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The latest understanding of cramping (well, the first information that is more than just a guess/ anecdote, really...)
The Real Cause of Muscle Cramps | TrainingPeaks The article itself: [h=1]The Real Cause of Muscle Cramps[/h]Wednesday, July 29, 2015 | By Dr. Bob Murray https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/pr...UBlkoXD5M.webp https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/pr...o1Jog-JWcr.jpgIt feels as if you’ve been blind-sided. When a muscle painfully seizes up during training or competition, your forward motion comes to a screeching, and sometimes screaming, halt until the cramp subsides and you gingerly resume. Nearly everyone has experienced muscle cramps- a painful, involuntary, and sustained contraction of one or more muscles that can lead to the abrupt cessation of your physical activity. You may experience a lingering soreness, reduction in normal muscle function, and even signs and symptoms of muscle damage. You know the pain but what about the root cause of a cramp? You know the popular home treatments: bananas, salt pills and electrolytes. But what is the hard science of prevention and treatment? Scientists have started to solve the mystery of a condition as old as competition itself. [h=2]Cramps Are Nothing New[/h]Not surprisingly, written accounts of muscle cramps date back at least a century[SUP]1[/SUP]. One thing is certain in history- muscles don’t cramp on their own. The normal chain of events is that when you decide to move, your brain sends signals to nerve cells in your spinal cord that connect to your muscles. The stimulated muscles contract and off you go. When the nervous input to muscles ceases, so does muscle contraction. This simplified explanation leaves out many details, including the important fact that as muscles contract, a lot of information is sent from the muscles and their tendons back to the spinal cord to keep the central nervous system informed about joint position, muscle length, tendon tension, muscle temperature, and the surrounding chemical environment. Your body is a complex circuit board, constantly adjusting to new inputs. [h=2]Cramps Are A Failure of Neuromuscular Performance[/h]When the neuromuscular system (your nerves plus muscles) works in sync, your exercise routine can continue for hours. You feel unstoppable. But when the system is perturbed by low blood glucose, muscle glycogen depletion, dehydration, accumulated muscle damage, high body temperature, severe salt loss, accumulation of metabolites, or reduced muscle blood flow, fatigue will gradually or suddenly sets in. The neuromuscular system becomes unstable. Muscle cramps are often associated with fatigue, a painful example of a failure in neuromuscular performance. As a fuller picture of the etiology (cause) of muscle cramps is emerging through studies by researchers such as Dr. Rod MacKinnon, a Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist, there are new insights that will help prevent or minimize cramps. First, the cramp is not your fault. Most likely, your cramp had nothing to do with preparation or fitness. As we’re learning, the breakthrough in solving the cramp mystery is in understanding the root of the problem. It’s not the muscle; it’s the nerve. [h=2]It’s Not The Muscle; It’s The Nerve[/h]Skeletal muscle cells, as opposed to cardiac muscle cells in the heart and smooth muscle cells in the lining of blood vessels and the intestine, are under voluntary control. You will a muscle to contract and it obeys. But all those hours you spent training can be for naught with just one ill-timed muscle cramp. You can’t finish a race or complete a training session. Regardless of the conditions that provoke it, muscles cramp because of hyper-excited nerves, alpha motoneurons to be more precise, the nerve cells that project from the spinal cord directly to many skeletal muscle fibers. The motoneuron and the connected muscle cells go haywire, the motor unit malfunctions. In the laboratory, muscles can be made to cramp by electrically stimulating motoneurons, a simple way to illustrate the point that your muscles are slaves to your nervous system. [h=2]Maintaining Neuromuscular Performance[/h]Some important clues have surfaced over the past few years that lend support to the notion that “calming” hyper-excited nerves will prevent muscle cramps. An initial finding is that cramp-prone subjects require less electrical stimulation to produce a cramp, suggesting that their neuromuscular systems are more sensitive to cramping[SUP]2[/SUP]. This observation helps explain why some athletes are haunted by cramps, while others rarely have a problem. There have been many proposed “cures” for muscle cramps, including eating mustard and drinking pickle juice. At first, the effectiveness of pickle juice baffled scientists, but laboratory studies confirmed its benefit, at least on small muscle groups in the foot that were electrically stimulated to cramp[SUP]3[/SUP]. Those results led scientists to speculate that pickle juice might activate sensory fibers in the mouth and throat and send signals to the nervous system that calm down hyper-exitable motoneurons and reduce the duration of a cramp. This mouth-to-spine-to-muscle connection is not as far-fetched as it may sound. We have all experienced how the nervous system reacts to icy-cold drinks, acidic solutions such as pickle juice, and hot spices. For example, “brain freeze” often occurs as a result of quickly drinking ice-cold beverages because of rapid cooling of the sphenopalatine ganglion, a cluster of nerves adjacent to the roof of the mouth. For similar reasons, certain spices and other natural ingredients may be good anti-cramp candidates because spices such as capsaicin in red peppers activate specific membrane channels in sensory nerves called TRP channels that are found in the oropharyngeal region (mouth and throat) and esophagus that project to the spinal cord and indirectly inhibit hyper-excited alpha motoneurons. This theory came to MacKinnon, who is an endurance athlete and sea kayaker himself, after a bout of debilitating cramps on the open ocean. The experience reminded him that, aside from being a painful nuisance, muscle cramps could mean the difference between life and death in some situations. MacKinnon won the 2003 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in understanding how channels in cell membranes work to move ions such as potassium from one side of a membrane to the other. Building on this, he reasoned that the right combination of natural TRP channels activators could switch on nerves that could in turn inhibit the over-active alpha motoneurons that cause cramping. MacKinnon’s original idea has triggered a wave of laboratory and field research, with recent results demonstrating that the frequency and duration of cramps can be reduced when subjects ingest a specially formulated spicy beverage before exercise. As a result of this research, we are coming closer to the understanding the true cause of cramping. So, while electrolytes, hydration, and fitness certainly matter for performance, athletes should not be looking to those elements to cure their cramping issue. As we continue to learn more about the root cause of cramps, we will also begin to understand how we can prevent them. References
[h=1]ABOUT THE AUTHOR[/h]https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/pr...Fyw-ZxHUJh.jpgBob Murray, PhD, FACSM is managing principal of Sports Science Insights, LLC, a consulting group that assists companies and organizations in need of targeted expertise in exercise science and sports nutrition. SSI’s clients range from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. Prior to starting SSI, Dr. Murray was the co-founder and director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute from 1985 to 2008. Dr. Murray’s research on the hydration needs of athletes and the physiological and performance responses to fluid, carbohydrate, and electrolyte ingestion has contributed to the broader understanding of the importance of being well hydrated during exercise. Dr. Murray received his PhD in exercise physiology from Ohio State University, is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, and an honorary member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/...s/cleardot.gif |
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If you are sprinting and you can feel your stem twisting, maybe you need a stiffer stem: https://fairwheelbikes.com/c/reviews...g/stem-review/
Of the stems mentioned in that article, I've used: - Thomson X4 (favorite) - 3T ARX (favorite) - Thomson X2 But if you don't feel your stem flex, then save your money. You probably don't need the stiffest around. Stiff enough is stiff enough. |
Originally Posted by carleton
(Post 18181211)
But if you don't feel your stem flex, then save your money. You probably don't need the stiffest around. Stiff enough is stiff enough.
Everyone, just remember those NJS guys race with 1" tiny flexy stems still and push monster watts out. I'd say get the X4 and call it a day. No need for the Pro track stem unless your upper body is that of 80's Schwarzenneger. |
X4
Originally Posted by carleton
(Post 18181211)
- Thomson X4 (favorite)
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Originally Posted by carleton
(Post 18181211)
If you are sprinting and you can feel your stem twisting, maybe you need a stiffer stem: https://fairwheelbikes.com/c/reviews...g/stem-review/
Of the stems mentioned in that article, I've used: - Thomson X4 (favorite) - 3T ARX (favorite) - Thomson X2 But if you don't feel your stem flex, then save your money. You probably don't need the stiffest around. Stiff enough is stiff enough. |
road bars
https://fairwheelbikes.com/c/reviews...dlebar-review/ Its interesting to see that carbon bars do well, as they should if designed correctly, even though a lot people would think otherwise. The super light carbon bars Ive owned flex a lot, especially compared to some of the beefier aero bars I run now. |
Also consider that there could be a significant amount of flex coming from the steerer tube, especially if it's a carbon offering
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On my primary track bike I have the Pro Carbon Sprint Stem with the Pro Vibe Track bar which makes for a pretty stiff cockpit. I also have the standard Pro stem with the Pro track bars on another bike, which isn't as stiff, but that bike has a old-style quill steel steerer, so it's an apples to oranges comparison.
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Originally Posted by brawlo
(Post 18183941)
Also consider that there could be a significant amount of flex coming from the steerer tube, especially if it's a carbon offering
I've heard of stronger guys reinforcing their carbon steerer tubes with steel pipes/sleeves to combat this. I'm not familiar with this practice. |
Originally Posted by carleton
(Post 18184337)
True.
I've heard of stronger guys reinforcing their carbon steerer tubes with steel pipes/sleeves to combat this. I'm not familiar with this practice. |
here's a short about a dude i race against. he's got a bunch of master's national and world championships, and some world records too.
also he's a rad dude. https://vimeo.com/139936091 |
Put up pics and my story about riding the Olympic Velodrome in London here. Have a look if you're interested.
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Nice Racer Ex!
Discussion on weight weenies has brought 11.4 out of the woodwork. Track training exercises - Weight Weenies Question was: "I've started organising a weekly training session on a nearby cycling oval (not a real track for 6-days etc) and I'm wondering if someone with experience can recommend some exercises." Start with a precision pace line warmup session -- 20 laps @ 20 mph, 20 laps @ 23 mph, 20 @ 25, 10 @ 28, 10 @ 30, 10 @ 33, changing every lap up through 25 and every half lap after that. Do this in a relatively small gear -- I usually do a 46x16 but a 48x16 is fine for most. Then go in and rest for 10 min. Then do some 200 meter jumps off the rail. Do a line of 3 or 4 riders, ramp up to a high speed through the last lap and then kick max effort down to the next turn and through the finish line. After each one, roll around for 5-10 minutes -- you should be wiped enough from each jump or you aren't doing a max effort. Check your speed and if you drop off through two successive jumps, your legs are tired and you should go on to the next part of the workout -- pushing harder to go slower doesn't do much. I'd keep the gearing low on these. The point is to get very high cadence and high power output. Next do some intermediate intervals, 1000 to 2000 meters, standard pace line with 3-4 riders per line and push the speed. On this and all workouts, at least have a speedo on your bike and ideally for the longer intervals have someone calling out lap times and tracking your speed so you have a record of performance level. This is a good place to put on your bigger gears, but only do so if you've been staying to low gears for a while in this effort and you are feeling really fit. Putting on a 98" gear for 2K when you aren't fit will just slow you down. If you are focused on sprints and time trials, finish up with some rails -- basically ride fast laps up at the rail -- going up and down and not easing off on the downhills. Those are killers. Doing 3-4 kilos worth will wipe you out. Speed will be slower than on the 2K efforts, of necessity. Probably only need to do one. If you are focused on longer distances or massed start, you can do rails but perhaps better is to gear down. You can gear up on rails, but frankly they are most effective if you can turn an intermediate gear (say, 48x15). When this series is done, gear back to a 48x16 or lower and do a 20 mph pace line for 5-10 minutes minimum. Then go in. On pacelines it's important to manage your speed precisely. Jumping up 2-3 mph or dropping 2-3 mph just messes up everyone else, and you need to have a really good feel of your speed at a cadence. You're warming up and you're doing a precision workout here. You can mix it up with efforts called Russians, where a pace line rides the track at race speed and the rearmost rider launches from the back and sprints up to the front and pulls into the line in front. Rotate until everyone has done 2 or 3 sprints. When you are getting really fit and fast and big races are coming up, it's time to get some motor pacing. In your case you may need to do it on the road, but ideally do a very fast session behind the bike, either going faster and faster until you lose the motor, or have the motor increase at a lower rate and keep jumping past the motor, then back in. Motor pacing can get quite involved, and you really want to have a coach or someone else monitoring your performance carefully so you don't overdo it or waste your effort. There are many different workouts beyond these, but this is a fundamental program that will work for a lot of people. As you get better, you'll get more into specialized drills -- standing starts, 500m or 1000m time trials, jumps, and so on. As such, your question should be broken out to address different levels of riders, riders with different focus areas on the track, and so on. This is just a basic starter package. |
Originally Posted by queerpunk
(Post 18209144)
here's a short about a dude i race against. he's got a bunch of master's national and world championships, and some world records too.
also he's a rad dude. I enjoyed racing against Dan in Indy. Super nice guy! |
"How cyclist Annette Edmondson trains for the track … and the road"
Athletes like Australia’s Annette Edmondson are pretty rare in the increasingly robotic world of pro sport, which is being inhabited by an ever-growing population of made-to-order athletes. But there’s no such pigeon-holing of “Nettie” at Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling, a British-based women’s team consisting of 15 riders from 11 different countries. Edmondson, a South Aussie, is among the most versatile riders in the world. And she doesn’t just partake in road and track events because she enjoys the variety; whatever the discipline, when Nettie arrives, the competition tenses up... |
Look CR 564P Track Frame
Look CR 564P on sale!!!!! |
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Originally Posted by taras0000
(Post 18248080)
It's nothing special. It's an open mold frame made by Axman that's been available for years. You're just paying extra for the paint job with the "LOOK".
So you can order the frame from axman in cheaper price? |
Yes. For about 400 dollars less
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Tiny bikes. Im sure they will sell plenty of them since they are a 'steal' compared to the L96 I guess haha. Id sooner get a Dolan DF4 for that price point.
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http://i.imgur.com/AKDN6yhl.png
Here's an interactive stack and reach graph - the end result of looking obsessively at geometry charts. https://googledrive.com/host/0BzwSdU...GdKVk0/2d.html Some stack and reach values are calculated from seat tube length and angle. If you happen to know the actual stack/reach for those models, get in touch! |
Originally Posted by Hrothgar42
(Post 18275661)
http://i.imgur.com/AKDN6yhl.png
Here's an interactive stack and reach graph - the end result of looking obsessively at geometry charts. https://googledrive.com/host/0BzwSdU...GdKVk0/2d.html Some stack and reach values are calculated from seat tube length and angle. If you happen to know the actual stack/reach for those models, get in touch! |
Originally Posted by Hrothgar42
(Post 18275661)
http://i.imgur.com/AKDN6yhl.png
Here's an interactive stack and reach graph - the end result of looking obsessively at geometry charts. https://googledrive.com/host/0BzwSdU...GdKVk0/2d.html Some stack and reach values are calculated from seat tube length and angle. If you happen to know the actual stack/reach for those models, get in touch! |
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