabella
    californiabella Posts: 152
    I find that yoga helps. I only do it a couple times a week, but just opening up my muscles like that when I've been hitting them so hard with weights all week is super helpful. For me it just really releases all the tension. Maybe try a little just to see if it helps. Tara Styles has some good "in bed" yoga routines that are like 5-10 minutes on her youtube site.

    That's a great idea. Thank you for the suggestion.
  • bitxbit
    bitxbit Posts: 1,465 Member
    Maybe a nice, warm foot soak, to help lessen lactic acid buildup in muscles...followed by a calf massage just before bed. I sometimes bout with restless leg syndrome and have found that 2 aspirin or tylenol (plain) does ease the "twitchy pulls". Hope you find some relief.
  • knightreader
    knightreader Posts: 813 Member
    skip leg day. not that important.
  • ErinRibbens
    ErinRibbens Posts: 370 Member
    Putting epsom salts in your bath will help you get some additional magnesium and will help sore muscles too. But a mag. supplement might be a good idea anyway.
  • sparkle814
    sparkle814 Posts: 78 Member
    I was having the same problem a while back when I was lifting heavy on legs and also ramping up my distance jogged. I found that really paying attention to my potassium intake and intentionally and effortfully increasing the amount of potassium rich foods I ate helped a lot. (I never realized how hard it is to get anywhere close to the recommended daily intake of potassium, yikes! I was getting like 10% of the daily requirement before I started increasing my intake.) I was also keeping some Powerade Zero in the house and chugging down like 4 to 6 ounces a little while before bed. That may have been more of a psychological help but whatever, lol.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    skip leg day. not that important.

    :angry:
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Try stretching after
    Try replacing your carbs after
    Try replacing your potassium after
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    Putting epsom salts in your bath will help you get some additional magnesium and will help sore muscles too. But a mag. supplement might be a good idea anyway.
    This! Also take some Tylenol before you go to sleep!
  • californiabella
    californiabella Posts: 152
    Maybe a nice, warm foot soak, to help lessen lactic acid buildup in muscles...followed by a calf massage just before bed. I sometimes bout with restless leg syndrome and have found that 2 aspirin or tylenol (plain) does ease the "twitchy pulls". Hope you find some relief.

    thank you! I will try this.
  • californiabella
    californiabella Posts: 152
    skip leg day. not that important.

    :noway:
  • californiabella
    californiabella Posts: 152
    I was having the same problem a while back when I was lifting heavy on legs and also ramping up my distance jogged. I found that really paying attention to my potassium intake and intentionally and effortfully increasing the amount of potassium rich foods I ate helped a lot. (I never realized how hard it is to get anywhere close to the recommended daily intake of potassium, yikes! I was getting like 10% of the daily requirement before I started increasing my intake.) I was also keeping some Powerade Zero in the house and chugging down like 4 to 6 ounces a little while before bed. That may have been more of a psychological help but whatever, lol.

    apparently I'm not getting the proper amount of potassium either... just checked. :frown:
  • californiabella
    californiabella Posts: 152
    Try stretching after
    Try replacing your carbs after
    Try replacing your potassium after

    did this last night even though my legs weren't nearly feeling as they were the night before.. and it worked! thanks. Been neglecting a good post stretch. :embarassed:

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