Newb question - back muscles cramping...

[corrado15]

Hey All,

I'm 40 years old, in good shape, 5'11" tall, 180lbs and have been riding a little over 2 months. I've put about 1800 miles on my totally stock '10 Ninja in that time, commuting daily and riding for fun at the weekends.

Only problem I've come up against so far is muscle cramping in my mid back area, at the bottom of my shoulder blades. Starts about 30 mins into a ride and usually only affects the left side. If I ride long enough though, it will spread all the way across. Some days it's not too bad but today was painful and pretty much ruined my ride...

Is this common for noobs? Any recommendations on preventing / minimizing it? Should my body eventually get used to it? If so, how long would that typically take?

Lastly, any recommended exercises to help build strength?

Many thanks,

Davy

[TXJ]

A lot of people have that problem because they're sitting awkwardly or supporting their weight with their wrists/arms/shoulders. Your upper body should be mostly relaxed. Try riding while only using your legs to grip the tank and your core for support. Your shoulders and arms should be very relaxed with no strain on them. As far as exercises go, squats, reverse hypers and and such would be helpful.

The ninjette is my first sport bike. I rode cruisers for 15+ years. It took me a couple weeks to adjust to the seating position and not feel uncomfortable.

[Alex]

It's actually very common for noobs. I know that it happened to me, and it turned out to be holding on to the bars too tightly. Make a conscious effort to keep your arms loose (literally flap them a few times to remind yourself from time to time), and also loosen up your grip on the controls. You only need to hold the bars hard enough to manage the levers and apply steering input. I got some great advice at a track school a few years back, they asked us to believe that we were holding baby chicks when we were holding the bars. Holding them too tight causes fatigue, rough steering inputs, and ultimately makes things less smooth. Good luck!

[DaBlue1]

Stop squeezing your shoulder blades together. You may not realize your are doing it, but you are. Relax your shoulders, let them roll forward, use your abs and back to maintain stability, let the weight rest through the arms a chest.
This is a good article from Sportrider.com about fitness for motorcyclist. Definitely a few good tips to follow. http://www.sportrider.com/features/1...ess/index.html

[alex.s]

good stuff above. also, don't stay in exactly the same position too long, you might try sitting a little more forward or a little more back. i find stretching before goes a long way. i find myself rolling my shoulders around and wiggling out my arms to keep them loose. i believe a lot of people use this exercise do stay loose while braking as well to keep yourself from putting too much weight on the bars

[corrado15]

Thanks for the advice all. I'll give it a try!

Davy.

[phr3ek]

soft grip
elbows bent

those two thing up there helped me keep weight off my hands and keeps it from getting numb from vibration

[peachdiddy]

+1 For squeezing with your legs and holding yourself with your core. It helps a ton.

[corrado15]

Giving it a try - supporting myself with legs gripping tank and core muscles doing the rest. Back is still a little sore but that's probably due to hitting the gym.

I'm trying to lean forward more also - only thing is the bike now seems way too cramped. I can just about get my feet on the pegs whilst gripping the tank and the clip-ons now feel that they're way to close to me. Will I likely get used to this or should I be looking at a physically bigger bike before long (given that I'm 5'11")?

Davy.

[Buffalony]

Sounds like you should have your riding muscles already.

If you follow the advice above and still have this problem then your seat "and your bars" are the problem.

The seat on this bike flat out sucks. It looks cool and would be comfy but the angle forces the rider into the bars. Yes squeezing the tank with your legs will help but how long can you squeeze?

Start with the seat. Try a Corbin. If thats too expensive or if your crafty, check out the diy's posted around the net:

http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com/other_ideas.htm#gelpad

http://www.kawiforums.com/ninja-250r...-seat-mod.html

If the seat doesnt take care of the problem move on to the bars.
There are tree clamps available for this bike. A net search will handle that if you have to go that far.

Please post any Diy's you do to the site to help the community.

[n4mwd]

I've had more problems with leg/hip cramps than back problems.

BUT, here is something you need to know. When riding a bike, people tend to sweat a lot because of the heat and all the gear. When that happens, you lose potassium from your system. Potassium is a vital electrolyte and makes muscles work properly.

In a nutshell, your muscles are more prone to cramping and injury when your potassium levels are down. The solution is to take potassium supplements from the grocery store. They have pills, Gatorade, and also salt substitutes like "No Salt" or "Lite Salt" which both are high in potassium.

Anyhow, if your potassium levels are down, no amount of exercise is going to fix the problem.

[corrado15]

Thanks for the input guys. I feel more comfortable now on the bike after taking a few days to get used to the 'grip tank / support with core muscles' stance. My back is still somewhat cramping though taking longer to do so. I'm trying to control it with Icy Hot and my wife's Tens machine, though I may need to take a break from the bike for a couple of days to completely break the cramping cycle. Will give the potassium tablets a try also.

Thanks again!

Davy.

[csmith12]

+1 on the advice above

But on the potassium, you shouldn't be needing a pill to ride a bike. Your body frame and weight are the exact same as mine. I also had the same issue as a new ninja rider. I did the following before each spirited ride;

Get a good nights sleep
Eat a good breakfast/lunch
Drink plenty of liquids (milk, orange juice, apple juice, water)

And the key to not cramping up is taking breaks before your body complains. You do not workout for 2 hours without a break, so don't ride hard for 2 hours with a break.

It makes no difference if you ride or not, everyone should do what they need to stay fit... ie a good diet and some form of exercise.

Best of luck and ride safe.

[CmichRider]

Potassium helps to stop the muscles from cramping, but I'd hardly call it a long term fix for riding cramps. Take a couple day break to give your back muscles a chance to rest. Chances are, you were using them more than ever and they need time to repair at this point. Strengthen those back muscles and try supporting yourself in a different fashion. Good luck.

[ichibunkid.206]

Last summer while I was climbing one of the locale mountains here in WA. (for the freaking first time) I had cramped up in my quads, and calf.... One of the climbing guides had me suck down a mustered pak (You know one of those little pak that you get when you buy a 2 day stale hot dog at a ball game)...

Any how he had me suck one or two of those things down and after about a minute the cramp started to ease up and went away... I thought it was a pretty nifty trick myself... always keep a few of those handy now when I go hiking.

Not sure if this would help for back and shoulder cramps or not, but as an emergency short term solution I thought I'd throw it out there anyhow....

[adri99an]

Definitely hit the weights.....

lat pull downs
bent over rows
deltoid presses
forearm curls
side lateral raises

[ally99]

[Buffalony]

Originally Posted by ichibunkid.206

Last summer while I was climbing one of the locale mountains here in WA. (for the freaking first time) I had cramped up in my quads, and calf.... One of the climbing guides had me suck down a mustered pak (You know one of those little pak that you get when you buy a 2 day stale hot dog at a ball game)...

Any how he had me suck one or two of those things down and after about a minute the cramp started to ease up and went away... I thought it was a pretty nifty trick myself... always keep a few of those handy now when I go hiking.

Not sure if this would help for back and shoulder cramps or not, but as an emergency short term solution I thought I'd throw it out there anyhow....

this is great. thanks for the trick ichi. Will try.
http://www.coreperformance.com/daily...or-cramps.html