Hey all, so I’ve been using TR for around 2 months now and I have been getting the sensation that I need to move my legs around when I’m falling asleep. Can anyone else chime in? I make sure to eat a balanced diet with enough sodium and I supplement with magnesium bc I have read that it can help. Kind of feels like I just need to stretch and walk around.
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Pretty common with higher training loads. It’s a good indicator for me personally that need for recovery is near. It usually doesn’t happen after individual tough workouts for me. Only when cumulative fatigue starts to get very high.
What magnitude of recovery are we talking about? A day off, a week, a month?
A weighted blanket has really helped me.
Avoid benadryl and alcohol before bed.
If I’m really struggling, a hot bath helps ease the restlessness.
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Found myself that it never goes away completely, yes I have tried majority of ‘cures’ but it does settles down over time (years) and you notice it less and less afterwards and when getting to sleep.
Fatigue for me wasn’t a reason for it, could have a month off and one hard workout would set off those calves for hours…
Doesn’t worry me anymore, my bodies reaction to hard work.
Benadryl on occasion perhaps, agreed about alcohol. What’s the thought on Benadryl and restless leg though? Curious, I’ve had to change my stance on this recently with some strong links to dementia and regular use. Still, it’s the number one way for me to absolutely sleep through the night (as sad as that is)
Welcome to my life!
I would wear compression pants to sleep on the nights things were really bad. Kept lots of blankets on the bed. Now I have a weighted blanket. Love it.
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This happens to me especially after a long hard ride. I’ve noticed a good long foam roll session before bed helps.
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I haven’t read any studies about benadryl or other similar medications, I just know it was causing a lot my restless leg issues.
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Depends. Usually a day is enough to stop the restless legs, but if it’s due to a big training block, I’ll take the usual week going easier.
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I’ve found that doing a bit of self-massage and light stretching to flush them out a bit before heading to bed is helpful. Also, making sure they stay cool (my biggest prob w high fatigue) during the night is key to decent sleep. I usually just have a blanket on my top half and my legs covered by a thin sheet. With all these things being said, at some point your legs are going to be a bit trashed during specific acute blocks or in stage races and sleep will be fitful.
Foam rolling can help a lot
How long do you cool down for? How long do you spine the legs out for at low load?
Personally I extend workouts until my legs feel flushed and HR is back to the level it was when I got on the bike. For sub-workout thresholds this isn’t long at all, but if do a ride on RGT for example it might be an extra 5 or more minutes on the end. This, and some standalone light pedalling with my son, appears to keep my legs feeling fresh. I am not deep in training at the moment though, but when I was this helped hugely.
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Hang on… let me ask my dog. 
Seriously though, I’ve never ever had that particular sensation no matter how knackered I am.