Tired sore legs

samcrx3

This is probably lactic acid overload - i am only guessing. Is it a good idea to have a day or two off to wait until the soreness goes or would it be best to go out on the road again, slowly? Thanks for your ideas. Sam

RHR38

Active recovery works better than complete dayoff if you feel you've flushed your legs with lactate acid and maybe stopped racing/training without good recovery period.

Deep massage? Food manipulation? Cool/warm muscle treatments?

root

If it is lactic acid buildup then it is better to have a active recovery rest day. Cycle very lightly (you should barely feel you are pushing pedals) and if you are doing this outside avoid any hills or temptation of group rides that end up being like races.

This helps get the blood going through the muscles and clears them up a lot faster than just lying in bed .

However, if you are generally fatigued and just feel exhausted (i.e. not sore) then do take a day or two off completely.

Also, good massage helps in both cases.

Frigo's Luggage

Or. Go out and ride really hard for the next couple of days and then take time off. As long as you don't have an overuse injury, tired and sore are a good thing. It means you are overloading which leads to adaption when you rest.

If it is an injury, don't ride.

If it is just tide and sore, then you should ride.

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daveryanwyoming

It may be many things, but lactic acid overload is not one of them. Lactic acid does not linger in the muscles or cause ongoing soreness. That long held belief just won't die, but take a look at some of these pieces on the subject:

http://www.active.com/story.cfm?CHE...ID=6468&RESET=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/h...6run.html?fta=y
http://www.sciam.com/health/article...actic-acid-buil

The advice given above is good, but just don't blame it on lactic acid(or even blood lactate which is closer to the point but still not the culprit when it comes to ongoing muscle soreness).

-Dave

samcrx3

Thank you so much for your replies. I think along with the lactic acid overload is weakness. This may be caused I think by 2 things - haven't been on the bike for a while and need to build up and/or a medication I'm on that can cause problems with muscles causing weakness. I am happy to tell the medication if someone in the know can help. Thanks again. Sam

Yojimbo_

Shouldn't you be discussing your medications with your doctor?

Everyone has had muscle soreness. Give it a couple of days and it will disappear. If it doesn't, give it a couple more. If it's still there, go see your doctor.

samcrx3

My soreness is normal soreness that doesn't usually continue thankfully. My medicine is known to cause mucsle weakness and on a teeny dose, but to talk to the doc about it affecting bike riding, he'll give me a blank look. I was just kind of hoping that with some training I could beat it and make the most of what I'm doing.
Doing a 16km easy loop, gentle undulating. I'm slow, cranky and find it very hard work. I'll just keep going on until I get somewhere. I was regularly doing 35km at a great pace every 2nd day and felt great. Thanks Sam

frenchyge

Ah, the old lactic acid/weakness double-whammy. The only cure is another long, hard ride at very low cadence to help build up the muscle strength.