aching quadriceps

[davidardill]

I have developed an aching in my quads during exercise that doesnt seem to be going away. i did some quad-specific exercises about 3 weeks ago that left them aching severely. i go to the gym about 3 times a week and play badminton regularly, but i did a 5k road race last night and my quads were throbbing after just 1k. is there anything i can do to treat this?

[Impret-Sir]

It sounds to me as if you simply need to rest them. If your "quad specific" exercises were a new thing, and maybe you didnt warm your quads up properly before hand, you will have given them quite a severe work out. After that, you havent really given them a chance to recover, your other workouts plus badminton and running will all combine to simply prolong the recovery period. Muscles take longer to recover than many people think, it can literally take weeks of rest if a muscle has been unexpectedly worked harder than it is used to. You need to introduce added stress on a muscle group slowly, over a couple of workouts, with plenty of warm up and cool down sessions too. I fear that if you continue with your present routine, your quads will take ages to recover. Also, three workouts a week, plus regular badminton, plus running, comes close to many trainers definition of overtraining. Assuming you work full time too, and run a house etc, you have not worked in enough rest periods to actually get the benifit from your training, and you risk damaging the systems you are seeking to promote.

[nedflanders]

go to ruunersworld website or pponline.  If you do that amount of exercise you should be able to do a 10k without any pain.  What do you do at the gym ? weights, cv or a mixture?  the best training for running is running.  sounds like you need to rest your legs and then start again slowly building up.

[davidardill]

i tend to play badminton for about an hour and a quarter, then go into the gym to do about 30 mins CV then 20mins or so weights. i do intersperse those sessions with pure CV ones too though - I have been competing in triathlons (up until June) so try to keep my CV fitness up. It was just a litlw worrying that i was getting fatigue in my quads so easily with relatively little exercise, for example they felt tired after running up a short flight of stairs at work.

[nedflanders]

Well if you are doing triathlons you must have a good cv system.  Sounds like you may have strained your quads by overworking them.  I would see a physio or get a sports massage.

[davidardill]

yeah thats the road i'm going to go down i think, i have a friend who is a personal trainer and she is putting me in touch with a physio to sort out a massage. thanks for the advice!

[Emmett]

Are you stretching your quads?

Stand upright and bring your heel up into your buttock with the help of your hand, keep your pelvis straight and your body upright, hold that position for up to thirty seconds. Do this before and after your excercise, this may hurt if you have a strain but you should begin to feel better within days.

[nedflanders]

dont hold a stretch for too long your muscles have an automatic defense system that kicks in whilst stretching after that you dont gain anything from it!  see this from my fave running site:

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=484

[davidardill]

i do tend to go through the whole range of stretches before i do any exercise, especially running, and have had the quad stretch (ie pulling the heel up to the bum) drummed into me since i started playing football at the age of 7 so it's sort of second nature although i guess good form for stretches is also important.

although the instance of the 5k run was when it gave me most discomfort, it is more the fatigue and aching i feel when doing everyday activities like going up stairs or walking into town (2 min walks) that cause concern, when it is not really necessary to do stretches first.