Tension cramp in upper thigh and hip when leg-pressing

For the last two weeks when I do my four sets of leg-presses after having done squats, I get this horrible cramp in my upper thigh (right side) and hip muscles.

Is it a case of opening up the rom to alleviate this? Or is it a nutritional issue?

I have the warrior wellness series but havn't yet incorperated it into my workout.

Any suggestions would be very helpfull as this problem is putting a dampener on my gains.

Thanks a lot, Edward Metcalfe

[Doug Szolek]

Ed,

the cramps are most often caused by simple dehydration though the fact that they've been happening repeatedly on the same exercise and area, to me, indicates some residual muscular tension. The knuckledragger in me wants to shout, "Stop Leg Pressing!" But if you like the exercise and the benefits you believe it garners you then we'll have to work around this.

Can you give me a thorough description of:

Your current training schedule (including how long you've been following this schedule and the progress it has shown you)
Your work and extra curricular activities
Any preconditions you've had in recent years (resolved or unresolved)
Your overall dietary plan
Your own ideas as to why this issue may be present
And anything else you feel would be relevant to this issue


Answer me these and we'll get you worked through these leg cramps.

Didn't expect such a helpfull response, thanks.

Okay, my weightlifting schedule is: Tuesday, 4sets bench, 4 sets incline db press, 3 sets slight incline db flys. 4 sets barbell curls, 4 sets db curls. 6 sets close grip bench, 6 sets upright dips. 4 sets standing calf raises. 4sets palm up and palm down wrist curls.

Wed: 4 sets squats, 4 sets leg press, 4 sets lying leg curls and 4 sets deadlift. 4 sets calf raises. 4 sets palm up/down wrist curls. 4 sets weighted sit-ups and 4 sets weighted hyper extensions.

Fri: 4 sets chin ups, 4 sets db rows, 3 sets lat pulldown and 3 sets close grip cable rows. 4 sets standing millitary press, 3 sets side latterals and 3 sets upright rows. 4 sets standing calf raises, 4 sets palm up/down wrist curls, 4 sets weighted sit-ups and 4 sets weighted hyper extensions.

My rep range has been between 8 -12, but since yesterday I have gone down to 6 reps to build power.

I have been doing this since christmas and have put 20kg on my bench, 50 kg on legpress and doubled the weight I use for calfs.

I first put on a stone and a half but then lost half a stone when I cut out soda and snacks.

My body composition seems to be changing quite fast, I have nearly lost the belly but no six-pack yet.

I gennerally eat about 3 meals a day usually grilled chicken and potato's.

I have about 3 protein drinks a day. But it is soya protein as i'm allergic to whey. The thing is I am having allergic reactions to the soy as well so i'm gonna go back to whey and put up with it.

I have also been doing an hours muaythai twice a week, but it was a begginers class so the intesity was very low, but as of today i'm starting the intermediate class, so the intensity will go up.

I have also ordered scrappers mod 1 package which I will do instead of the current liting plan for six weeks and then take a week off and start the lifting for six weeks etc.

Apart from what i've allreay said, all I do is go to college one night a week. I don't have a job as I have been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia for the past 3 years which I am taking an anti-psychotic called olanzapine for.

The only thing I can think of why this might be is that when I was younger I was an obsessive skateboarder and thus was always ina one leg (the one that cramps up) ramrod straight with locked knee and the other one bending and pushing the skateboard along.

I have allways walked kind of funny. With the leg that cramps up bassically staying straight and going from side to side like a Jamaican while bending the other one. Thinking about it, no wonder I get cramps.

Do you think I should go to a pysio-therapist?

Anyway man, thanks a lot, I look forward to your reply.

I feel kinda elated that someone is prepared to put in some real mental effort for me, thanks again.

Peace, Ed

[Doug Szolek]

Ed, it sounds like you've got a very detailed General Physical Preparedness training program mapped out here especially with Scrappers Mod 1 on the way to take your endurance through the roof.

I think you've hit your own nail on the head though with your skateboarding overuse issues. I ran into some similar issues recently learning to ride a long board street carver which lead me to learn both legs on it. It sounds to me like you've got a heavy load of Residual Muscle Tension in your hips and legs and honestly your only preping yourself for a big injury by doing so much work on top of this unresolved hip issue.

Now I commend the work load that you've been suporting up to now, but it's my opinion that you need some time off training in the care of a Physical Therapist (Deep Tissue, et al). However if you're still getting around ok then the issues may be self correctable, if you'd rather go this route then I highly recommend the Body Flow book and videos.

The problem with internet interviews of the this nature is that without actually seeing your movement impediments I have no way of telling just how severe they are than by your description of how they affect your ability to perform. So let me know what you think and if your up for some self healing exercise this is definately the community to help you with it especially over at the Biomechanical Exercise Forum and the Recovery Forum.

All in all, let me know what (if any) RMAX instructional materials you've got and I'll probably be able to show you some exercises to help your hips from there.

Let me know how this finds you and I'll do what I can to help.

Thanks coach.

Well, their have been some developments.

Yesterday I crashed and burned.

I think I have been pushing myself to the limit with the weights routine I have been doing, and when I started the intermediate muaythai class on Tuesday night, I pushed myself over the edge.

Bassically I nearly passed out in the class but then got over it and I was fine. Then yesterday I lost all my energy and started feeling really ill and my whole body was cramping up, especially around my ribs and I was getting a cold freezing sensation all over my body.

I ended up going to bed early feeling like crap and got up this morning, and i'm better than yesterday but my head feels a bit giddy.

So anyway, i'm not going to the gym for the rest of this week apart from muaythai on saturday morning.

Okay, so you think I should take some time away from the gym. How long are we talking about here? I guess i'm scared that I will lose all the strength and mass gains I have developed since christmas.

I think I can function well enough to do some self-correction but if you think I should get some proffesionall help then I could ask my doctor if she could refer me to a physiotherapist.

I was planning to get the body-flow book so I think that now you have recomended it to me I will order it as soon as I can afford to.

At the moment I own the warrior wellness series, the zdorovye series and be-breathed.

Do you think stretching would help at all?

I found this article yesterday: http://www.t-mag.com/nation_articles/291diff2.html and I want to design myself a functional stregth program to do for six weeks, then do my current routine for six weeks and then do the mod 1 for six weeks. Do you think it is too much or that if I have been just about handling my current program, that I will be okay.

Okay man, thanks a lot for the help, I really appreciate it.

Peace.

Edward Metcalfe

[Doug Szolek]

You've got huge plans for training coming up but it seems to me that if you continue as is you'll be building all that strength and ability on a very shakey foundation which will inevitably fail.

My advice to you is that continue with some maintainence training until you get ahold of Body Flow (or if you feel competent to build a routine out of the Zdorovye exercise you could definately go that route). When you get the Body Flow book/video take a few months and work just that. Don't worry about losing strength because if you think your building strength over this stored tension you're only fooling yourself. Get rid of the issue then you'll be stronger from the get go; you'll be a more stable platform to lauch you assault on gravity.

As for crashing at class, that sounds very diet related to me. Head over to the Diet forum if you're curious and ask how what you've been eating lately and how you've been eating could have caused such a crash.

Other than that man good luck in your training and keep us posted on your progress.

In faith,

Thanks for the advice.

I will watch the videos today and see if I can put together a program and I will definitely purchase body flow at some point soon.

I guess I should take a while off, maybe not as long as you've recomended.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Again thanks a lot man, you have been very helpfull.

Peace.

Edward Metcalfe

Well, I haven't lifted any weights since my last post and I have been doing the begginer ww every morning and evening.

I feel a lot looser and in better condition, now i'm having knee trouble, but I know why.

Bassically I have been very stupid, since christmas up unitl about two weeks ago, I have been abusing anabolic steroids.

I owned up to my doc psychiatrist and they told me some pretty nasty things about them, and I have had bad side-effects from them and i'm not gonna touch them again.

I'm gonna purchase some creating, protein powder and a zma supplement this Thursday and follow a routine from the book, beyond brawn.

The routine goes like this: Tues 3 sets 20 rep squat
6 sets bench
6 sets pull up
6 sets calf raise
6 sets back extension
6 sets crunch sit-up
6 sets grip work#

Fri 6 sets straight leg deadlift
6 sets millitary press
6 sets curl
6 sets trcep dips
3 sets side bend

I will give this a couple of months and then swap things around and maybe play with the volume and frequency.

I have to say i'm rather ashamed about the drug use and I hope you guys will still speak to me.

Anyway, look forward to your replys, thanks a lot.

Edward Metcalfe

[Scott Sonnon]

Why are you training?

Scott: I'm not sure if you mean what are my goals, or what drives me to train.

I'll try and answer both.

I guess my goals are to get in good asthetic shape i.e ad around 10 kilo's of lean muscle mass ( over more than a year that is), lose some fat I have gained since being on the anti-psychotic's around my mid-section and to gain some endurance as well as explosive power to allow me to eventually compete in muay thai and hopefully one day teach it along with gpp and spp training (guess i'll be coming to a cst seminar soon).

As to what drives me, I guess perhaps neurosis from being the extremely skinny kid with a prominent scar on the back of my head who was constantly bullied psychologically.

Also, I have allways been extremely undisciplined and was allways reading up on the latest way to train the muscles and the latest plyometric exercise for explosive power, but never went ahead and backed up my brain. Now I have found the will inside of me and let it loose and if I stop now it will affect every area of my life, and i'm not gonna let that happen.

Thanks a lot, i'll be waiting man.

Edward Metcalfe

[Scott Sonnon]

Ed,

Look within as to WHY you train. Then, simplify, focus, remain consistent and persist. Sophistication lies within that formula.

Thanks Scott.

I guess my above post was a bit shallow in regards to why I train.

I think I should meditate on it and hopefully something will click that will make it impossible to go back to my former self.

And yea like you say, you have to be consistent and persistent to gain results. This applies to everything in life, and is something I am only just learning at the age of 24.

I'm having to apply it to a maths course i'm doing which will allow me to study sport science.

When you say simplify, are you meaning that one should simplify goals and then stay consistent and persist?

That hits home with me as i've allways never been able to decide what type of training I should focus on becasue I wanted to be good at everything.

Now i'll stick to the program I posted above, and cycle the rep ranges and then introduce scrappers workouts over time.

Thanks for the advice man!

Oh, on a side note. If i'm able to pass this maths exam and I start studying sport science, their is a module within the course on bio-mechanics. Do you think if you had the time spare I could maybe pick your brain by e-mail and get a few pointers? This wouldn't be till after September. If you could that would be really cool.

Okay man, thanks again.

Edward Metcalfe

Coach Szolek, I just wanna apologise for disrespecting you before.

You gave me some good advice, to do active recovery, and I just ignored it.

You are a proffesional coach and know what you are talking about.

At the time I didn't realise I was being disrespectfull but now I realise it and i'm sorry about it.

How I didn't offend you too much.

Speak to you soon, peace!!