burritos

So last 2 years ramped up my biking from maybe 500 mi/year to 4000 mi/year. Mostly because I'm bike commuting. No problems with legs when biking. But since I've been doing this may 2-3 times a month I wake up in the middle of the night with leg cramps(quads and hamstrings). The last for 20-30 seconds, but they feel like they last forever. They can be so painful I start to sweat. Sure I stretch them out, but that doesn't always work. Explanations include fatigue, potassium deficiency, mineral deficiency, dehydration. I believe the fatigue narrative, but who really knows. Never happens when I'm actually biking though. Just when at rest.

CAT7RDR

Once I added magnesium and calcium citrate to my nighttime routine, my muscle spasms ceased.

Here come the naysayers telling me it has nothing to do with this.
Just my experience. YMMV

Flip Flop Rider

pickle juice!

delbiker1 

They hurt.

seypat

i think there are a couple of threads on it to get info from. You might do a search.

burritos

Can I get the recipe?

Broctoon

I’ve heard that eating pickles right after a long ride is believed to prevent muscle cramps, so I do.

Not sure if it actually helps, but I like pickles anyway, so why not? In the excellent movie Finding Forrester, the title character wears his socks inside out, saying some cultures think this brings good luck. Asked if really believes in it he replies, “No, but it’s like prayer… what’s the risk?”

burritos

I did. This is what I got:
https://www.bikeforums.net/search.php?searchid=13523487

Perhaps I did it incorrectly.

CAT7RDR

I use Amazing Formulas that has a mix of Calcium and Magnesium Citrate with Zinc and D3.
Sure there are several out there in a generic form that would do the job .
https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Formu...06X9YYMKT?th=1

burritos

Really how much. My father buys them regularly.

burritos

Daily? I'm not a big fan of supplements. Wondering if once a week might be sufficient.

bargainguy

Do you do any stretching exercises? If you're having problems with nighttime cramps, I'd suggest stretching after exercise and before bedtime, then re-evaluate.

The situation could be quite simple. If you're not working on flexibility (stretching) in addition to your workout, you're essentially tightening yourself into a knot every time you exercise. Your body is trying to unwind at night. You can help the process by stretching before it gets to that point.

'02 nrs

try sleeping with your legs straight when you feel the muscles tightening and do leg stretches prior to going to sleep.

CAT7RDR

Read up a little bit on the importance of Magnesium and Calcium in muscle contraction.
Yes, I use it nightly. Just sharing. You might consider looking at your diet and tweeking to add foods rich in magnesium and calcium.

Polaris OBark

Coincidently, this kept me awake most of last night. My wife is having this appear rather suddenly. We noticed her saddle was rather low, so are doing the experiment now. If we rule out bike fit, then she will consider other options. Apart from hydration, most of these trreatments, at best, are based on anecdotal evidence.

I also just did that search. Use the advanced search functionality and put in leg cramps and (optionally bike fit and/or night) and search on Titles. There are a series of threads, so that this must be a fairly common issue.

Best of luck!

livedarklions

Go with your instincts on this. Daily supplementation is pointless, it isn't electrolytes or you'd have a whole buttload of much worse symptoms.

I get those kind of cramps when I'm ramping up m activity level, and then they magically go away when I've been operating at that level for a few weeks. I get them most in the spring, when I'm shifting from indoor cardio to cycling, then I almost never get them any other time of the year.

Only thing that works for me is standing up and walking around. It's weird because it feels like the last thing I'd want to do while cramping, but it works like a charm in a matter of seconds. If I don't get up, they don't want to quit..

seypat

Well, since you couldn't find the info you needed, I'll give you a couple of pennies.

I do most of the endurance type activities. Run, bike, swim, tris, OCR, etc. What I've found through the years is it's mostly a muscle fatigue issue. My legs will cramp so bad after a marathon that I can't drive home or even move them to stretch. If I do, the really violent cramps come on. I have to stay stationary for about an hour. They don't cramp bad during the run, but once you stop, they come on hard. Pickle juice helps. Make sure you're well hydrated a day or 2 before your activity. What I do after the activity is lay around for the rest of the day. Then late afternoon/early evening I go to the gym and rotate between the pool and the hot tub gently stretching in each. The next couple of days I do some light activity and repeat the stretching in the pool/hot tub. A few days of this and I'm good to go.

pdlamb

And they suck.

IME cramping is usually associated with ramping up time/distance/speed too fast. So try to stay consistent, 80 miles per week, say two 20 mile rides, a 30 miler, and a 10 mile easy spin. If you try to do two 40 mile rides on the weekends, you're asking for trouble -- unless you're ramping up for a century, in which case you'll have to increase the other rides as well.

livedarklions

Mustard is supposed to work, too.

I think the latest theory isn't that pickle juice and mustard have any chemical properties that "treat" the cramp, but that they sort of distract the nervous system responses that are actually causing the cramp. Or something. TBH, I couldn't really follow it.

By the time I walked into the kitchen to get the stuff, my cramp would've been gone, so I've never actually tried this.

burritos

I eat a lot of meat and probably more beef liver than most people.

10 Wheels

Two sips before Going to bed works.

seypat

It does. It contains tumeric, which helps for reasons I don't know about.

coffeesnob

a tbsp or 2 of mustard helps me and the wife

livedarklions

Well, one strategy might be to take calcium supplements, give yourself kidney stones, and then the cramps will be a welcome distraction.

livedarklions

I'll take any excuse to make hot dogs or corned beef seem medicinal.