Cramps...#$%$#$&!!!! Got cramp spray?

Cramps...#$%$#$&!!!!

Most joyride cyclist who had participate in an event such as MTB Jamboree or race must have experience it, worry not because almost all endurance sports enthusiasm face the same wrath of this bitch biting down our muscle. In fact, even pro athletes encounter cramps every once in a while...

So what do we know about this painful things that seem to visit us when we are usually down, or about to go down. First, the pain... Ahh! Yes... The pain is damn excruciating and very tormenting. In some cases it may comes and goes after the first wave, sort of like an earthquake. Once is never enough. Second, the pain usually take 3 - 7 days for a full recovery. This usually increases as our age increases as well. The older we get, the longer it will take to recover.

Most of my cycling buddies thought they got cramps because of dehydration or there was an imbalance in their electrolytes. Of course the solution would be to drink a lot of water and fuel up on Isotonic drinks. The solution may have work, but some of them are still experiencing cramps. So why is that? In order to understand this, I did my own digging on the net and had several interviews with my fellow cycling buddies.

The culprit are....
Glycogen... Glycogen is our fuel or energy that we rely on to carry out our workout. This fuel is stored in our muscle in a rather small amount. Untrained cyclist like me, hold up around 400 grams - 500 grams of glycogen. Which equal to 1800 Kcal - 2000 Kcal ( roughly...I think). If we happen to work our way hard enough ( for me at 90% - 100% of BpM) it will cause our muscle to run out of fuel within hour of our workout. Once our muscle is out of it juice, we are about to make a date with the lovely Miss Cramps, although the date is not confirm yet, but we are in the colliding path.What kick in after that is... Gluconeogenesis, the name is so sexy you may end up not saying it at all...In this stage our body will be breaking fat and protein to change it into glycogen for our body. This process is slow, and sometimes our muscle may encounter depletion first. What happen to a car when it ran out of fuel? It stall....We? We meet Miss Cramps.

How to overcome?

Train properly
Glycogen storage capabilities had its own limit, untrained people ranging to 400 - 500 ( Depend on fitness level, couch potatoes maybe lower...So suck it! you lazy ass) Trained and very fit people have double that amount. With that said, we need to train properly and increase our storage capacity which will lead to longer fuel burn.

Fuel up or pit stop...
Since our fuel can ran out quickly, it is important to fuel up along the way in our ride. Liquid energy source such as gels and power drinks is good source of fuel. Take it before we feel tired, our goal is to prolong the fuel burn by keep topping it up. I usually add up after the first 20 minutes, however I would change the time period depends on the intensity of the workout.

Try slowing down...
A few of my friends who rarely experience cramps said he would use 70% - 80% BpM, this would slow down glycogen burned out and give time for Gluconeogenesis to take place. Even after burning all the glycogen, our body will have enough time to change fat and protein to energy that our muscle requires. When the workout intensity is low the energy we required is also low. Slow energy output ( Gluconeogenesis process ) meet low energy demands. Everyone are happy, no cramps. So slow down a bit will ya...

I hope this help, or gave you an ideas of how it all began and to avoid it. It works on me...