Why Are My Legs so Dead?

QUESTION: I ride pretty hard on the weekend: three hours, 70 miles, climbs, rollers and fast downhills. When I try to go upstairs to the shower, my legs are dead. They don't want to move. What's happening? Lactic acid? How do the pros handle daily stages that are twice as long and hard for the three weeks of the Tour de France? -- Rick P.

COACH FRED: My legs would be dead, too, after jamming through a three-hour ride at 23 mph!

Contrary to popular belief, lactic acid doesn't cause soreness or pain. Your body recycles lactic acid almost as soon as it's produced. Excess amounts don't linger after the ride. That heaviness in your legs is a result of fatigue caused by using up your muscle fuel (glycogen), combined with temporary muscle cell damage from the exertion.

Be sure to cool down with 10 minutes of easy spinning at the end of the ride. This helps relax your legs and restore normal blood circulation. It'll reduce the pumped-up effect that makes muscles feel thick and tight.

Take a look at how you're riding during the week, too. If you're going hard on weekdays, you may be reaching your physical limit on the weekend, causing exceptional fatigue.

But you also have to realize that riding in hilly terrain at a hard pace for three hours is tough on anyone's legs. Walking upstairs uses the same muscles as pedaling, so it would be unusual for your legs not to feel pretty hammered.

The pros handle three-week tours because they've built up steadily and carefully until they can do it. Your legs can look forward to this training effect, too.