Tired Legs

Sharkyssurfers

Ok folks,

Apart from rule 5, what is the best way to get your tired legs to recover if rest is not an option?

smokey_bacon

Easy spinning usually does the trick for me. That and regular ten minute stretching/yoga sessions when I get home.

essex-commuter

Ice bath if you can hack it.

Or fill up a large dustbin/swing-bin with cold water and stand in it, that's what I do when marathon training, works a treat.

rubertoe

Talk to them like Jens does.

essex-commuter

rubertoe wrote:

Talk to them like Jens does.

"SHUT UP!"

meanredspider

Massage or a foam roller? Just ride slowly? Ibuprofen? It depends a bit on what you mean. If you're literally just tired - riding much more slowly really helps as you don't rely too heavily on glycogen to fuel you and what you have goes much further.

Kieran_Burns

Recovery drink?

Or am I being too obvious here? After a long ride I found those recovery drinks work a treat, my legs feel way better than usual the morning after

tgotb

Quite seriously:
If my legs feel tired for more than a day or so after a race or big ride, it often turns out to be a lack of MTFU; they seem to get themselves in a state of permanent lethargy, and the best way to snap them out of it is to give them a short, sharp workout. One flat-out commute, having had a decent meal beforehand with plenty of carbs, seems to do the trick.
Are you eating/sleeping properly? There's absolutely no substitute for these...

asprilla

Have you tried being not French?

timothyw

Omega-3 fatty acids/fish oil. Reduces post exercise inflammation, apparently.

Also as already mentioned, recovery drinks, shortly after exercise. Get plenty of protein and carbs to repair and restore glycogen reserves respectively.

walkingbootweather

Ten pints of London Pride. Never given my legs a second thought after a good night on the lash.

meanredspider

TimothyW wrote:

Omega-3 fatty acids/fish oil. Reduces post exercise inflammation, apparently.

I was pointed to a great and easy to use source if omega 3 in the form of chia seeds (available, apparently from Holland and Barratt) - they taste of nothing and you can put them in anything (i stick mine in porridge and shakes/smoothies). I do seem to feel better for them though it may just be the placebo effect.

daxplusplus

Depends on why they are tired.

It can be a case of MTFU (as OKGO says) however I'm finding that a slow warm up is best to combat this.

If it's because you've been asking a lot of them and they are genuinely tired then a recovery ride (spinning and no hills) may be fine.

However if it's because they are f*cked then rest _is_ the way to go. If that's not an option then you'll just keep going slower and slower .. never really recovering.

IMHO all the recovery drinks and food in the world are not going to help once you get into this last stage.

Sleep is always a good preventative measure for all of the above and the one I'm always wishing I'd done more of.

That's my experience anyway.

daxplusplus

BTW I'm sitting here at work with aching legs too - thinking I'm half way from MTFU to needing a recovery ride\rest.

Rollers seem like something that might help at least stop the nagging, dull ache when I sitting around and not on the bike.

I'm interested in the replies as well - hoping for some silver bullet

apreading

DaxPlusPlus wrote:

Depends on why they are tired.

It can be a case of MTFU (as OKGO says) however I'm finding that a slow warm up is best to combat this.

If it's because you've been asking a lot of them and they are genuinely tired then a recovery ride (spinning and no hills) may be fine.

However if it's because they are f*cked then rest _is_ the way to go. If that's not an option then you'll just keep going slower and slower .. never really recovering.

IMHO all the recovery drinks and food in the world are not going to help once you get into this last stage.

Sleep is always a good preventative measure for all of the above and the one I'm always wishing I'd done more of.

That's my experience anyway.

Largely this ^^^

I would clarify though that in scenario 3, recovery drink/food can help if you realise you are about to go into this phase after a particularly hard ride but only if you take them BEFORE the phase properly sets in - by the following day it is certainly too late and you are stuck with the problem until it goes away through rest.

The only thing that I dont agree with is sleep - this makes naff all difference to fatigue or energy levels in my legs, personally. Sleep before doesnt prevent it, sleep after doesnt fix it - only time does. Sleep simply allows the time to pass without feeling the pain because you are not conscious.

meanredspider

apreading wrote:

The only thing that I dont agree with is sleep - this makes naff all difference to fatigue or energy levels in my legs, personally. Sleep before doesnt prevent it, sleep after doesnt fix it - only time does. Sleep simply allows the time to pass without feeling the pain because you are not conscious.

I think your experience of sleep maybe isn't the norm. I was interested in the Chris Hoy programme about winning gold just how much emphasis was placed on his sleep. And it's been said that TdF is won in bed (I paraphrase).

The HRM training book I use suggests that you need very slow days to recover. These slow days also help fat burning adaptations so they're doubly effective. It says that the trap people often fall into is going hard every time and this just leads to being worn out.

Another experience I'll impart is that of doing multi-day long rides (L2E, Ireland end-2-end etc). The first leg of the day always feels horrible - but, after the first stop, it's like my legs are reminded why they are there and the rest of the day is fine. If you're commuting, you may just be experiencing this "first leg" experience on each ride. I don't know that there's a way around it however....

daxplusplus

I'll quantify my point about sleep a little .. if i skip it during the week then by the Friday I'm usually very tired (whole body rather than legs).

The more sleep I have then the longer this total body tiredness stays away. So it's not actually a leg thing (or at least not that I notice).

tgotb

meanredspider wrote:

Another experience I'll impart is that of doing multi-day long rides (L2E, Ireland end-2-end etc). The first leg of the day always feels horrible - but, after the first stop, it's like my legs are reminded why they are there and the rest of the day is fine. If you're commuting, you may just be experiencing this "first leg" experience on each ride. I don't know that there's a way around it however....

Could very well be the case, which could be the reason my "short sharp shock" works.

I think decent warmups are also very important, especially as you get older. My most effective "short sharp shock" rides start with a 5-6 mile gentle wamup...

dazzTurning

You just got to accept your body sometimes.

I can happily bosh out threshold/V02 max efforts before work with no food and feel strong (4.3 W/KG FTP at the moment).

At the end of a working day, I am generally rubbish. People of all sorts come by me and I just don't seem to be able to find "that gear". I have stopped fighting it now, and just accept the 10 mile city commute is nothing more than transport and I don't even try and push things.

We're all busy people with places to be, so its hard to not put in that dig to make the lights before they change. I like evening like tonight, strong tailwind home... free ride :-)

Widgey

RICE.
Rest - Ice - Compression - Elevation

Best thing I have found is to get the legs elevated as high as possible. The experts say above your heart which is easy if your lying on the sofa with feet on the sofas arm. Or sleep with feet on spare pillows.

itboffin

Handfuls of all manner of drugs washed down with as much ale as you can find.

Works for me

itboffin

ask yourself what would Chuck Norris do ...?

you MASSHOOF girl

M
T
F
U

smokey_bacon

itboffin wrote:

ask yourself what would Chuck Norris do ...?

you MASSHOOF girl

M
T
F
U

This post is bought you by the good people of Stella Artios!

Sharkyssurfers

cheers chaps,

yes I apply rule 5 alot, but this week with the bitch of all headwinds on my journey home, legs have been finding it tough, the soak in the hot tub for an hour last night seemed to of done the trick, guess what the boff is saying put beer in your bidons and the pain will go away.

surrey_commuter

As an old man I find that cadence training on the granny ring is a great way of warming up for approx 5 miles...definitely feel less lethargic after that. Also eat more pasta, pump up tyres and lube chain as will all help between the ears and so help you to MTFU

Initialised

I had a bout of Friday legs on the way home tonight, felt like the start of cramp in my left calf after pushing it for a couple of segments, one near the start of the ride, had to drop into the granny ring and spin most of the way.

I think it was a combination of working long hours working most days, a century last Sunday, and not drinking enough water throughout the day.

Either that or I just getting old and weak.

itboffin

er WTF has happened to Chuck? and when did he marry a Charlie's angel lookie likie?

git