Anyone else try pickle juice for leg cramps?

[Red Ryder]

I'm still skeptical, but it seemed to work last Sunday. I got just about the worst cramp in my leg I've ever had. I thought of the pickle juice or mustard thread a while back, so I grabbed the pickle juice and took a couple of gulps. I continued to massage my leg. Within about 10 minutes or less, the cramp was completely gone. Anyone else try it? Successful or not.

[SSinGA]

Margarita w/ salt

Sportlegs works very well also.

[Red Ryder]

Originally Posted by SSinGA

Margarita w/ salt

Sportlegs works very well also.

Thanks SSinGA, I'll have to try both. I usually don't have much of a problem with cramps, but on Sunday, riding with a slow rider up Blackstar, I did a slow motion grind in the middle gears. I guess it was enough of a work out to push my limits.

[Edog]

Aren't you are suppose to rub the pickle juice on to your legs & smear the must turd under your arm pits?

[tbowren]

Originally Posted by SSinGA

Margarita w/ salt

Sportlegs works very well also.

Careful with the Sportlegs though. It might stop your cramps but it jacks my heart rate up around 10bpm or more. Actually I have found that using Sportlegs on a hard ride had GIVEN me cramps if I don't take more of it after around 2 hours.

Something unsettling about seeing a number like 196 bpm on the heart rate monitor when I had never seen anything above 189 bpm before. This wasn't just one ride, I have tried this about 6 or 7 times.

[Break n Bones]

My girlfriend was complaining of cramping in her legs and I had just read this post the day before , So I told her to try pickle juice , Well dam if it didnt work for her , The leg cramps went away in minutes .

Problem is:
Now Ive got two big bottles of dill pickles in my frig... I hate dill

[spookydave]

Originally Posted by Floater

Thanks SSinGA, I'll have to try both. I usually don't have much of a problem with cramps, but on Sunday, riding with a slow rider up Blackstar, I did a slow motion grind in the middle gears. I guess it was enough of a work out to push my limits.

us slow guys are always getting the blame!

[LBmtb]

Pickle juice is just so nasty

[tbowren]

Originally Posted by LBmtb

Pickle juice is just so nasty

I used it again this weekend on a long road ride.
It was in a flask mixed with water and either I diluted it more or else I'm getting used to the taste because it was much less bad.

I kept waiting for that little kick that makes you shudder like Cosmo Kramer but it never happened.

[Pain Freak]

Tried it with a friend last night. He was cramping bad and was walking his bike. He thought I was kidding, but he finally tried it. 15 minutes later all cramps were gone, but he was still slow as a snail. Stuff works.

[shudder]

Damn. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... my riding buddy Treadhead threw this at me today:

[FONT=Times New Roman] "Research indicates that the most likely reason electrolytes are eliminated in sweat is to compensate for rising concentrations in the bloodstream. This fluid / electrolyte balance arises after drinking less than is eliminated in sweat and urine or used by other metabolic processes. Supplementation with electrolyte-containing sports-drinks adds to this imbalance and can hasten fatigue by increasing volemic (as opposed to osmotic, or intra-cellular) dehydration."[/FONT]

Read the whole article here: http://www.roble.net/marquis/competitive.nutrition

Not sure who the writer is, but it's pretty convincing rhetoric. So, now I may not be taking all the Endurolytes -- I may be relying on PICKLE JUICE??!!?! Ye gods. I suppose I hafta give it a go now.

Shuddering the thought...

shud

[Abstrakt77]

I heard that Coconut Juice also works for cramps...gotta admit it'll be a lot tastier than a jar of pickle juice.

[PacMan]

Another vote for SportLegs. That stuff is awesome.

So how is one supposed to carry an emergency ration of pickle juice anyway?? Water bottle?? Jar in the Camel Bak??

[J_Sims]

Originally Posted by PacMan

Another vote for SportLegs. That stuff is awesome.

So how is one supposed to carry an emergency ration of pickle juice anyway?? Water bottle?? Jar in the Camel Bak??

Hammer gel flask... or Surley makes a cool shiney one

[S54MCoupe]

Come on guys.

Beer is the cure all.

[Geronimo]

Originally Posted by S54MCoupe

Come on guys.

Beer is the cure all.

Beer is the cure and cause of all of life's little problems.

[SIZE=1]- Homer Simpon.[/SIZE]

[Koke]

Found this on digg.com
picklejuice.jpg

[Pain Freak]

I found it also worked on a sideache I got yesterday.

[Wrecker]

Originally Posted by shudder

Read the whole article here: http://www.roble.net/marquis/competitive.nutrition

Not sure who the writer is, but it's pretty convincing rhetoric. So, now I may not be taking all the Endurolytes -- I may be relying on PICKLE JUICE??!!?! Ye gods. I suppose I hafta give it a go now.
shud

Not sure who the author is either, but check out the date of the article, 1989; I don't even trust the style of the 80's, let alone the research (so many more studies done from then on).

Here's a more recent article on heat/dehydration: http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/dehydration.html
(though it's still dated 1995).

Here's one from 2003: http://au.health.yahoo.com/041101/25/1uwq.html

And, finally, a nifty article including the study done on 2002 Boston Marathoners in relation to hyponatremia: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7491948/

You have to know yourself and find your fluid balance in training, daily weights can help with that (damn scales, they don't help self-esteem though)

As for the pickle juice/mustard, I witnessed it working on our newbie ride to Beek's. Mustard packets (like from sandwich shops/cafeterias) are easier to carry than jars of pickles

[KeepsWhatHappens]

I swear by Hammer Endurolytes which are electrolytes in capsule form. That in combination with Hammer fuels Heed or Pepetuem for longer 3+ hour rides and I don't get cramps. I use Hammer gel for extra bursts of carbs.

Last year I rode the entire VQ using a liquid-only fuel regimen consisting of Heed, Perpetuem, Hammer gel and Endurolytes and did not feel crampy at all.

You also need to be properly hydrated and full of electrolytes/glycogen well before the ride begins.

For more info see my riding nutrition page especially the links at the bottom of the page.

KeepsWhatHappens