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Banjopickin
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wooden legs.
11/25/13 at 9:05pm
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Hey folks,

I got wooden legs and not in the awesome Pirate way. I seem to be having a hard time recovering after rides and my legs just arent cooperating the next day. Heres what happens...I ride hard and try to push myself to get faster. Typically I ride with folks much faster than myself and try to keep up with them. I get done and feel great and whatnot but the next day or the day after I go to ride and my legs are like "NO!" and they turn into cedar stumps. This sucks because when riding im focusing on my tired legs and this affects my bike handling and I slam into pine trees. 

My question is how to I prevent this? What do yall do to prevent pirate legs and recover for the next day? All-natural remedies would be awesome. 

My current recovery regiment when I get done riding: 
Beer
Pnut butter sandwhich
Beer
shower
bed

Thanks Smiley


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Disclaimer: I get the whole "ride for fun not for work" deal and I do. Im the last one that takes mountain biking "seriously". For me fast=fun. The faster I can go the more fun I have. Not every ride I do is balls to the wall and I do plenty of mellow rides to keep it fun. Just not diggin pirate legs.
« Last Edit: 11/25/13 at 9:13pm by Banjopickin »  
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Advocat wrote on 08/22/13 at 5:16pm:
...packin some Chub in the back of the pick-up.


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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #1 - 11/25/13 at 9:33pm
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Not all natural but I swear by SportLegs. 
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get you some.
  
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RobP
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #2 - 11/25/13 at 9:54pm
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I have been having similar issues, especially if I get the opportunity to ride more than 2x's a week.  My plan is to ride the harder trail 1st, then recover at Sherman.  Smiley
  
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #3 - 11/25/13 at 10:17pm
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You should eat something within an hour after strenuous exercise and it should have a 3:1 carb to protein ratio. This helps refuel and rebuild muscle tissue. 

My old standby has always been a 32oz Gatorade and 12 oz pack of beef jerky. A banana wouldn't hurt with some extra potassium, either.

Hammer Nutrition has some damn fine products that work really well, too!

Hope that helps. Smiley
  
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mtbchk
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #4 - 11/25/13 at 10:27pm
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Ice Bath. (Just deep enough for legs)
  
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KB
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #5 - 11/25/13 at 10:33pm
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I am a big proponent of water and lots of it. I also take a generic multi-vitamin. I get about 4 hard rides a week on average- 2000 feet of climbing average and anywhere from 10-20 miles. If the rides arent taking place at night I will hit a 5 hour energy and a beer before every ride. Post ride I drink a beer and a chocolate milk, followed by lots of water. I have done my best to eradicate all wheat/grains from my diet, except for beer and pizza and I eat a ton of greens and vegetables and bacon/sausage/meat and eggs and nothing out of a box or bag. 

I have been on this regimen for about a year now and I can tell a night and day difference in the way I feel while on the bike and after rides. 

For the first time in awhile I felt kind of sore yesterday- but it was because I chose to ride my hard tail at Marys Peak (2100' foot climb and 25 minutes of super tech descent down) on friday and then ride all day at Black Rock the very next day with gap jumps and cliff drops over and over and over, and mid day I ran out of water. I felt it big time in contrast to other rides where I consumed alot of water. 

So, yeah. Long story short hydrate hydrate hydrate and eat like a Slayer fan.
  
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Cherokee
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #6 - 11/25/13 at 11:24pm
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The Cycle Path wrote on 11/25/13 at 10:17pm:
You should eat something within an hour after strenuous exercise and it should have a 3:1 carb to protein ratio. This helps refuel and rebuild muscle tissue. 


Lance Armstrong's former trainer (insert doping joke here) who writes for Bicycling magazine says that low fat chocolate milk has the perfect carb/protein ratio and is as good as anything the pros use for recovery purposes. He says, though, that you need to consume it within 30 minutes after completion of the ride; the sooner the better. After that point, a recovery drink per se has only modest benefits; no more than simply a carb and protein meal. As others have mentioned, staying hydrated before and during the ride also is a factor.

I was going to say that you're getting old, but a glance at your profile indicates that you're a few years [decades] from that being a factor.
  
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SCOTT_T
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #7 - 11/25/13 at 11:29pm
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40 oz Miller, 3 bongs hits, 2 hot dogs. 1 power bar.............will set you FREE  Kiss
  
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KB
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #8 - 11/25/13 at 11:51pm
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SCOTT_T wrote on 11/25/13 at 11:29pm:
40 oz Miller, 3 bongs hits, 2 hot dogs. 1 power bar.............will set you FREE  Kiss


Cheesy party time!
  
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #9 - 11/26/13 at 12:53am
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You need to compound your rides (workouts) aka ride hard at least 2 days in a row before taking a rest day.  Carmichael's Time Crunched Cyclist book has programs/reasoning behind it.  

No nutrition, pill, or shake will make up for training.  Your body will react to whatever you condition it to.

These help also:
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #10 - 11/26/13 at 1:10am
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Water,H2o, hydration is the key, that and to me banannanas and oatmeal and a yogurt..Beer inbetween. Learned this lesson awhile back, had the same issue you do and another things is to not focus on your legs while pedalling, focus on your rythym of your pedalling. This meaning how you are spinning. start with clean pedalling first, kinda slow but not to slow then increase until you find that comfort zone. It is that your legs just have to get warmed up first along with your mind out there. We ride mtn. bikes and trees hurt...That is my two cense worth. oh and one more thing Coffee..
  
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Banjopickin
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #11 - 11/26/13 at 12:49pm
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All great ideas. Thanks folks. 

Im gonna hydrate like crazy and try to eat better post ride and see if that helps.

Is it better to stagger hard rides and do mellow rides in between or ride hard and take a day off or do several hard rides and then one easy? whats ya'lls prefered method? I usually ride 3-5 times a week when its not raining and it seems that i ride best after several days of hard riding if I dont take a rest day. 

Also...stretching? pre ride, post ride, the interwebs says so many conflicting things about stretching and riding. 

Thanks again. Smiley
  
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Advocat wrote on 08/22/13 at 5:16pm:
...packin some Chub in the back of the pick-up.


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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #12 - 11/26/13 at 1:05pm
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+1 on chocolate milk, body digests it extremely quickly and tastes great!
  
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #13 - 11/26/13 at 1:24pm
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Nobody has mentioned STRETCHING yet.....  While flushing out lactic acid is important and taking in the right amounts of protein and carbos (+2 for LOW FAT chocolate milk) if the ride mandates it.   One has to remember that taking in more calories post ride then you expended on the ride will be counter productive in the ling run.   

I have been racing for 25 years and have completed 2 Ironman's and stretching both post ride (prior to legs getting cold) and the next morning are the single most efficient ways to prevent extremely sore muscles.   

Remember muscle soreness is a fact if you are in a hard training cycle, but it should not be to the point of debilitation.  This is especial true as i am finding out after you get past 50....
  
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Re: wooden legs.
Reply #14 - 11/26/13 at 5:05pm
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I find that doing an easy ride the day after a hard ride is best or even going for a hike or something. The worst for me is to do nothing the next day. I get very stiff and sore if I simply do nothing. Also totally agree on the stretching. I do tons of stretching really on all days, whether I have done a hard ride or not. Yoga is also awesome if you want to go that route. I don't do it as much as I would like just due to time constraints but when I can fit it in it really helps me.
« Last Edit: 11/26/13 at 5:06pm by catsruletn »  
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