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Cycling - tired legs/cramping

V

vigomag

Newbie
Messages
2
Location
Chester Le Street
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I have type 2 Diabetes that I mange by diet only and since being diagonsied 2 years ago my readings have come down from 41 mmol to 34

I can cycle 25-30 miles with no real issues, however I find that doing 30-40 miles I can suffer from "tired" legs and have also been known to cramp a couple of hours after a ride.

As a norm I have porridge and a slice of toast with peanut butter on before the ride and during the ride will have a few brazil nuts and drink a hi5 zero . Normally stop halfway for a pub meal etc and when finish the ride either toats/bacon sandwich and a homemade flapjack.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong or can to to try and eleviate/combat the issue? Could the cramping be due to not taken suffiecnt fluids during the ride?

Maybe my age doesnt help as Im 55.
 
Hi there,
Congratulations on your cycling! Keep up the good work.
A question I would have is what are your blood glucose readings after you finish cycling, and indeed 30mins or so after your ride? I have a sneaky feeling that what is happening is that your liver is releasing glucose into your bloodstream to give you energy whilst you cycle. Unfortunately after you finish cycling, your liver doesn't automatically stop this and so your BG level can keep rising. This will occasionally lead to muscle cramps - indeed just fluctuating blood glucose levels can lead to cramps.

If you take a look at the Team Blood Glucose website, and find the type 1 diabetes 'case study', at approx 5 minutes into the film it talks about high bloods from exercise (I appreciate you are T2D, but the information will be helpful) Also take a look at the Type 2 diabetes 'kit bag' and have a read through 'moderate exercise' and 'vigorous exercise'.

Hopefully that's all it is - check your BGs during and after your next ride and report back!
If it isn't that I would suggest it may have to do with poor hydration and possibly just a lack of essential salts/minerals. Perhaps others in the forum would have better advice on this?
 

Hi there,
Just coming back again about your leg cramps - have you sorted that out yet?
Only thought because on another part of the forum someone has just mentioned getting cramps that they put down to low potassium levels.
Might be worth eating a banana before or after your next ride if you haven't already solved your painful problem.
 
This question may well fare better on a cycling forum, as the cramping that you describe is very common in non-diabetic cyclists.

I am very aware of the issue at the moment as I cramped up my right calf towards the end of my (becoming regular) 20 mile training ride for the first time yesterday.

So I spent quit a bit of yesterday afternoon looking for explanations.

Things it probably wasn't (for me):

  • low potassium level - as I ate a large banana an hour or so before the ride.
  • dehydration - judging by the amount I drank in the hour after the ride.
  • high BG - I tested as soon as I got back and was 5.4.

Things it possibly was (for me):

  • saddle height/position - as I've been experimenting a lot with this. The fora are mixed on this; can be caused by too high, too low, too far forward, too far back
  • foot position on pedal - if your foot has mainly the toes on the pedal then you may be doing bad things to your calves
  • just pushing too hard for too long at too high a cadence - I suspect this as my leg fitness is coming up and I can now push that little bit harder going up hills to the point where my legs are still working but the rest of my body is giving up. Legs come back before breathing steadies.

I stopped and stretched out my calf, still in the saddle, by pushing my heel as far down as possible with my foot on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke. This cleared the cramp (although I had a twinge from the outside of my thigh) but the episode scared me a bit so I cycled home very gently.

So, in summary, it is a well known problem for cyclists early in the season before they have regained their full summer fitness to suffer cramps during or after rides.
This is made worse by pushing harder than usual during a ride, and riding for a longer distance than usual.
The tired legs and post ride cramp are both usually associated with pushing your boundaries.

I assume you aren't doing the 50 miles in under 2 hours, so you have probably used up all the glycogen stores in your body and are burning whatever comes to hand, body fat or whatever you are eating/drinking.

Assuming you have a test kit it would be interesting to take it with you and test when you run out of legs, to see if your BG has gone through the floor (bonking or hitting the wall) or if you still have a reasonable amount of BG washing around your blood stream and your legs just aren't up to the job.

What to do?
Some sites recommend mixing in some interval training with your rides to get your muscles more used to extreme demands.
Stretching the leg muscles after a ride is also a good thing.

You could also consider rule #5 on
http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/
I am taking this very much to heart at the moment.

Oh, and we have both contravened Rule #24.

Cheers

LGC
 
LGC has it pretty well covered.

I woudl look at Electrolytes, fluids, adaptation (are you doing too much too soon)

Personally I favour a high cadence over a low cadence grinding approach. I woudl also dispute the 5.4 being a high BG, but then I'm a type 1, so 5.4 is merely a safety margin for me.

Finally, are you on any other medication? A fellow rider in my club was suffering from cramps casued by his blood pressure medication as an example
 
Miscommunication - I was trying to say that in my case I had a normal BG reading so high BG was not the cause of the cramp.

If my average BG was 5.4 I would be a very happy bunny!

Cheers

LGC
 

Great post!
 
Very interesting read. I'm an graduate from Loughborough University. After seeing Guy Martin (motorbike racer) complete the cycle performance review. I too did the same thing.
It's a max power test followed by am endurance step test.
Sarah at Loughborough explained the whole test & I had to complete a form etc before I did the test.
I received a 4 page PDF report of my test both results & text description of my results & ways to improve my results.
My max power was 256 watts
The cost is £147 inc vat for one person. Buy 2 get 10% discount.
Here's the pics of your bike your bloods are done via ear lobe as only bit not connected to anything



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I

Rule #5 applies to my whole life and not just the cycling!! Excellent post!
 

It is most likely low potassium, I had terrible cramp in my foot and had to find an immediate remedy, got some yogurt, drank more milk, ate a baked potato even though I didn't fancy it ( include the skin ) tuna fish, the cramps in the tummy were worse but under control now, take some tonic water with you the quinine in it will help the cramp temporarily
 

I had bad cramp found it was definately low potassium, ( instant temporary remedy drink Tonic water has quinine in it) I now eat yogurt, more milk, baked potato, more fish , tuna etc, carrot juice raisins apricots, almost forgot the banana
 
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