achy (is that a word?) quads

mudcow007

hey all

im currently trying/ failing to lose weight aswell as "trying" to get a bit more fit on my bike. i have been doing my daily commute now for about 2 months, but due to not seeing much movement on the scales, i'm trying to push harder on the bike

however my legs have been really achy since last thursday, i didnt ride at all on the weekend to try an stop the pain, but came in this morning an they are achy, only went i stand up

do you think i have over done it? if so what can i do?

ta

nich

Sounds like you have

Trying stretching if you don't already..seems to help me a little.

meanredspider

Pain in often a good sign that you are pushing yourself. If you don't like it, you can try a bit of ibuprofen which will help. My quads often hurt. Stretching (as above) is good.

For weight loss, eating less is by far the best route - coupled with the cycling to stay healthy. The trouble with exercise for weight loss is that you often over-estimate what you've burned.

ride_whenever

Have you got a recovery day?

mudcow007

cheers guys, is it true that you need to have a break at somepoint of the week to let your muscles recover?

im changing my diet plan as of today, im going to try reducing calories down to about 1200 per day to see if that effects the weight thingy

on a positive note my quads are getting huge!

Rooner

Yep, less food is the answer. I struggled weight wise for years, despite running very regularly and cycling a fair bit. The simple answer, although its ultra boring, is work out the calories of what you are eating, and work out your BMR to see what you should be eating. If you don't know how many calories are in your food, or portion size, you'll be amazed how quickly you can pack the excess calories in (cereal is a good example, weigh out what the packet says is a portion, typically 30-40g, if you are anything like me you'll think WTF, thats nothing!). It worked though, I lost 2 and a half stone about 3-4 years ago and haven't put it back on.

Cut your calories down and stick at the cycling, it will work, don't give up. As for the aches, yeah, you've pushed hard but thats good, as others have said, have a good stretch and take some ibuprofen if its bad.

Good luck!

Rooner

posting overlap there.....was writing mine about the calories reduction and just seen yours. Reducing it to 1200? How heavy are you, m or f? Seriously, unless you are very light already, you'll struggle on that and it will be counter-productive.

I worked out my BMR, ate that amount, but exercised on top and didn't eat the extra calories 'allowed' for the exercise. That worked for me, I know we are all different but don't drop the cals too much, it'll affect your mood, energy levels, everything!

mudcow007

thanks all for the advice, to be honest the pain isnt that bad just a wobble really and its only when i stand/ walk, when i walk i feel like im walking john wayne ha!

i read somewhere your exercise gains are only in the last 10% of effort or soemthing, is that right?

i will start counting calories an see how i get on

cheers

mudcow007

Rooner wrote:

posting overlap there.....was writing mine about the calories reduction and just seen yours. Reducing it to 1200? How heavy are you, m or f? Seriously, unless you are very light already, you'll struggle on that and it will be counter-productive.

I worked out my BMR, ate that amount, but exercised on top and didn't eat the extra calories 'allowed' for the exercise. That worked for me, I know we are all different but don't drop the cals too much, it'll affect your mood, energy levels, everything!

right, just looked at "BMR" an found this site http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

it reckons for my weight, height etc i use 2329 jeeesus that loads!

so If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

which means im "allowed" 3609 i know for a fact that im not eating that daily!

Rooner

seems a lot of cals, but you can quickly eat that. I'd go for something like 2000 cals a day, see how you get on with that. The general wisdom is that you need to 'loose' 3500 cals to loose a pound of fat from your body, so you can do that either by eating less, or exercising more. Best to do a combination of the two, so 2000 cals a day and your cycling should be a sensible amount to get by on. You'll soon know if its not enough food!

Good luck and stick at it, and don't worry about the occasional pig-out (which is only human and will keep you sane!). I think there are plenty of other weight lose threads on here, I'm sure you'll get plenty of tips from them.

notsoblue

With regards to your leg ache, what are your cycling habits at the moment? For a while in the Autumn I was riding about 30 miles a day on my commute (with 24 of them being on the way home) and I had to put a rest day or two in there or I'd end up with the same issue after a couple of weeks. Like a bit of a lactic acid ache and weak legs. Does it feel like that or like you've pulled something?

mudcow007

it feels more like an ache and wobble than out right pain, if that makes sense, it feels like i have been out on a big ride?

the ache is right in the front of my thigh, but strangley it doenst happen when i tense my leg when im sitting down

im sure i will be reet

UndercoverElephant

If you're set up correctly on the bike, you're whole leg should ache equally. As far as I remember, if your quads hurt, it's a sign that your saddle is slightly too far back, meaning that you're having to over-reach during your pedal stroke.

Edit: No, I'm mis-remember, it's that your cleats are too far forward (or if you're on flats your foot is too far back on the pedal. Try repositioning by about 5 mm and see how you go. If I remember correctly, the pedal spindle should be slightly behind the ball of your foot (by about 7 mm).

meanredspider

The BMR/BMI site was interesting.

Based on BMI I'm 30 and therefore overweight. The Body-fat calculator says I'm on the borderline of fitness to athlete and the waist-to-hip ratio puts me well inside the healthy zone at 0.87 (male). It shows to some extent what a blunt tool BMI is.

meanredspider

UndercoverElephant wrote:

If you're set up correctly on the bike, you're whole leg should ache equally. As far as I remember, if your quads hurt, it's a sign that your saddle is slightly too far back, meaning that you're having to over-reach during your pedal stroke.

Edit: No, I'm mis-remember, it's that your cleats are too far forward (or if you're on flats your foot is too far back on the pedal. Try repositioning by about 5 mm and see how you go. If I remember correctly, the pedal spindle should be slightly behind the ball of your foot (by about 7 mm).

Could it also be that you saddle is too low? Certainly one good way to get your quads burning (as we used to in Spinning classes) is to drop the saddle.

daviesee

Another option to consider -

Could you be mashing in too high gears?

Once recovered try spinning faster in lower gears. Same speed, less strain and possibly more efficient at burning fat. (Although there are conflicting reports on that).

rjsterry

meanredspider wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

If you're set up correctly on the bike, you're whole leg should ache equally. As far as I remember, if your quads hurt, it's a sign that your saddle is slightly too far back, meaning that you're having to over-reach during your pedal stroke.

Edit: No, I'm mis-remember, it's that your cleats are too far forward (or if you're on flats your foot is too far back on the pedal. Try repositioning by about 5 mm and see how you go. If I remember correctly, the pedal spindle should be slightly behind the ball of your foot (by about 7 mm).

Could it also be that you saddle is too low? Certainly one good way to get your quads burning (as we used to in Spinning classes) is to drop the saddle.

This. Though gleaned from riding a Brompton with a standard (i.e. too short) seatpost rather than one of those static bikes.