Random muscle twitching!

Bhima

:shock: I keep sitting down, very relaxed, then all of a sudden, my left Quadricep (to be very specific, the "Vastus Intermedius" part) starts to vibrate and twitch quite randomly! It's not related to my heart beats and is totally unpredictable.

I occasionally get a similar twitch in my eyelids.

Anyone know what this is?

The past 10 days or so, i've significantly increased the intensity of cycling - 2 hours of ridiculous intervals every day. I don't feel any more fatigued than normal, as i'm eating more to compensate.

The twitches never happen on the bike, only later on when i'm totally relaxed.

If I stretch a bit and massage the muscle, it'll calm down and eventually stop after about 5 minutes.

rokkala

Nervous twitch due to the countdown to the 27th? :P

Bhima

What's on the 27th? :?

Takis61

Touch of the Norman Wisdoms Bhima !
Methinks a spot of rest & recuperation, you have plenty of time left to do those 1143 miles - do you manage to work as well ?

Bhima

I've been having loads of rest!

Been commuting an hour each way each day and using that for high-cadence intervals, so i've been hammering my lungs a bit more than my legs. Of course my legs hurt, but the nature of the workout means I can be gasping for breath like there's no tomorrow but my legs are still ok. I don't understand why I keep getting these twitches when my legs actually feel quite fresh.

I used to ride 4 hours a day! 2 hours a day is nothing.

Is it something to do with muscles recovering? I've upped the protein/fruit/veg/iron intake a lot so I can sustain such high efforts each day.

cyclingtaz

have the same think happen to me as well its quite funny to watch dont think its anything to worry about though as i have it on my elbows and eye lid as well as my thighs

Bhima

Yeah, it was quite funny to watch at first.

Until it got a bit crazy. :? Then I got worried.

Then, my cat actually started looking at it and it was funny again.

rokkala

Bhima wrote:

What's on the 27th? :?

Isn't the 27th when your going to turn up to the Manchester wheelers TT to show you have actually done one?

Amos

From a brief net search this page seems to explain it quite well: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 003296.htm

Probably just because of all the riding you have been doing.

freehub

Bhima wrote:

I've been having loads of rest!

Been commuting an hour each way each day and using that for high-cadence intervals, so i've been hammering my lungs a bit more than my legs. Of course my legs hurt, but the nature of the workout means I can be gasping for breath like there's no tomorrow but my legs are still ok. I don't understand why I keep getting these twitches when my legs actually feel quite fresh.

I used to ride 4 hours a day! 2 hours a day is nothing.

Is it something to do with muscles recovering? I've upped the protein/fruit/veg/iron intake a lot so I can sustain such high efforts each day.

If you've being having loads of rest then how are you doing 2 hours or intervals a day? Have you got an ability to stop time at the end of the week and give yourself a couple of days of recovery whilst time itself stands still?

You are going to end up like I was this time last year, slowing down, going backwards, this year for me is the opposite as I've took proper rest now.

Bhima

freehub wrote:

You are going to end up like I was this time last year, slowing down, going backwards, this year for me is the opposite as I've took proper rest now.

Calm down! I am getting enough rest and eating properly.

freehub

But you said you do like 2 hours a day, and do intervals every day

Bhima

“Recovery. That's the name of the game in cycling. Whoever recovers the fastest wins” - Lance Armstrong

a_n_t

Rokkala wrote:

Bhima wrote:

What's on the 27th? :?

Isn't the 27th when your going to turn up to the Manchester wheelers TT to show you have actually done one?

:roll:

Bhima

You don't have to continually remind me about the TT, I know it's on Thursday, just been losing track of dates recently. Keep thinking it's July still. :shock:

freehub

Bhima wrote:

“Recovery. That's the name of the game in cycling. Whoever recovers the fastest wins” - Lance Armstrong

Well you keep doing what you do daily I think you'll see some problems start to occur.

Takis61

I agree, most training programmes work in a complete day off the bike.
I notice I usually go like the clappers if I've actually not been able to ride for a couple of days

freehub

Yea I thought riding everyday at first was good, I thought I'd recovered by the next, well it sure turned out to be wrong, I started to wonder why I was not getting any better eventually, then I took a week or so off and did a 37mile loop round Manchester area and averaged nearly 20mph and that told me rest is important.

williamcycles

Twitching???

You need more magnesium. a great product that has magnesium in it as well as other essential electrolytes is elete.. anyone else heard of it? Also prevents cramps and hydrates by replacing the electrolytes that you lose during perspiration.
Find it at eletewater.co.uk.

Hope this helps.

Wallace1492

Bhima wrote:

:shock: I keep sitting down, very relaxed, then all of a sudden, my left Quadricep (to be very specific, the "Vastus Intermedius" part) starts to vibrate and twitch quite randomly! It's not related to my heart beats and is totally unpredictable.

I occasionally get a similar twitch in my eyelids.

Anyone know what this is?

Wow!! A fellow sufferer!! I have had this too, both in a muscle on the legs (don't know the name) and on my eyelid. It is weird, like the eyelid shaking on its own happened then stopped, then happened again. Never been concerned by it, but always found it amusing, think it is not really a problem. It had nothing to do with my cycling, just came and went, must say though cycled more recently than ever before, but have not had eyelid twich for a while... oh how I miss it....

Bhima

williamcycles wrote:

Twitching???

You need more magnesium. a great product that has magnesium in it as well as other essential electrolytes is elete.. anyone else heard of it? Also prevents cramps and hydrates by replacing the electrolytes that you lose during perspiration.
Find it at eletewater.co.uk.

Hope this helps.

I eat waaaaaaaaay too much fruit and veg to be having any kind of electrolyte deficiency. Especially Magnesium - I'm known for my banana addiction.

Aggieboy

Bhima wrote:

williamcycles wrote:

Twitching???

You need more magnesium. a great product that has magnesium in it as well as other essential electrolytes is elete.. anyone else heard of it? Also prevents cramps and hydrates by replacing the electrolytes that you lose during perspiration.
Find it at eletewater.co.uk.

Hope this helps.

I eat waaaaaaaaay too much fruit and veg to be having any kind of electrolyte deficiency. Especially Magnesium - I'm known for my missing club runs addiction.

Fixed it for you.

Bhima

Awww.... Are you really that disappointed that I don't turn up?

OK, just for you, i'll re-arrange my life and quit my jobs just so I can come down on Saturday and give you a big hug.

I didn't know you missed me so much, you should have said something earlier.

freehub

Maybe it's because you say you will be down and you never turn up. Nothing wrong with missing them just as long as you don't say you will be there.

Bhima

No I don't! I've always said i'm an evening person and can't get up because of my schedule.

I said i'd turn up to one months ago and couldn't make it. So I missed one day back in June or whatever. Big deal.

Infamous

freehub wrote:

Maybe it's because you say you will be down and you never turn up.

and then ride past them the other way throwing a banana skin into their path.

Bhima

The resident genius down the gym just explained this to me.

Apparently, by me upping my game on the bike, especially with super-high cadence work, i'm training more of the fast-twitch muscle fibres associated with sprinting, whereas I usually incorporate both fast and slow twitch fibres into a ride equally.

I've never done high-cadence intervals as much as I have done in the past 10 days and he said it's part of the recovery process. Basically, my fast-twitch fibres are... erm... twitching fast. It's just what they do and they're getting used to doing it because i've created a proper stimulus for them to evolve and improve.

Apparently, if it happens a lot, days after the training, which i'm showing signs of, it could be "super-fast-twitch" muscle fibres which are rare and only present in the very best of sprinters.

It's all totally normal and the fast-twitch equivallent of the stiff pain you get after a long long ride (slow-twitch). Because it's a recovery/repair side-effect, you wont get it if you dont get enough protein in you, so this is not a symptom of overtraining - it's the complete opposite.

Takis61

You twitcher you !

a_n_t

Bhima wrote:

Apparently, if it happens a lot, days after the training, which i'm showing signs of, it could be "super-fast-twitch" muscle fibres which are rare and only present in the very best of sprinters.

Cav better watch himself then eh?

rokkala

jeez..

alex16zx

Bhima wrote:

Apparently, if it happens a lot, days after the training, which i'm showing signs of, it could be "super-fast-twitch" muscle fibres which are rare and only present in the very best of sprinters.

'Could' being the operative word. It happens to me quite regularly and I am NOT one of 'the very best sprinters'!