# Supplement "Sports Legs" yay or nay vs pre-ride ritual



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Afternoon,

Does anyone here have any experience with the supplement "sports legs"? Suppose to pre-dose you with lactic in the blood to stave off lactic acid cramps. NOT a substitute for training obviously.

If so, whats the procedure for use that you all have had success with?

Lastly, at last weeks world cup at Snowshoe, I saw that almost everyone especially top riders would ride their rollers or trainers right up to the point of gate drop almost. Some would ride for almost 30 minutes it seemed. Is the reason to prime the legs so that are fresh out of the gate? If I do not have rollers, what can I do to jump start my legs for my race in a couple weeks? Ride around the pits or parking lot for a bit maybe?

Thank you so much.

Sid


----------



## acedeuce802 (Jun 30, 2017)

No experience with sports legs, but in my experience/research, any supplement is "icing on the cake" and as you said is no replacement for training, a proper diet, rest, etc. I wouldn't bother, especially being your first race.

Yeah just ride around at a slow pace for a little bit before the race. I usually spin for around 15-30 minutes, keeping heart rate low, say 120bpm. I finish the warm up spin about 10 minutes before the race.


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I've used Sport Legs for skiing/snowboarding but not so much for bicycling. It felt like they worked as advertised. 

They racers are warming up before their run. You don't want to go for broke when you're cold.

It's two weeks before your race. Have you been training?


----------



## idividebyzero (Sep 25, 2014)

it doesnt make your legs stronger or let you bike longer, it just prevents you from knowing when your legs are getting weak, it's a weird feeling because you just start losing power and before you know it you cant pedal anymore despite feeling fine


----------



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Been riding about 30 miles every weekend. Working core and spin bike at the Y doing intervals 3 days a week. Been at this since June. Riding every week for about 2 years, but just this June I've picked it up. My legs are there I think, so is the cardio. The punchy climbs get me breathing and huffing, but when it levels out, so does me breathing quickly. 6' 3 200 lbs, lean.

I'll just do my normal stretch routine and ride around the pits for a bit I guess.

I am in the 50+ Masters class, so I don't know where I'll start, the back row I'd imagine. I will not go out full force, I'd rather get into my groove before I start to chase. Honestly, its my first MTB race and I'd just like to finish strong. Been doing hare-scramble motos for years. Never been a quick starter there either. Consistent laps and being there at the end is what I'm hoping for.

Thank you a ton guys

Sid


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I don’t do xc races anymore but one thing that never changed was that a race effort hurt no matter how fit or unfit I was. One thing that sort of helped was to ride around before the start hard enough to get my heart rate up to where it hurt a bit, then slow spin for awhile until it was time to line up at the start. Take this information for what it’s worth because I was a lousy xc racer.


----------



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Nat, thats good advice man. I'll take advice from a lousy racer over my knowledge of a "never racer" any day.

Thanks man.


----------



## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

acedeuce802 said:


> Yeah just ride around at a slow pace for a little bit before the race. I usually spin for around 15-30 minutes, keeping heart rate low, say 120bpm. I finish the warm up spin about 10 minutes before the race.


Especially for most xc races it's important to get plenty warm before the start and throw in a few good short efforts to spike your heart rate a little. It takes awhile before your body is ready for hard efforts so the idea is to get to the line well lubed and ready for a fast start.


----------



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

As always JB, thanks a ton. It looks like I'm doing laps in the parking lot before gate drop.

Have a great week.

Sid


----------



## barelfly (Jun 27, 2008)

I’d say ride teh amount of time it takes for your legs to get that wake up feeling. For me, it takes me about 10-15 minutes to get the legs firing. And towards the end, maybe an effort or two just to Get the heart rate up and then take a few minutes easy spinning. 

Have fun at the race!


----------



## eri (Sep 4, 2012)

I bought sportlegs once at rei because the guy swore it was the best. Followed the instructions and had the absolutely worst most painful race of my life. DNF'd after > 5 hours and 10k feet of climbing.

Sportslegs didn't appear to do anything for my performance, legs hurt, everything hurt. Choked down 3 of those pills every hour like the trained chimp that I am. Live and learn I guess.

Remember... the placebo effect is real, so it might help you, but I don't believe sportlegs actually does anything for performance. Took advantage of the REI 100% guarantee and returned that expensive bottle of placebo pills.

Want to know something that works? Have some beans, olive oil and a nice piece of salmon the night before the race. Eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast and stay ahead on your calories during the race. If you want to go big budget the tailwind product is expensive but works really well.

EDIT: and about the spinning before the race. Those are LEET riders, insanely fast and fit and they're trying to win. They start the race sprinting and go hard from then on, their start is crucial because they're trying to win. I saw a graph once about how long the warmup should be based on race length, there's whole protocols about intensity. Generally the warmup lets you go hard right away so helps a lot for short races (or if you're trying to win an elite race.) For everyone else just chill and ride your own race, do 3-4 15 second efforts 5 minutes before start, build intensity slowly, do it just so you aren't stone cold.

Chill though... you'll pass the slow losers that went out too hard and blew up, and you won't be in the way of the fast people. First race? Enjoy yourself and make that sorry slob hurt if he tries to pass you.


----------



## Dirtfiend (May 5, 2010)

Waste of money IMHO. In my experience Sportlegs does reduce the burning sensation in your legs a little bit, but it's going to happen regardless so you might as well just lean into it.


----------



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Dirtfiend said:


> Waste of money IMHO. In my experience Sportlegs does reduce the burning sensation in your legs a little bit, but it's going to happen regardless so you might as well just lean into it.


You know this weekend I ate 4 capsules, and was thinking the whole time..............okay, here we go, I'm going to get this huge painless boost. It never came. I honestly think I was as strong without as I was with. Placebo, I think you are on to something.

Thanks man.


----------



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

eri said:


> I bought sportlegs once at rei because the guy swore it was the best. Followed the instructions and had the absolutely worst most painful race of my life. DNF'd after > 5 hours and 10k feet of climbing.
> 
> Sportslegs didn't appear to do anything for my performance, legs hurt, everything hurt. Choked down 3 of those pills every hour like the trained chimp that I am. Live and learn I guess.
> 
> ...


Best damn advice I've seen yet. Thanks. Thats exactly how I ride my moto hare-scrambles. Start out easy, work into it, find my lines and eventually all the other riders come back to me at some point. Except the really fast guys. Steady and consistent always paid off for me.

What do you mean stay ahead on my calories?

Thanks again man.


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

cityjackit said:


> You know this weekend I ate 4 capsules, and was thinking the whole time..............okay, here we go, I'm going to get this huge painless boost. It never came. I honestly think I was as strong without as I was with. Placebo, I think you are on to something.
> 
> Thanks man.


Haha, there's no magic boost. When I've used Sport Legs I just didn't get tired as quickly but my overall performance was the same. Again, this was with skiing/snowboarding. They're no replacement for training.


----------



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Nat said:


> Haha, there's no magic boost. When I've used Sport Legs I just didn't get tired as quickly but my overall performance was the same. Again, this was with skiing/snowboarding. They're no replacement for training.


You are exactly right. I'm beginning to see that. Due to work during the week, I can't get the bike out to the trails. Its only the weekends I can pound out the miles. During the week, its me and the spin bike at the Y spinning like mad changing intensity to mimic punchy climbs the best I can. Standing up, sitting back down, messing with the intensity. Its all I can do for now till I hit the lottery. 

Sid


----------



## eri (Sep 4, 2012)

cityjackit said:


> Best damn advice I've seen yet. Thanks. Thats exactly how I ride my moto hare-scrambles. Start out easy, work into it, find my lines and eventually all the other riders come back to me at some point. Except the really fast guys. Steady and consistent always paid off for me.
> 
> What do you mean stay ahead on my calories?
> 
> Thanks again man.


Stay ahead on calories:

You have a certain amount of glucose stored in your muscles and liver. That is straight fuel for your muscles. The aerobic process converts oxygen and fat to sugar, that is the main source of fuel for your body during a race. You also produce glucose by eating food, especially carbohydrate and your body can use it right away or store it for your next sprint.

In a race you'll probably be exceeding your aerobic capacity to produce glucose and every time you do your body borrows glucose from its stores.

If you exceed your aerobic capacity for too long and you aren't digesting carbs you will literally run out of available glucose.That is called "bonking", you'll get cold and shakey and feel really terrible. The body of course has an out to obtain sugar - it starts burning your own muscle for glucose using a very dirty process and it also feels terrible.

Stay ahead on calories means keep yourself fed so you don't run out of glucose. Everyone can tolerate a different amount of food during an event, maybe 250 to 450 calories per hour. So in a race keep those carbs flowing into you and you're less likely to bonk.


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

cityjackit said:


> You are exactly right. I'm beginning to see that. Due to work during the week, I can't get the bike out to the trails. Its only the weekends I can pound out the miles. During the week, its me and the spin bike at the Y spinning like mad changing intensity to mimic punchy climbs the best I can. Standing up, sitting back down, messing with the intensity. Its all I can do for now till I hit the lottery.
> 
> Sid


Hey, have fun at your first race. Keep your expectations low. Try not to vomit (too much). You're not going to win anyway.

See why I sucked at racing, lol


----------



## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Nat said:


> Haha, there's no magic boost.



There are a few "magic" boosts available but they're illegal for sanctioned races. Also not particularly healthy.


----------



## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

J.B. Weld said:


> There are a few "magic" boosts available but they're illegal for sanctioned races. Also not particularly healthy.


Cocaine is a hell of a drug.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

J.B. Weld said:


> There are a few "magic" boosts available but they're illegal for sanctioned races. Also not particularly healthy.


Ha, you're right. I meant there is no magic boost from Sport Legs.


----------



## Dirtfiend (May 5, 2010)

cityjackit said:


> You know this weekend I ate 4 capsules, and was thinking the whole time..............okay, here we go, I'm going to get this huge painless boost. It never came. I honestly think I was as strong without as I was with. Placebo, I think you are on to something.
> 
> Thanks man.


SportLegs isn't an enhancer, so it isn't going to give you any sort of boost. What it "MAY" do is slightly reduce the burning pain sensation from lactic acid and anaerobic energy production in your leg muscles. That is, dependant on whatever the heck your blood chemistry is at the time depending on whatever the heck you've been stuffing in your face. So it MIGHT reduce pain to the equivalent of popping ONE Ibuprofen in my experience. Really just a total waste money in my opinion.


----------



## chipolopolo (Dec 29, 2008)

eri said:


> Stay ahead on calories:
> 
> You have a certain amount of glucose stored in your muscles and liver. That is straight fuel for your muscles. The aerobic process converts oxygen and fat to sugar, that is the main source of fuel for your body during a race. You also produce glucose by eating food, especially carbohydrate and your body can use it right away or store it for your next sprint.
> 
> ...


Interesting subject .Let me add to your calorie number; The amount of carbs you ingest as a percentage of those calories is very important. in race mode, most people need 80-100 gr of carbs an hour to keep energy levels high enough to continue at race intensity. Your only limiter as to the amount of carbs you can intake is your stomach. It will tell you when its had enough. 

I spoke about SIS gels in another thread. I like them based on the type of carbs they are, Malodexterin. It all has to do with the rate of metabolizing into energy, different types of carbohydrates take. I really like them as race fuel and/or high intensity workout fuel. It makes a giant difference.

The main reason I posted here was to talk about a product I use that seems to be a "gimmick". Its called AMP Human PR Lotion. It may have been talked about here already, if so, my apologies. You apply it prior a workout or race and your legs just don't fatigue at the normal rate you're used to. For me, in a long interval, the legs get to a certain point of fatigue and seem to stay there. My workouts/intervals/Vo2/sweet spot, all seem to go better. 

Give it a shot.


----------



## abeckstead (Feb 29, 2012)

It takes 20-30 mins for my legs to feel good on trail ride days. On race day, 45 min before start time I do some dynamic warmups and stretching. Then I go ride around until they do last call for the start line. When I’ve been able to start races with an elevated (not resting) heart rate I do much better. The worst is when you get to the start line all warmed up etc and the promoter talks for 15 minutes… like this race I just did last weekend. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SapphireWalsh (Sep 29, 2021)

I think, warm up before the race is enough


----------



## cityjackit (May 13, 2015)

Morning all,

I just wanted to report back on my first race, for who cares, but more just to say THANK YOU!

I finished the 50K 34 ish miles. Didn't push and wound up 35 out of 41 riders in the 50+ class. Figured out after that I brought a gun to a knife fight. 165/160 to a short travel game. Plus most everyone was running 29s and I was on my 27.5s. Just kept telling my self, do not get swept up by the sweeper or you won't get your free socks. Its amazing what you'll do for a pair of free socks. 

The conversations I had with myself along the way, I'll never forget. It was awesome. At some point, "What the heck did I get myself into", "Holy crap, that was frickin awesome", " Oh JESUS, not again", "Seriously", "When will this end", "Where the heck is the sunlight". There were many more. I loved it. As Goggins says...."A cookie for the cookie jar".

Thanks so much guys for helping me. I have already started scoping races over in Pisgah for 2022.

Have a great holiday.

Sid


----------



## AndyD66 (Mar 12, 2013)

I have used them on known, regular, longer climbing rides - like maybe my personal "Whole' Mole' " of a full Mid Mountain loop in PC. I find them to provide exactly what they offer. They reduce lactic acid burnout and cramping. On mid to higher length climbing adventures they reduce leg discomfort and thus extend the abuse threshold for hard working rides

They do not do anything to warm you up - not sure why that is being mentioned. 

I would repeat the single best medically relevant caveat I see here: They can make it less obvious when you are exceeding muscle endurance fitness and thus they can allow you to go from working hard to hardly working in a very short time. 

I do not use them to add anything to my work capacity. I only see them as a real way to reduce a little bit of discomfort when I do more/harder tranches of that work. They make great rides better but they do not make shitty rides stronger. 

I have never taken as many as suggested because that kind of freaks me out to be honest. Plus also I have a hard enough time with my discipline to keep my fundamental nutrition and hydration above the bonk-curve on long rides. I just take a couple starting out on some rides. 

I don't see it as adding 1,000 feet above the treeline on borderline epic days but more as neutralizing those 1,000 feet from my recovery cycle and in ride-soreness: They are a true, if minor, bonus: BUT ONLY if I am fit and have also planned everything else well.


----------



## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

cityjackit said:


> Afternoon,
> 
> Does anyone here have any experience with the supplement "sports legs"? Suppose to pre-dose you with lactic in the blood to stave off lactic acid cramps. NOT a substitute for training obviously.
> 
> ...


When you cramp up to the point your muscle seize, it sucks. I try to use them for my rides, or even post workout/ride recovery. But realistically, you're better off keeping up your electrolytes instead and taking magnesium and eating a banana before a ride.

I do take them with me. They've helped with bonking.

But with training? Oh geez no. That's the wrong way to look at them.

30 minutes on rollers do not sound like a warmup to me. They sound like torture, but YMMV.

Regarding world cup racers and the way you warm up should be two different things unless you're a pro rider. People forget that we do this for fun and take **** way too seriously IMO.


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Speaking of warming up, I used to ride with a guy who would do a preride warmup at the trailhead consisting of jumping jacks and other calisthenics that we learned in middle school P.E. class. Nothing technically wrong with that I suppose but it sure did look awkward.


----------



## AndyD66 (Mar 12, 2013)

Nat said:


> Speaking of warming up, I used to ride with a guy who would do a preride warmup at the trailhead consisting of jumping jacks and other calisthenics that we learned in middle school P.E. class. Nothing technically wrong with that I suppose but it sure did look awkward.


I often do some very short basic sprinting intervals, as in on the bike on the trail, sort of like 20-40 seconds of go fast starting out. Then I am more set up to just grind ahead all day. 

I deliberately try to avoid any temptation to upthrottle into sprinting cardio, esp while climbing. I climb a lot but nothing super atheletic or special. I just like earning a little altitude every day. For my old moderate bones a few short simple cardio sprints up front seem to really help me get into my preferred (and decidely uncompetitive) groove. But.... If do any, even pretty short, bust-a-max work sprints while climbing or whatever it alters my whole ride profile then and there: From all day grinding mountain love fest to a short duration gasp and beast.

I guess this way off topic and irrelevant but its a pleasant distraction for me to overshare I guess.


----------



## abeckstead (Feb 29, 2012)

AndyD66 said:


> I often do some very short basic sprinting intervals, as in on the bike on the trail, sort of like 20-40 seconds of go fast starting out. Then I am more set up to just grind ahead all day.
> 
> I deliberately try to avoid any temptation to upthrottle into sprinting cardio, esp while climbing. I climb a lot but nothing super atheletic or special. I just like earning a little altitude every day. For my old moderate bones a few short simple cardio sprints up front seem to really help me get into my preferred (and decidely uncompetitive) groove. But.... If do any, even pretty short, bust-a-max work sprints while climbing or whatever it alters my whole ride profile then and there: From all day grinding mountain love fest to a short duration gasp and beast.
> 
> I guess this way off topic and irrelevant but its a pleasant distraction for me to overshare I guess.


I'm the same way, what I do in the first 15-20mins sets the tone for my entire ride. If I start out hammering down it sets me up for failure later on in the ride. For races I try to do a dynamic warmup before even getting on my bike and then ride 20-30mins, making sure to do some sprints towards the end of that time to get my HR way up. Trail rides, I prefer to start out easy and increase my pace after I get past that 15-20min wall.


----------

