Lactic Acid

[bikerboy59]

When I ride it seems that i get that ole familiar burn in my lges very quiclkly. i have been riding as much as i can but not enough to really get the wife mad yet. I also had a heart bypass in 2002. I am wondering why i get the burn so quickly and how to stop it from happening so fast. If i get out of the saddle and start to pedal it is not very long and the thighs are on fire. HELP PLEASE

 

[Lonnie Utah]

How far into your ride are you before this starts to happen? Are you warming up enough? On a scale of 1-10 where is your exertion level when they start to burn?

L

 

[helmutRoole2]

When I ride it seems that i get that ole familiar burn in my lges very quiclkly. i have been riding as much as i can but not enough to really get the wife mad yet. I also had a heart bypass in 2002. I am wondering why i get the burn so quickly and how to stop it from happening so fast. If i get out of the saddle and start to pedal it is not very long and the thighs are on fire. HELP PLEASE

How long have you been riding and what is your athletic background?

 

[ewan52]

if you push yourself then you will experience considerable discomfort. it may be that the level at which you are cycling is pushing your body right now. after a period of training your body will adapt and you will be able to ride at your current level with more comfort.

if you dont think that this theory is applicable to your situation then you may be experiencing an excessive level of fatigue from overloading your body. from my experience i find that tiredness in the first stages of a ride is a good indicator of overtraining. if you go out of the door and begin to feel bad when you reach a small rise or start to spin the pedals faster then you probably need to take a period of time to recover. i would reccommend at least 3 days of complete rest but it could take even longer depending on your current physical state.

im just speculating, both of these theories could be wrong

 

[bikerboy59]

How far into your ride are you before this starts to happen? Are you warming up enough? On a scale of 1-10 where is your exertion level when they start to burn?

L

it really does not seem to matter what i do or how far into the ride i am. i start out spinning at a good cadance for awhile which could be a couple of miles depending on the route i take. if i stand it will burn almost right away. i see the guys on tv stand and pedal for a long time adn when i try to do that man it burns.

 

[Spunout]

it really does not seem to matter what i do or how far into the ride i am. i start out spinning at a good cadance for awhile which could be a couple of miles depending on the route i take. if i stand it will burn almost right away. i see the guys on tv stand and pedal for a long time adn when i try to do that man it burns.

You are not on TV.

Time to get the wife mad if you are to improve! It takes a long time training...but training rewards you at all levels.

 

[bikerboy59]

You are not on TV.

Time to get the wife mad if you are to improve! It takes a long time training...but training rewards you at all levels.

i know i am not on tv. i wish i was then i would not be asking all of these silly questions. so this is normal then i just need to work harder during training? like hills correct.

 

[RapDaddyo]

The "burn" you are getting is a normal result of increasing intensity to a level that is going to do any good. If you had a power meter, you would see that you can generate ~100 watts of power with no "push" at all on the downstroke. This comes from leg weight alone. As you begin to increase power, the main source of power (torque x cadence) is the push in the downstroke, from ~1 to ~5 o'clock (3 o'clock is toward the front of the bike). If you haven't been riding, your muscles (mainly your quads) respond to the stress of this increased downforce almost immediately. There are various ways to characterize the feeling, but it is basically muscle fatigue. Although the muscle produces lactic acid, the lactic acid is actually a future source of energy for the muscle and is unlikely to be the cause of the "burn" you feel. A more accurate term for it might be "acidosis." But, whatever you call it, over time your body adapts and you will be able to push harder and longer with less "burn." But, it takes time and it can't be rushed. So, you'll be better off increasing both intensity and duration very gradually rather than trying to go hard or long immediately.

 

[SolarEnergy]

I am wondering why i get the burn so quickly and how to stop it from happening so fast. If i get out of the saddle and start to pedal it is not very long and the thighs are on fire. HELP PLEASE

Trained cyclists have developed the habbit of turning the legs at a certain rythm, so that each pedal stroke doesn't require as much strenght

A mistake many beginers commit, is to pedal with a cadence that's too low. Then comes that burning sensasion, that's similar to when doing weight lifting.

Also, you may (almost undoubtedly) find that these bad sensasions are attenuate after a good (long enough) warmup.

Next time you warmup, you may try doing some easy spinning, coupled with some short higher intensity bursts. You go easy, then gradually accelerate, then push hard and stop before (or shortly after) the burns. You do that few times and it help getting rid of the burns.

Matter of fact, you can even do it anywhere in a 'normal' ride. You ride easy to moderate tempo, and following your feelings you accelerate, go harder long enough to have fun, experiment maybe a short burn, then you relax. After few rides doing that, given that you rest enough between the rides, it won't burn as much anymore.

 

[WarrenG]

To say it in a slightly different way, in a more relaxed muscle the blood can flow more freely. In this way the oxygen can get where it needs to go and the waste products produced by the muscle can leave.

 

[park]

I've been told by several masters racers that they don't feel the burn in their legs like they used to. These are guys who can still TT at 26, 27 or even 28 mph for a 40k and these are guys that have been doing intervals for decades. Check out this link: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/04/19_lactate.shtml

 

[RickF]

it really does not seem to matter what i do or how far into the ride i am. i start out spinning at a good cadance for awhile which could be a couple of miles depending on the route i take. if i stand it will burn almost right away. i see the guys on tv stand and pedal for a long time adn when i try to do that man it burns.

Since you have already had a coronary artery bypass, I would assume your other vascular beds are not what they should be, either. You should be able to find an effort level below which you do not experience this burn. Try to find that level, and see if you can stay at that level for longer and longer periods of time. When you get to the point where you can ride for an hour comfortably, then gradually try to increase the speed. You may be limited by the circulation in your legs. As you ride more, your limit (i.e., the effort you can put forth before you experience pain) should improve, but going beyond the pain at this point is counterproductive.