Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week

Nov 9, 05 15:54

Post #1 of 15 (2380 views)

Hey all,

I'm building my training back up and have had a couple of nights really poor sleep. I'm waking up at 3am and my legs are, for want of a better phrase, really 'twitchy', particularly in the quads. Done a couple of hard (for me anyway) rides and a 10k race this week.

I don't usually get this, and i'm just wondering if anyone else ever gets it, or what you think might be causing it.

Cheers,

J.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 9, 05 16:01

Post #2 of 15 (2370 views)

Twitchy as in muscle spasms? Or as in restless, feeling the need to move the legs a lot? Might want to google "restless legs syndrome". I have a very mild form of it, can be a little annoying sometimes.

/Petter

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 9, 05 16:04

Post #3 of 15 (2365 views)

Caffeine can be the culprit - at least it has produced similar symptoms for me if I have overdone it, esp. right before bedtime.

brother bonk

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 9, 05 16:32

Post #4 of 15 (2343 views)

probably due to Ca++ ions being released causing depolarization of the sarcomere which can cause your leg muscles to twitch.

I might have missed a step, it's been 10yrs since I have thought about depolarization of muscle fibers.

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [KPI] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 2:26

Post #5 of 15 (2288 views)

I don't think it's RLS. I very occasionally get it when I'm really tired and nodding off to sleep while trying to stay awake. This is just a twitchy restlessness in the quads.

Will read a bit more on RLS though. Thanks for the reference.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [brother bonk] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 2:27

Post #6 of 15 (2287 views)

Nope, not caffeine, I hardly ever drink anything with caffeine in it.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [desert dude] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 2:29

Post #7 of 15 (2284 views)

Thanks Brian, that really helps ;P

What would cause the calcium ions to be released?

It's not like this is a massively heavy week, I've certainly done more than this regularly in the past without this problem, but my quads are just a bit wierd right now. I think I'll take a couple of days off and see what happens.

Cheers,

J.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 6:47

Post #8 of 15 (2256 views)

I have had the same problem during a few weeks of very heavy training (for me, 15+ hours per week). Usually it is a sign of overtraining. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and lay awake tossing and turning for hours. And my legs would twitch.

Is a rest/recovery week a possibility? It might help things.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

PatchesMcHooley

Nov 10, 05 6:57

Post #9 of 15 (2245 views)

I don't sleep well the night after really hard workouts or races either -- don't have the twitching, but just general discomfort. I think I fare slightly better if I've done an ice bath afterwards, but, now that the weather is cool that is the last thing I want when I walk in the door...

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [uptown423] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 7:00

Post #10 of 15 (2239 views)

Perhaps it's just a sign I need a break. Next week will be a rest week as I leave Borneo to move back to London, so there will be a few days of not having access to a bike or pool and I won't want to run for long due to jetlag and the weather.

Thanks for the advice.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 7:11

Post #11 of 15 (2225 views)

I have trouble sleeping if I've been doing a high mileage week too - usually by the end my legs are so sore that I can't find a comfortable way to lay.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 9:51

Post #12 of 15 (2178 views)

One word:

Lunesta

It's the miracle recovery supplement. My wife has some, and I popped one the evening after a half IM. It usually takes me 2-3 nights before I sleep normally after a hard half IM. I woke up 9 hours later feeling like I had slept for a year. I have never felt so refreshed in all my life. Amazing stuff.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Freeflyer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 10:09

Post #13 of 15 (2171 views)

I used to twitch all the time in college. That was during the days of 60K-100K meters per week in the pool. If you are training hard enough then you will twitch. I need to get back to the days of twitching, then I will know I am ready to race. I had no problem sleeping, but I would just twitch the whole time and sleep right through it.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Flanagan] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 10:46

Post #14 of 15 (2141 views)

Oh man I used to twitch like that too swimming all those miles in college. When we would go to Florida on training trip for a week, we would all twitch so badly we'd wake each other up. I literally could jump off the bed!

Something good about all that though. In a sick, twisted sort of way.

Re: Poor sleep and 'twitchy' legs after a hard week [Flanagan] [ In reply to ]

Nov 10, 05 11:47

Post #15 of 15 (2115 views)

I agree about twitching while swimming in college. My coaches always explained it as a lactic acid build up in the muscles trying to be released, since muscles have to move to get rid of lactic acid. They always said if I twitched, I was not warming down enough at the end of practice. So they could be right or maybe they just always wanted me to warm down more.

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