Aching legs the day after

[Jenn]

My quads are killing me after a hard day of skiing yesterday. I take the rail on the stairs and work at not groaning when I sit down - not a pretty sight. DH is glad to have something to tease me about, but he's the only one really enjoying the after effects.

Is there something (other than better fitness) that I can do to minimize this? I've heard eating bananas, drinking more water through the day (I'm bad for that 'cause I don't want to have to go in to pee) and stretching before skiing (I do) will help. Any suggestions?

 

[Jilly]

Stretching after and/or hot tub.

I was aching after a spin class on Wednesday night. Like you, I had a hard time getting up from my desk. We skied Friday so that helped, but even this morning there was that ache that reminded me that I had done something different.

Also Ibuprofen, with a little wine helps.

 

[vanhoskier]

Also Ibuprofen, with a little wine helps.

I like this!

 

[Skisailor]

Jilly: I love the wine suggestion. <wink>

I suffered with this (DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness - google it) for a long time with skiing. I kept berrating myself for not being in good enough shape and I tried everything in the off season. Then I tried eating and drinking differently while skiing, recovery drinks, etc. etc.

Nothing worked.


Then . .. . I got new boots. Duh . . . Problem solved.

Make sure you consider this as a potential part of the problem. For me, turns out my old Nordica boots had alot of forward lean (and were soft) and they just put so much strain on my quads and knees!

Now I'm in a much better and stiffer boot that keeps me in a better "stacked" position and my quad fatique has virtually disappeared.

Not to say that good conditioning isn't important. But do check out your boots with a good bootfitter and explain the problem!

 

[newskier378]

I had a terrible problem with leg muscle pain up until this year and while my legs aren't perfect, I found out a lot of it had to do with hydration.
When I drink enough and I make sure I have enough electrolytes in my system, my legs are in a lot less pain. I understand you reasoning for not wanting to drink that much, but give drinking a lot of water/Gatorade a try one day, maybe it will help.
Disclaimer: I'm pretty much chronically dehydrated, I honestly don't like to drink water that much so I usually don't bother , but for me it makes a HUGE difference so i suffer through when i ski haha (and I'm trying to be better at other times too)

 

[B.E.G.]

Is it the top/front of your quads? I know if you're in the backseat you can get quad burn... until I got my boots straightened out and my stance fixed, I definitely had achy legs the day after. Now I feel great actually despite two days of skiing (and I'm hoping to go again tomorrow!). I would have your boots checked and your stance checked.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Any major ski day is going to affect the quads. It's a multi-possibility deal here.
1. Fitness
2. Type of snow
3. Stance in your boots
4. Pre/post routine

Recommend light warm-up pre-ski, not actual stretching. Save the good, deep stretches for when you're done, but do stretch all major leg muscles asap then. I find walking (once boots are off!) really minimizes this, just an easy, light walk is enough.

Like Skisailor, I have had DOMS as well - not sore the next day but the day after that!

Good pre-ski warm up routine got posted here some time ago. I will hunt it up and post it, like it very much, was put up by a member, who created it.

 

[Jenn]

Thanks ladies for all your suggestions!

I WILL get someone to check my stance - I soooooo hope I'm not in the back seat. I often get compliments from strangers about my skiing, but of course that doesn't mean I'm not messing up somehow or working harder than I need to.

The boots, now that is something I hadn't thought of... I've got a pair of Dalbello SZ6 - they fit and I could afford them so they moved in I rented for several years after my beloved Technicas died. The Techs were a fairly soft boot, but fit like a glove. Talking to the rental guys they suggested a stiffer boot would be a happier ski, and these Dals seem stiff enough for me. There's a dial on the back for soft ski, walk, and hard ski. I have them set for soft, but maybe I'll try a change.

Something I've never thought of is a post-stretch - usually I hop in the car and drive to the wine I'll try your suggestions and look forward to hearing more!

 

[altagirl]

Any major ski day is going to affect the quads. It's a multi-possibility deal here.
1. Fitness
2. Type of snow
3. Stance in your boots
4. Pre/post routine

Recommend light warm-up pre-ski, not actual stretching. Save the good, deep stretches for when you're done, but do stretch all major leg muscles asap then. I find walking (once boots are off!) really minimizes this, just an easy, light walk is enough.

Ditto - warm up, DON'T stretch before skiing. There are a number of mobility exercises you can do to warm up that don't involve static stretching. Stretching actually causes micro-tears to your muscles that, while beneficial overall, will temporarily reduce the strength in those muscles. That's not what you need before skiing - you just need to get your body prepared for activity.

Here's an example of a warmup routine - obviously you can modify this to just things you can do standing up in ski boots, etc. Even doing a few of those things will help get you warmed up.

https://www.bikejames.com/mobility-training/warm-up-drill-for-a-workout-or-mountain-biking/


Stretching afterwards will help get the lactic acid out though, so that's the time to do it.

 

[Christy]

I always feel like I am WAY too sore in the days after skiing than I should be. Since it doesn't happen when I, say, go on a long bike ride, I've always wondered what the deal was. Based on comments here it could be the lack of water--I too don't want to drink too much and have to go in to pee. I also probably don't stretch enough after.

I think with me there is also too much tension in my muscles, and I'm not as efficient with my body movements as I could be. It just takes a little bit of poor skiing, with me, to really make a difference in how I feel the next day. Hopefully these things will improve as I do.

 

[bluebird]

Awesome Alta Girl! Just FBed it so I can do it tomorrow.

 

[Little Lightning]

I had a terrible problem with leg muscle pain up until this year and while my legs aren't perfect, I found out a lot of it had to do with hydration.
When I drink enough and I make sure I have enough electrolytes in my system, my legs are in a lot less pain. I understand you reasoning for not wanting to drink that much, but give drinking a lot of water/Gatorade a try one day, maybe it will help.
Disclaimer: I'm pretty much chronically dehydrated, I honestly don't like to drink water that much so I usually don't bother , but for me it makes a HUGE difference so i suffer through when i ski haha (and I'm trying to be better at other times too)

Don't ignore your hydration. Thurs. my SO went to Copper's clinic with severe back pain. It came on suddenly, heart attack was ruled out but he was shipped off to Summit Medical anyway. Diagnosis, Kidney Stone. For 24 hrs he was in a lot of pain until it passed. Dehydration is a major cause. He doesn't drink a lot of water and is usually dehydrated.

Also, on these warm, sunny ski days I tend to wear out early. I'm sure slight dehydration has a lot to do with it.

 

[SkiBam]

I'll second a lot of what's been said. But I think stance plays a huge role. If my quads start burning while I'm skiing, I think more about pulling my feet back under me as I go into each turn and can actually feel (I'd almost call it) relaxation (for a brief moment) of the quads.

I'm just back from Utah where we skied six days straight - some powder and lots of nice spring bumps. Yoga stretches when I got back to the hotel room helped a lot, but really my legs were fine – and I could have skied more days. (And believe me, I'm no youngster!)

 

[deannatoby]

When I was (formerly) a heavy-duty runner, I would always stretch deeply after running, mostly because it was calming, felt great, and I was "supposed to" do it. A few times I had to skip stretching after my run, and my legs were so sore the next day I couldn't stand it. Turns out lactic acid builds up in your muscles during exertion, and stretching helps distribute that lactic acid out (hope I remembering this correctly). Don't stretch cold muscles, hence the above advice not to stretch BEFORE you run, as it can actually do damage. Don't stretch till your muscles are warmed up. . After you're done and your muscles are tired, used up, and warmed up, then put in some serious stretching. It will feel GREAT, and I'll bet it helps with the soreness.

 

[litterbug]

Then . .. . I got new boots. Duh . . . Problem solved.

Make sure you consider this as a potential part of the problem. For me, turns out my old Nordica boots had alot of forward lean (and were soft) and they just put so much strain on my quads and knees!

Now I'm in a much better and stiffer boot that keeps me in a better "stacked" position and my quad fatique has virtually disappeared.

Thanks for the tip! I never thought about the boot’s forward lean as a possible cause for my sore knees and quads; they feel better since I got out of the back seat but they still get sore after 3-4 hours, though my quads hurt in a slightly different area than they before. The cuffs of my boots are set up to lean as far forward as they go (the amount of lean is adjustable), and though they boots are flex rated as 90, I’m not convinced they’re stiff enough, even when I crank on the power strap. Also, when I got on the stance-measuring platform and leaned forward so Wally could check my alignment, I couldn’t really rest on the tongues because my knees bumped into the very low bar across the front of the platform, and I had to almost lean my upper body back to keep my chest from pressing against the top bar. I’ll point that out to him, too; if that’s not supposed to happen even for a shortie, it would also be a sign of a soft boot or too much forward lean, right?

I have to go back to my Wally anyways because while the last set of adjustments help my skiing a lot, I’m getting some pinching in my forefoot. That’ll be after I ski another area this week, so if the quad & knee pain is still there I’ll tell him what I’m feeling and see what he thinks.

 

[Anna]

yup - HYRDRATION! but also, thank you to skisailor!

Wow! Revelation!
The first times I ever went skiing I could not walk properly afterwards.
We went for 2 Weekends... it as always on the Monday to Thursday AFTER skiing that I could not walk and everyone was laughing at me. I thought (until now) that it was just my muscles not being used to the sport......But, considering the ABSOLUTE lack of pain i had throughout the past season in comparison to those first weekends ... I really to believe that for me, it was the boots! (back then I was super fit, super strong - but now I am a mass of wobble compared to then!)

WOW! thanks again skisailor and again i say that my bootfitters are brilliant!

 

[LilaBear]

Anything to do with Spring Skiing?

I've been skiing nearly every day for the past 3 months. But this week my thighs hurt.

Then I found out that all my ski buddies had sore legs. The snow continues to fall, but the temps are higher so the snow is heavier and much stickier. We are working harder, and making far more fore/aft balance changes.

We got long powder lines on the first run today and all of us arrived at the lift saying that perhaps we only had 3 runs in us (on closing day????). Luckily it passed or we persevered.

 

[pinto]

Anything to do with Spring Skiing?

I've been skiing nearly every day for the past 3 months. But this week my thighs hurt.

Then I found out that all my ski buddies had sore legs. The snow continues to fall, but the temps are higher so the snow is heavier and much stickier. We are working harder, and making far more fore/aft balance changes.

Yeah, skiing mank is quite a bit harder on the legs. You cannot relax, ever.