Very bad quad cramps

[ylnad123]

If I do fast workouts on the row machine, when I get off I fall to the floor in pain. My upper quads cramp all the way through my knees. It is about 15 minutes of pure pain and then it goes away. It doesn't happen if I do longer rows that are more consistent, the other day I did a 5K at 10min and no pain. But today I did 6 500's at about 1:45 each and the pain was unbearable when I walked off. I was on the floor rolling around trying to make it stop.

Anyone have any suggestions on what could be wrong?

[hjs]

If I do fast workouts on the row machine, when I get off I fall to the floor in pain. My upper quads cramp all the way through my knees. It is about 15 minutes of pure pain and then it goes away. It doesn't happen if I do longer rows that are more consistent, the other day I did a 5K at 10min and no pain. But today I did 6 500's at about 1:45 each and the pain was unbearable when I walked off. I was on the floor rolling around trying to make it stop.

Anyone have any suggestions on what could be wrong?

There is nothing wrong, if you really dig deep this can happen.


5k at 10 min ?? I don,t what this mean, but you can,t row 5k in 10 min, superman can,t

Longer at a slower pace use an other energypath, so this will feel differently.


What can help is getting a better aerobic base and overall fitness. 1.45 pace for a 500 meter is ok but nothing special. How old and tall are you?

[ylnad123]

Sorry I meant 20 min.


I am 5'10 age 30. 1.45 for all 6 is probably the best I could do right now. I could go faster for 1 for sure, but I couldn't keep that up for 6. But yes anytime I start dipping under 1.45 pace for at least a minute I will walk off the machine in utter pain. It has been going on for about 6 months now.

We have monthly competitions at the gym so I have just been doing the tests and then I roll around in pain for 15min or so. But it is really starting to get unbearable, yesterdays 6 500's which is a short workout, hurt more than anything before.

[hjs]

Sorry I meant 20 min.


I am 5'10 age 30. 1.45 for all 6 is probably the best I could do right now. I could go faster for 1 for sure, but I couldn't keep that up for 6. But yes anytime I start dipping under 1.45 pace for at least a minute I will walk off the machine in utter pain. It has been going on for about 6 months now.

We have monthly competitions at the gym so I have just been doing the tests and then I roll around in pain for 15min or so. But it is really starting to get unbearable, yesterdays 6 500's which is a short workout, hurt more than anything before.

Maybe you have musclepain to start with and if you only row every now and then you won,t improve much if at all. At your age you shoule be able to improve.

[chgoss]

Have you been in any kind of competitive sport prior to this?
Guess I'm wondering if this is just "normal" pain from a really hard piece, or if there is something abnormal going on..

Do you mean cramp as in "muscles are screaming" or cramp as in "a lot of involintary painful muscle contractions"? What is your heart rate at when you are doing short intervals? Can you have a conversation with someone immediately upon finishing, or are you breathing so hard talking is out of the question?

[ylnad123]

If I were not in pain I could have a conversation with someone probably about 30 seconds to a minute after I get off the machine.

I used to run a lot and play a lot of basketball, but no matter how many sprints I would use to do or how hard I played I would never be in pain right after.

I think it is more of a scream then a contraction, it just really burns. It is a pain I have never felt before doing anything else. And if it lasted 2-5 minutes I would deal with it, but 15 minutes of this much pain is getting hard to handle.

When I first started feeling the pain months ago I thought it was my knees, but now I am noticing it starts up in my quads and then goes through my knees. I have ran and done weight workouts right after the pain has gone away and I would be fine. I have never felt the pain the day after or during any other exercise. But the pain is there every single time I go hard on the row machine.

[chgoss]

remember, I am not a Doctor!! All my advice is based on my experience only..

If I were not in pain I could have a conversation with someone probably about 30 seconds to a minute after I get off the machine.

This tells me that you arent engaging in a level of effort that would reasonably produce this kind of pain. After I do intervals like that, I am battling to keep my lunch down and any kind of communication is impossible for 3-4 minutes at least.. to my mind, this is bad sign #1

I used to run a lot and play a lot of basketball, but no matter how many sprints I would use to do or how hard I played I would never be in pain right after.

So you're used to working hard, and this isnt a case of the first time you've pushed yourself. bad sign #2

I think it is more of a scream then a contraction, it just really burns. It is a pain I have never felt before doing anything else. And if it lasted 2-5 minutes I would deal with it, but 15 minutes of this much pain is getting hard to handle.
.

Cramps are easier to deal with, beef up on the electrolytes, potasium, that kind of thing.. This sounds like you're getting really serious lactic acid build up. bad sign #3

When I first started feeling the pain months ago I thought it was my knees, but now I am noticing it starts up in my quads and then goes through my knees. I have ran and done weight workouts right after the pain has gone away and I would be fine. I have never felt the pain the day after or during any other exercise. But the pain is there every single time I go hard on the row machine.

I think you're getting really bad blood flow to your legs when you're on the erg. That's what's causing the lactic acid build up. The good news is that you dont see it when you do other sports, so it isnt a chronic condition.. its perhaps correctable on the erg..

my recommendations:
- post a video of you erging, make sure your posture and form is correct, this could have a much bigger impact than you think, and you're probably not getting exposed to good technique at the gym
- get a really good seat pad, your butt may not hurt, but it's possible you're getting compression on something you dont realize. check out yak pads.
- make sure you're breathing properly, erging is a wierd sport wrt breathing.. the compression of the body and the cadence makes it hard to get a good rhythm going.
- during the interval rest periods, get off the erg and walk around try to flush the lactic acid out..

HTH
-chad

[ylnad123]

Thanks for all your help! Here is a video of me doing a 4min test, I am pretty sure I was at a steady 1:45-1:48 pace through the whole video. This video was taken during the first minute or minute and a half of the test. I ended up only finishing with 1135 meters. I was pain free all through the 4min until I got up and started walking around. At that point I was on the ground in pure pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B259K7rHI_0

[bloomp]

For not having been coached before, your technique is admirable. One thing that definitely relates to the discomfort your face is how far back you sit on your seat. At the angle your legs and torso make with where you sit, you're probably cutting off some circulation to your legs. Try sitting on the front 2 inches of the seat instead.

Other than that, do some stretches that work on your groin and butt. Butterflies, sitting indian style with one ankle on the opposite knee and the other ankle crossing over (trying to find a graphic but I can't)... Anything to loosen up that area can potentially help.

But first, just sit on the front of your seat.

[chgoss]

What paul said about technique, and stretching.. also be sure to walk around during the interval rest periods. Although not being in pain until after you finish and get up is wierd.. dont know what to say about that..

Man, you have one long set of legs (at least it looks like that from the vid).. what's your inseam?

[hjs]

Thanks for all your help! Here is a video of me doing a 4min test, I am pretty sure I was at a steady 1:45-1:48 pace through the whole video. This video was taken during the first minute or minute and a half of the test. I ended up only finishing with 1135 meters. I was pain free all through the 4min until I got up and started walking around. At that point I was on the ground in pure pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B259K7rHI_0

I still can,t think Of any simple reason for your problem, looking at this vid (You should sit taller at the catch, you slouch now) and the effort you seem to do, certainly not max, this should not give you pain. It can be something with you bloodflow in the legs, maybe you have a bended arterie that can,t get enough blood through in the sitting position. Maybe you should see a docter.........

[ylnad123]

Just did another 4min test the other day and improved my distance to 1175. I was in pain afterwords but nowhere near as bad as what it was a couple weeks ago. I changed shoes and sat further up on the seat, but it could just be that my legs need to get used to rowing at higher speeds.

Thanks for all your help, hopefully the pain will keep going down if not I will just go see a doctor.

[H2O]

Why not try this: don't get up from the erg after a fast piece, rather continue with 10 mins of slow pace.