ok, need help... BAD. i'm clueless.

After almost a week off of exercise, i tried to go for a 3 mile jog outside. nothing too strenuous.
then 1 minute into it, my quads started tightening up, then they decided to lock up and fail.
i started walking, then my calves went too.

WHAT DO I DO TO FIX THIS???



Background info:
+ i was sick for the past 5 days, and stopped running, biking, and lifting
+ before getting sick, i was running 4 miles per day, biking 20 miles per day. i also did a leg day once a week lifting.
+ i was eating alot of carbs the week before getting sick, but then after i got sick, i toned it down to a low carb diet due to inactivity.

There is a very easy fix for this.

Rest for a week.

Don't do any exercise for a week. Give your body some time to recover.

When was the last time you had more than two days off exercise in a row?
I'd say you are overtrained.

Stop moving for a week, watch what you eat and be back with full strength. I've been there. I was scared to stop. But man did it make me good...

but i already took 5 days off? you're saying i should take another 7 days off?
can i still lift?

but i already took 5 days off? you're saying i should take another 7 days off?
can i still lift?



You didn't take 5 days off. You were sick. Your body was under stress.

You need a week for your body to get the strength back. I'd say don't lift. When was the last time you took a week off lifting (appart from sickness). A week every three-four months wont harm. Quite the opposite.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

You didn't take 5 days off. You were sick. Your body was under stress.

You need a week for your body to get the strength back. I'd say don't lift. When was the last time you took a week off lifting (appart from sickness). A week every three-four months wont harm. Quite the opposite.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

yup he is tottaly right, do you not have a week off from training every few months, its a nice break for your body and as long as you eat clean you can hit the gym feeling better than ever, plus its a great break from routine, and at the end of the week you really wanna hit the gym.

sigh...

ok... so next monday i start running/biking again.
just going these past 5 days without both was complete agony - almost like a crackhead going into rehab.

would it still be ok if i lifted everything else?
chest/arms/etc, and simply avoided the legs?

sigh...

ok... so next monday i start running/biking again.
just going these past 5 days without both was complete agony - almost like a crackhead going into rehab.

would it still be ok if i lifted everything else?
chest/arms/etc, and simply avoided the legs?

I you just feel you NEED TO, then lift. But I think everybody should be able to enjoy a week off training once in a while. If you have any issue with that think that the rest will make you more good than bad. It doesn't have to be an agony. Enjoy your extra time. Read some good books.

I say all that from my point of view, but it well might be that you keep running/biking/lifting and you are OK within a few days.

But I doubt it.

i'll seriously die if i do nothing for 1 week.
like, it wont even be good rest becasue i'd be SOOO stressed from not excersizing.

no leg activity until next monday.
i wont be behind in the marathon training because of my running consistancy the past 3 months.

i dunno guys... i'm really worried about this. i mean - i just got done taking 5 days off running.
that should have rested my legs, even if i WAS sick. GOSH.

Are you drinking a lot? Also, how low is low carb diet? Is that low carb like 200 grams low carb or like 20? I think I'm not alone in thinking that the severe low-carb diets are mostly junk.

i'll admit - saturday and sunday - the entire day, all i ate was eggwhites and almonds.
so whatever fiber is in almonds - that's the carbs i had.
that's it - for those two days.

yesterday it was pretty much the same, until i lifted, then i carb loaded with based on this program (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pierce34.htm)
from now on, i'm going to have at least 1 cup of veggies with every meal i eat.

but yeah... first thing i thought about when i got out there was... "is it because of the no-carb days??"

i drink a ton of water per day - i estimate 1.5-2 gal a day.

IMO low carb is junk if you're exercising a lot. I defy anybody to find an athlete doing a lot of activity on a super low-carb diet. I pretty much hate low carb for any reason. It can result in serious weight loss, but it's very tough on the mind and definitely difficult to do a lot of activity while doing it. I would not bother with it.

i'll seriously die if i do nothing for 1 week.
like, it wont even be good rest becasue i'd be SOOO stressed from not excersizing.



If you get stressed at the thought of not exercising for a week... That's not good., IMHO. You are gonna live on the order of 4500 weeks in your life.

heh... you know how it feels when you're having relationship troubles with a girlfriend/boyfriend?
that's how i'm feeling right now towards not excersizing for a week.
complete anxiety.

i've been doing carb cycling for quite a while now, so the lowcarb days havnt affected me whatsoever while running or biking. i dunno... so i'm almost thinking its not that? but i'm also not ruling out the possibility.

what IS muscle failure anyway?
is it when your muscles have no glycogen left in them?

I wouldn't be able to not exercise for more than a couple days let alone a week so I know how you feel there. To me it sounds like it's be more a product of your low-carb diet the previous few days before trying to run. I've been sick a couple times the last six months and I still managed to run 90% of those days. Part of my routine that I don't want to give up.

I think I could cut back on the lifting for a week without too much problem but I have way too much energy to not get some cardio in.

Aren't you and Cziffra in a challange together? Are you winning? Maybe he needs you to take a break. J/K ;)

i actually won, but didnt post pictures, put on fat, and now im probably BEHIND him progress-wise.
it's always fun to see two ultra-super-endomorphs going at it.
one cheat meal is an instant 20 lbs of fat.

it's like watching two turtles race a full marathon.

I can't really say what muscle failure is, as I've not looked into it much, but ask yourself how your body is possibly supplying its immediate energy if you are doing tons of cardio and have no carbs, meaning little to no glycogen available. It can't convert fat/muscle to a propellant very quickly, so you're left with no gas.

i'm going to up my daily carb intake.
veggies every meal, and then LOTS of potatoes after lifting.

i was also thinking - i had a really intense squat session last monday, PLUS continuous biking.
do you think my body finally decided to start building my quads during this 5day break, which is why this happened this morning?

...

Aren't you and Cziffra in a challange together? Are you winning? Maybe he needs you to take a break. J/K ;)


Yeah! And on top of my former advice, I'd like to add that a pound of chocolate with wipped cream, custard, all downed with the frothiest milkshake you could find, every hour, will do you more good than anything else you could try for that week.

If you extend that week into a couple of years, wow!! You'll have an outstanding recovery.

:D :D :D

Wh0, check out http://www.profitness.net.nz/newsletter_files/Newsletter%200407%20July%202004.htm

Especially, the article on "Atkins no friend to marathoners." I think for the amount of aerobic activity you do, you are consuming way too few carbs. That, coupled with the fact that you were sick (especially if you were vomiting a lot), means you seriously depleted your body's supply of fuel. When you say "my quads started tightening up, then they decided to lock up and fail," it sounds like muscle cramps to me, which can be caused by a potassium deficiency. If you are going to win the Tour de France, you are going to have to eat carbs!!! I agree with the other posts here. As difficult as it will be for you, you need to give your body some time to rest. And you need to consult a good nutrition guide for endurance athletes. An endurance coach I talked with before Ride the Rockies has us eating some type of carbohydrate every 20 - 30 minutes during the ride (we used Sharkies...check out http://www.sharkiesinc.com/index2.cfm). Any time I am riding more than about 25 miles, I use this carb protocol to keep from bonking (having no available blood sugar to allow you to continue to exercise). I know that you want to lose the last of the bodyfat, but coupling a low carb diet with endurance training will cause you to hold on to bodyfat, make you perform poorly, and ultimately make you prone to getting sick. My .02.

Wh0, check out http://www.profitness.net.nz/newsletter_files/Newsletter%200407%20July%202004.htm

Especially, the article on "Atkins no friend to marathoners." I think for the amount of aerobic activity you do, you are consuming way too few carbs. That, coupled with the fact that you were sick (especially if you were vomiting a lot), means you seriously depleted your body's supply of fuel. When you say "my quads started tightening up, then they decided to lock up and fail," it sounds like muscle cramps to me, which can be caused by a potassium deficiency. If you are going to win the Tour de France, you are going to have to eat carbs!!! I agree with the other posts here. As difficult as it will be for you, you need to give your body some time to rest. And you need to consult a good nutrition guide for endurance athletes. An endurance coach I talked with before Ride the Rockies has us eating some type of carbohydrate every 20 - 30 minutes during the ride (we used Sharkies...check out http://www.sharkiesinc.com/index2.cfm). Any time I am riding more than about 25 miles, I use this carb protocol to keep from bonking (having no available blood sugar to allow you to continue to exercise). I know that you want to lose the last of the bodyfat, but coupling a low carb diet with endurance training will cause you to hold on to bodyfat, make you perform poorly, and ultimately make you prone to getting sick. My .02.I've been on fairly low calories recently (for me, anyway, at 2100/day) and I had to change my calories around a bit so that I was having a big lunch of pasta (I fit it in with the 2100!). This is because as I've been running more and more my runs were just really sucking and I was finding that my weights were being dragged down too. I'm not even on a low-carb diet and really found that the lack of carbs were affecting me. I can't imagine being on a low-carb diet and doing lots of cardio. It would be killer!

wow. that was one hell of a "2 cents worth"
especially when i read this, and noticed my current conditions fit every one:

There are a number of factors that contribute to muscle cramps and spasms, the main ones being:
+ Poor flexibility and tight muscles;
+ Muscle fatigue and overuse;
+ Electrolyte and mineral depletion.
+ working or exercising in high heat and humidity,
+ use of alcohol, drugs and medication.

I'll read the rest of the articles now. thx again.

it just makes me wonder... i've been running on an almost 15% carb diet like forever now, and it never seemed to bother me until this time i got sick. this is why the medication point made me wonder, because they gave me some 'z' antibiotic stuff for my ear infection...

also, recently, i've really cut out alot of the sodium from my diet.
im sure i still get plenty though.

Personally, I've switched over to a low crab diet. No hardshells, no dungeoness, no alaskan king. A patty or a cake once in a while is ok. No problems so far... except for the occassional unpleasant mood.

Wh0, I think because you are young and in relatively good health, you have been able to workout and eat like you have. However, it seems that you have hit that proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Once your body gets seriously depleted like this, it can be kind of a death spiral. You recover a little, feel like you are doing better, push it hard to make up for the time that you took off, and you wind up worse than you were before. Take it slow, let your body recover, eat some carbs, and you will start to make gains again.

it's going to be soooooooo tough not to try it again tomorrow morning - but i'm going to give it some time.

i have so many contradicting thoughts in my head - here they are:
+ trip to LA july 2nd.
+ i've been doing so much cardio on a low carb diet, and it's never touched me. maybe you're right about the straw thing, but i think its odd that it happened after i started taking antibiotics/being sick?
+ i finally got my heartrate monitor uploading data to my PC. eager to play more.
+ i carb loaded like crazy last night, so i dont think it has anything to do with my glycogen levels. i've also been carb cycling - which isnt technically a low carb diet. every 4 days, i've been doing a refeeding day (until i started this (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kelly3.htm))
+ i lifted (shoulders/abs) last night - went fine. which is why it has something to do with the fact that i've ran/biked so many days in a row, and then all of a sudden STOPPED. maybe my body decided to start rebuilding those muscles, and was 1/2 way done with the process, and i tried to run this morning when they werent ready? (yes, i know nothing about muscles)

i'm going to try again in 3 days. i cant wait 7 days to see if things are good.
yes, it's an obsession - but its better this than gambling, alcohol, or women.

...sigh...