For all you Crampers out there!

[Matt]

I had an interesting article forwarded to me from a popular website (thanks Quail!)
http://teamsky.cyclingnews.com/tech-features/how-to-stop-cramp-team-sky%e2%80%99s-expert-guide/

I thought it would be an interesting read. 

Personally, cramping has been an issue for me.  After the last two seasons, it appears I'm starting to figure out how to minimize it.  I'm sure every athlete is different, but in my case I believe that I cramp because I can't relax my muscles.  As a ride becomes more intense, tension in my muscles starts to increase.  If I don't conciously take opportunities to relax them, I cramp severely!  Of course proper nutrition is important, but I have found it to be of secondary importance in my case.

I have heard other athletes say that if they mimic the conditions of a race in training, they are less likely to cramp.  The article above also suggests that wieght training seems to help reduce cramping as well.  I am assuming that the reason these two strategies work is the athlete is training their neurological system to relax their muscles effectively at high intensity.
A focus for me over the winter will be coodination work with the hope this helps the neurological system.

Another very important part of reducing cramping for me has been my ride position.  I had to modify my seat height and cleat position slightly due to flexibility issues.

Cheers
Matt

[Andrew]

Thanks Matt for the interesting read. Don;t forget we have discussed at great length the benefit for you of adding both Power Cranks for coordination (and learning muscle relaxation) in addition to plyometrics to your program. Time for you to convert that old Specialized to a PC machine, and ride over to the track to meet Chris for some plyo sessions!!!

[Davnel]

Good article Matt and good comments Andrew. I like the emphasis the article puts on using good evidence to guide the intervention.

Personally, I often find that the most debilitating craps are of the relatively smaller muscles in the upper thigh involved in hip flexion and adduction. I think the Power Cranks are obviously a useful tool in conditioning these muscles. Lacking Power Cranks, I'll have to substitute single leg drills. Otherwise, I suspect its necessary to ride at race pace quite a bit in order to fully recruit these muscles and improve their tolerance for work.

Thanks for the useful input.

David

[Andrew]

The single leg drills will work, but are difficult to do over a prolonged period of time.

Two other specific types of muscle recruitment may help with the training of those muscles WITHOUT the need for race-paced efforts. Remember, my goal is always to focus on what we are trying to achieve, without destroying all the systems as we would in a race.

Both of these sessions would be better on rollers compared to static trainers, as the muscles we are attempting to challenge are those that are used for balance and support, rather than as prime movers. But as our other muscles fatigue, these stabilizers may in fact be recruited as power producers, which will put more stress on them than they are capable of sustaining, which might be the reason for the cramp to develop in the first place. So, the goal is to challenge but not destroy these stabilizers, which means enjoying the challenge of the rollers!

1) Sustained high cadence sessions at low intensity. Simply put, the muscles that produce the power need to learn how to relax. And there is no better way to practice this then to repeat the exercise at high cadence. You CAN add in some high power AND high cadence, but will find that the more muscles you recruit to produce power, the harder it will be avoid bouncing out of your saddle. So, keep the high intensity work short, and focus on sustained coordination of smooth fast pedaling for the duration of the session.

2) Slow cadence, high muscle tension. The precise opposite to the above goals, with the idea of recruiting as MANY muscle fibres as possible under high load. This CAN be done on a trainer, and is probably easier to generate tension that way. However, it will not challenge those stabilizer muscles in the same way, which MIGHT be the reason some of you had trouble when getting out on the road after a long winter of good training on the trainers last winter.

Keep in mind, we are trying to challenge balance, coordination, and the ability to relax. So, think of ways you can do this every day in training, if cramping is holding you back form meeting your potential.