sore(cramped) leg?!

[t21]

went skiboarding last sunday at Crystal mountain and did a lot black diamond runs plus did one big mogul run like i've never seen before. i ride the 120 and it was a tough thing to manuever thru there. It was a blast but it was a lot of work getting down to the chairlift station. my legs were toast! but the problem started when i had to go down this steep icy trail to get to another station. as i was transversing,carving thru those icy steeps, it seems that my left leg places more pressure/force to keep the edge holding on the icy spot on the steep so i would not slide out(is it because i'm a lefty and it is my dominant side?) as soon as i got down my thigh just cramped on me and i just laid down in the middle of the run, at least i was able to remove my board off my foot so i can actually rest my leg straight. now my right leg is fine, not sore or anything. what am i doing wrong here and what can i do to not let that happen again? appreciate any helpful remedy.:( thanks guys/gals:)

[jjue]

Hi T21 , sounds like you got a serious case of thigh burn ...
this comes from doing a lot of work with your thigh muscles pressuring the board to get an edge .. with skiboards on steep icy slopes often it becomes necessary to pressure the downhill leg more then the uphill leg , especially if you are doing a lot of traverses across steep slopes , also if you come to a stop on a steep icy slope and are trying to rest , you will still be pressuring that downhill leg and causing alot of stress on it . maybe you were going on right traverses alot and thus pressuring the lower left leg .. shouldn't matter which is your dominant leg because if you are going left then it would be your right leg that would burn . Probably some of the young guys and gals around here don't notice this thing at all , but for an ancient guy like me I have to be very careful or my thighs will do exactly like you say and I will surely head to the bar ! Here are a few tricks ... If you can try carving with more equal weight on both legs rather than just on the downhill leg , this may or may not be possible depending on the skiboard and the steepness and degree of ice on the slope but if you can get more weight on both legs rather than on just the downhill leg this helps thigh burn ,
try to make alot of turns downhill rather than doing a lot of traversing across steep slopes if at all possible , you want to even out the stress on both thighs so turning alot helps to even things out as usually the down hill leg bears more stress , also concentrate on spending equal time and carving equally hard going right and going left , if you do have a dominant side sometimes one tends to carve harder on that leg causing more strain on that leg , look for flattish spots to stop and rest ! try not to stop on a steep side hill where you need to pressure your lower leg to keep you on the side hill .. most hills have some sort of flattish area in the middle or side of the hill where I can rest and take the strain off my legs... rather than doing hockey stop type turns to bleed off speed , try making a lot of smoother edge to edge turns to bleed off speed this is less work on the legs.. finally , I hate to mention my secret weapon for aging skiboarders ... I have a pair of three section collapsible poles , that I carry in my pack and call my "crutches " and if all else fails and your legs are toast , pull those " crutches " out ... It does wonders for you to be able to stop and rest on a steep slope if you have your crutches out and use the poles to rest on and take the strain off your legs .. also when faced with negotiating alot of moguls , I will often take my " crutches" out as it helps me to plant my poles and unweight my skiboards around the moguls and makes mogul riding easier especially on the longboard skiboards . Some of these moguls are getting pretty tight now with folks having shorter and shorter skis .. and although I don't have any problems negotiating through them on my 110's .. my Sherpa 130 for example can be a bit of a challenge energy wise without poles. Hope that helps ... maybe some other folks around here will share their secrets. and PLEASE don't any of you young folks say you NEVER have this problem .. this will make me feel REALLY BAD !!!! And Valmorel , PLEASE DO NOT , tell everyone you are older then me and NEVER use poles .. that will make me feel EVEN WORSE !!!!!

PS. this does not only happen skiboarding .. I am in to mountain biking and a couple of summers ago , my buddy couldn't stop laughing as I suddenly stopped in the middle of a long epic ride and told him my legs were cramping , and couldn't ride , I promptly jumped off my bike , screaming , and fell to the ground with a bad case of cramps in both my thighs and told him I couldnt stand up . The damn guy couldn't stop laughing !!!!!

[slow]

Thanks Jack. I too needed the advice.

Also, do not forget to be well hydrated (water, Gatoraid, or Poweraid) before going out and keep yourself hydrated through the day. (Beer does not help here.)

When I want that to make the last run of the day and I am exhausted, an energy drink helps.

[Greco]

i'd lust like to mention boots can be the cause of tremendous thigh pain. i've told this story before but it was such an eye opener for me i think it bares repeating. the first time i rode in utah on the very first day, first run i was having such a hard time getting down the hill i thought something was wrong with me. i couldn't figure out why my legs were burning and i had to keep stopping. i could barely make it down the 2nd and 3rd runs. it turns out my boots have a forward lean lock mode i didn't know about. once i put them back into the mode where the cuff is free to move all the way back i didn't have an ounce of problems. moral of the story, boots can cause big problems for skiboarders. oh and now i use this (http://bomberonline.com/store/boots/BTS_kit.cfm) so i never had to worry about that again.

g

[eldiablodenieve]

Originally posted by Greco
i'd lust like to mention boots can be the cause of tremendous thigh pain. i've told this story before but it was such an eye opener for me i think it bares repeating. the first time i rode in utah on the very first day, first run i was having such a hard time getting down the hill i thought something was wrong with me. i couldn't figure out why my legs were burning and i had to keep stopping. i could barely make it down the 2nd and 3rd runs. it turns out my boots have a forward lean lock mode i didn't know about. once i put them back into the mode where the cuff is free to move all the way back i didn't have an ounce of problems. moral of the story, boots can cause big problems for skiboarders. oh and now i use this (http://bomberonline.com/store/boots/BTS_kit.cfm) so i never had to worry about that again.

g

That BTS looks interesting but does it get in the way of your bindings at all? From the pic it looks like it is on the back din insert.

[Greco]

no it's actually not on that part it's above it. no conflicts whatsoever. here is a good pic that shows where it mounts. the stock system is on this boot and the bts just replaces it.

g


http://www.bomberonline.com/store/images/photos_products/track_700_t_800.jpg

[eldiablodenieve]

Ah much clearer, but you do need a boot that already has some sort of flex or spring system in place.

[DennisEvans]

What is the price tag on those things? They look bitch'n

[Kirk S]

535 check the link in g's post then go to boots

[Abearonskis]

Originally posted by t21
went skiboarding last sunday at Crystal mountain and did a lot black diamond runs plus did one big mogul run like i've never seen before. i ride the 120 and it was a tough thing to manuever thru there. It was a blast but it was a lot of work getting down to the chairlift station. my legs were toast! but the problem started when i had to go down this steep icy trail to get to another station. as i was transversing,carving thru those icy steeps, it seems that my left leg places more pressure/force to keep the edge holding on the icy spot on the steep so i would not slide out(is it because i'm a lefty and it is my dominant side?) as soon as i got down my thigh just cramped on me and i just laid down in the middle of the run, at least i was able to remove my board off my foot so i can actually rest my leg straight. now my right leg is fine, not sore or anything. what am i doing wrong here and what can i do to not let that happen again? appreciate any helpful remedy.:( thanks guys/gals:)

Drink more water, usually if you get cramps that means lactic acid is building up in your muscles. Drinking more water would lower the lactic acid build up.

Also when you said you had to keep your leg in a position its not in to handle the icy slopes, you are probably either over working muscles or using select parts of your muscle that isn't used too often. That leads to lactic acid build up and cramps.

[skierbrent5530]

Originally posted by Abearonskis
Drink more water, usually if you get cramps that means lactic acid is building up in your muscles. Drinking more water would lower the lactic acid build up.

Also when you said you had to keep your leg in a position its not in to handle the icy slopes, you are probably either over working muscles or using select parts of your muscle that isn't used too often. That leads to lactic acid build up and cramps. also u could eat bananas they help me alot when i get cramps water helps too

[t21]

thanks for the replies fellow skiboarders. i do need to drink more water and eat bananas:D not drinking much water is a bad habit i got from while i'm playing sports. i'd normally would not drink much but sips only so i could play for a while longer. while i skiboard,i normally would not drink water until i take a break a few hours later. although i have been skiboarding for a while, that was the worst pain i ever felt in regards to soreness. when i traverse on icy steeps,i would normally turn to my right more and hold there until i have to turn left. i do so because i tend to (when challenge) stay that way until i gather myself and then turn. i also turn to my right more when i need to slow down on those real steep and icy trails. when i try to turn smoothly left and right i gain more speed and i'll tell myself to slow down by going right:confused: i know its weird but thats how i do it. i guess i should change it so i would not get my left thigh cramping again. that BTS that G mentioned would be nice to have though it would not work with my boots.:) honestly, i think the moguls that i went through started my soreness on my legs. those moguls were big and deep. the grooves were narrow/deep but its was like a launching pad.it shoots(speedwise) me up and the next one is the same.so manuevering thru them was tough! i do not have much technique on moguls but i tried and i find myself on my ass a lot:D and there was one good short break(no moguls) until i went thru a ramp like groove that launch me up at least 5 feet high! and yup, on my butt again, and then more moguls.. i was beat after that. the challenge that got me cramping was when i descended from that real steep icy trail. i guess between the moguls and the steep icy run just over worked my legs especially my left. thanks again for the advices. you guys rock!:cool:

[mahatma]

t21,

I'm also new to skiboarding. A few weeks ago a skier helped me with a solid technique that works in the steeps and is especially useful when the terrain is choppy or covered with spread out moguls. I should add that being new is not always a bad thing - the gal that showed me this technique was very easy to look at both when talking and when watching her demonstrate. The combination of which caused me to become something of a slow learner for awhile. I don't know what it is called but the technique is this:

Keep your upper body pointing down slope and swivel at the hips left-right-left-right sort of doing a modest hockey stop with each swivel. It is very easy to pick up on and really helps. In my case I would eventually (sometimes after 3 little swivels) freak out and carve to a stop, catch my breath, carve back over to the center, grab my stones and point back down slope. Again, it works and helps break up the endless thigh torture of traversing back and forth with the added advantage of be an effective technique when the groom is less than groomed. Give it a try

[Mark]

I've also heard a bannana a day will help with leg cramps. maybe its the potassium

[mctwist311]

thats exactly what it is mark nascar drivers eat bananas all the time for that reason the potasium prevents cramping.... a good stretch prior to riding also helps....

[t21]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mahatma
[B]t21,the gal that showed me this technique was very easy to look at both when talking and when watching her demonstrate.

hey mahatma, did you mean that she is HOT!! to look at :D anyway, i'll sure try that technique, thank you. Mark and mctwist311 thanks for the banana inputs, i am eating more now :) and i guess my stretching begins when i start walking up to the ticket booth and the base area:D thanks guys!

[MindLink]

To be honest, don't stretch before skiboarding, rather warm your body up, do a few squats, run around a little (before putting on your boots ;-) ) and stuff... Stretching actually weakens the muscles and doesn't really help preventing injuries (contrary to popular belief), while warming up properly does.


A study constructed by Nelson et al. set out to find the correlation between pre-exercise static stretching and its effects on muscle strength endurance. Two experiments were designed to find the initial links between pre-exercise stretching and muscle endurance.

Results of the study found both stretching experiments to reduce effectiveness of muscle strength endurance by up to thirty percent. They suggest that pre-exercise stretching induces a fatigue-like state in muscles which would clearly inhibit performance if the muscle is not at full potential.