Originally Posted by aclinjury

Muscle cramps may be a "mystery", but it's only a mystery because the average guy doesn't know how to prevent them. But cramps are not a mystery to science.

Let's take a look at how muscle contractions work, and a person may get cramps.

1) Muscle contractions need proper level of key ions, particularly calcium ions, to work. When calcium ions are depleted, then muscles become stiff (aka, cramps). It's one reason why dead body are stiff. So factor #1, keep the electrolytes leveled in your body. How to do can varied in individuals.

2) trained versus untrained muscles. There is a reason why untrained people get more cramps than trained ones. The trained person not only has a better cardio system, but the training process also train his physiology down to the chemical reactions, aka better mobolization of utilizatin of electrolytes. Trained person also tend to have bigger muscle fiber allowing him to do more work while still not straining any "localized" region of a muscle (which could induce cramps). So if you're untrained, you need to allow your body to up regulate your physiology apparatus. Keep practicing but go all out, this will not induce cramps too early

3) Then there is the case of highly trained athletes still gettting cramps. Simply put, no matter how trained you are, you CAN still push your body beyond its limits. In this case, nothing will prevent cramps except to back off.

4) it seems that people with more fast twitch muscles (aka, the "muscular" guys) can do more short and explosive work, but they also tend to get more cramps when asked to do less explosive work but over a longer duration. To a great extend, fast/slow twitch fiber ratio composition is a "genetic" thing, not much you can do about it, i mean endurance training does help to convert some fast twitch to slow twitch fibers, but it won't be a game-changer compared to someone borned with a high ratio of slow twitch fibers. It's why bigger guys tend to cramp sooner than the skinny guys. Also, skinny people (eg, if you lose weight) have a higher proportion of vascularity compare to heavier people, so if you're heavy, then losing weight will effectively raise your vascularity, and more being more vascular means more blood supply to muscles, which could delat the onset of cramps. You never see a "highly tuned" endurance athlete who is fat or heavy.

Originally Posted by grizzly907la

See your doctor and make sure its nothing serious, barring that I'd suggest a magnesium supplement. I an doing keto and one of the side effects is a lack of magnesium. I take a magnesium supplement on top of the other supplements I take and I don't get cramps. Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by livedarklions

#1 is completely useless and dubious science. I have no idea how someone is supposed to "level" their electrolytes, whatever that means. Does that involve constant blood tests or something? I just hope no one reads what you wrote and starts downing calcium, that's a good way to give yourself kidney stones and a bunch of other painful stuff. I'm not saying avoid eating foods with calcium in them, but avoid the supplements and antacids which will put more calcium in you than can be absorbed.

Originally Posted by aclinjury

If I say that the majority of body mass is made of water, and that you need to keep yourself hydrated during exercise, then most people will surely understand what I'm talking about, and that they will not down 1 gallon of water in one gulp, right? People are not that stupid, ya know. The science is not dubious. Only those who don't understand it say so.

Originally Posted by Dirt Farmer

but pickle juice makes it go away immediately. On brutally long rides, one pickle juice bottle may only last for 10-15 minutes however, so pack a bunch.

Originally Posted by aclinjury

not cleat position, but how is your saddle height? The higher the saddle, the more likely you're to strain the adductors when the legs are extended. Try lowering your saddle by a 3-5mm, this will force you to use more gluts (and stay away from activating the adductors).