Fitness questions and answers for April 18, 2005
Got a question about fitness, training, recovery from injury or a related subject? Drop us a line at...
Form & Fitness Q & A
Got a question about fitness, training, recovery from injury or a related subject? Drop us a line at fitness@cyclingnews.com. Please include as much information about yourself as possible, including your age, sex, and type of racing or riding. Due to the volume of questions we receive, we regret that we are unable to answer them all.
Carrie Cheadle, MA (www.carriecheadle.com) is a Sports Psychology consultant who has dedicated her career to helping athletes of all ages and abilities perform to their potential. Carrie specialises in working with cyclists, in disciplines ranging from track racing to mountain biking. She holds a bachelors degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University as well as a masters degree in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University.
Dave Palese (www.davepalese.com) is a USA Cycling licensed coach and masters' class road racer with 16 years' race experience. He coaches racers and riders of all abilities from his home in southern Maine, USA, where he lives with his wife Sheryl, daughter Molly, and two cats, Miranda and Mu-Mu.
Kelby Bethards, MD received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University (1994) before obtaining an M.D. from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 2000. Has been a racing cyclist 'on and off' for 20 years, and when time allows, he races Cat 3 and 35+. He is a team physician for two local Ft Collins, CO, teams, and currently works Family Practice in multiple settings: rural, urgent care, inpatient and the like.
Fiona Lockhart (www.trainright.com) is a USA Cycling Expert Coach, and holds certifications from USA Weightlifting (Sports Performance Coach), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach), and the National Academy for Sports Nutrition (Primary Sports Nutritionist). She is the Sports Science Editor for Carmichael Training Systems, and has been working in the strength and conditioning and endurance sports fields for over 10 years; she's also a competitive mountain biker.
Eddie Monnier (www.velo-fit.com) is a USA Cycling certified Elite Coach and a Category II racer. He holds undergraduate degrees in anthropology (with departmental honors) and philosophy from Emory University and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business.
Eddie is a proponent of training with power. He coaches cyclists (track, road and mountain bike) of all abilities and with wide ranging goals (with and without power meters). He uses internet tools to coach riders from any geography.
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David Fleckenstein, MPT (www.physiopt.com) is a physical therapist practicing in Boise, ID. His clients have included World and U.S. champions, Olympic athletes and numerous professional athletes. He received his B.S. in Biology/Genetics from Penn State and his Master's degree in Physical Therapy from Emory University. He specializes in manual medicine treatment and specific retraining of spine and joint stabilization musculature. He is a former Cat I road racer and Expert mountain biker.
Since 1986 Steve Hogg (www.cyclefitcentre.com) has owned and operated Pedal Pushers, a cycle shop specialising in rider positioning and custom bicycles. In that time he has positioned riders from all cycling disciplines and of all levels of ability with every concievable cycling problem.They include World and National champions at one end of the performance spectrum to amputees and people with disabilities at the other end.
Current riders that Steve has positioned include Davitamon-Lotto's Nick Gates, Discovery's Hayden Roulston, National Road Series champion, Jessica Ridder and National and State Time Trial champion, Peter Milostic.
Pamela Hinton has a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and a doctoral degree in Nutritional Sciences, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did postdoctoral training at Cornell University and is now an assistant professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she studies the effects of iron deficiency on adaptations to endurance training and the consequences of exercise-associated changes in menstrual function on bone health.
Pam was an All-American in track while at the UW. She started cycling competitively in 2003 and is the defending Missouri State Road Champion. Pam writes a nutrition column for Giana Roberge's Team Speed Queen Newsletter.
Dario Fredrick (www.wholeathlete.com) is an exercise physiologist and head coach for Whole Athlete™. He is a former category 1 & semi-pro MTB racer. Dario holds a masters degree in exercise science and a bachelors in sport psychology.
Scott Saifer (www.wenzelcoaching.com) has a Masters Degree in exercise physiology and sports psychology and has personally coached over 300 athletes of all levels in his 10 years of coaching with Wenzel Coaching.
Kendra Wenzel (www.wenzelcoaching.com) is a head coach with Wenzel Coaching with 17 years of racing and coaching experience and is coauthor of the book Bike Racing 101.
Steve Owens (www.coloradopremiertraining.com) is a USA Cycling certified coach, exercise physiologist and owner of Colorado Premier Training. Steve has worked with both the United States Olympic Committee and Guatemalan Olympic Committee as an Exercise Physiologist. He holds a B.S. in Exercise & Sports Science and currently works with multiple national champions, professionals and World Cup level cyclists.
Through his highly customized online training format, Steve and his handpicked team of coaches at Colorado Premier Training work with cyclists and multisport athletes around the world.
Brett Aitken (www.cycle2max.com) is a Sydney Olympic gold medalist. Born in Adelaide, Australia in 1971, Brett got into cycling through the cult sport of cycle speedway before crossing over into road and track racing. Since winning Olympic gold in the Madison with Scott McGrory, Brett has been working on his coaching business and his www.cycle2max.com website.
Richard Stern (www.cyclecoach.com) is Head Coach of Richard Stern Training, a Level 3 Coach with the Association of British Cycling Coaches, a Sports Scientist, and a writer. He has been professionally coaching cyclists and triathletes since 1998 at all levels from professional to recreational. He is a leading expert in coaching with power output and all power meters. Richard has been a competitive cyclist for 20 years
Andy Bloomer (www.cyclecoach.com) is an Associate Coach and sport scientist with Richard Stern Training. He is a member of the Association of British Cycling Coaches (ABCC) and a member of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES). In his role as Exercise Physiologist at Staffordshire University Sports Performance Centre, he has conducted physiological testing and offered training and coaching advice to athletes from all sports for the past 4 years. Andy has been a competitive cyclist for many years.
Michael Smartt (www.cyclecoach.com) is an Associate Coach with Richard Stern Training. He holds a Masters degree in exercise physiology and is USA Cycling Expert Coach. Michael has been a competitive cyclist for over 10 years and has experience coaching road and off-road cyclists, triathletes and Paralympians.
Kim Morrow (www.elitefitcoach.com) has competed as a Professional Cyclist and Triathlete, is a certified USA Cycling Elite Coach, a 4-time U.S. Masters National Road Race Champion, and a Fitness Professional.
Her coaching group, eliteFITcoach, is based out of the Southeastern United States, although they coach athletes across North America. Kim also owns MyEnduranceCoach.com, a resource for cyclists, multisport athletes & endurance coaches around the globe, specializing in helping cycling and multisport athletes find a coach.
Supplement question
Cramps
Vitamin C and E
Hamstring pain
Cycling duration without eating
Climbing events
Foot pain on new bike
Patella Tendon tingling
Salty?
Road bike shoes
Supplement question
Pam Hinton writes in one of her usually excellent responses:
"Remember, when it comes to vitamin and mineral supplements, more is not better."
I'm sure many of us, myself included, would like to hear why. I have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from Pam Hinton's past comments, and hope she will elaborate on the supplement issue.
Michael Ross
Cramps
I am 47 years old and have been riding about 14 years. After riding my calves are tight. I have checked my seat height with a fitstick. Can you gave me any idea on this problem.
Jeff Tally
Vitamin C and E
I have read lately about the some the possible adverse effects of taking extra vitamin E, which along with vitamin C is something I've been taking for about six years because of their antioxidant properties. Because intense training and racing produces free radicals, and because I want to limit the damage they cause, can I be safe (and content) with a simple daily multi-vitamin and not go to the supplements I've been using? Many thanks for your help.
Michael Bauman
Hillsdale, Michigan
Hamstring pain
I am a 48 year old masters racer (cat 1) who has been racing for the better part of 25 years (five year break in the early 90's). I am 6' tall and 200lbs (very proportioned, about 6% bodyfat, maybe a little too much time in the gym). I start training in late February (because of winter conditions and other sports) and finish my season in late October. I do approximately 25-30 races per year (mostly crits). I follow a reasonable training schedule, starting with a base of about 800 easy miles over 4-5 weeks before I start any build phase. Then I do a progression from 8 up to 20 hours per week (adding two hours a week) in a 7 week cycle.
I follow a similar program to something like CTS. I really only go hard 2-3 days per week. I really believe that I get plenty of recovery (spin time in zone 2 or less). I am always amped to ride hard, but try to control myself and I recover well (I hardly ever feel tired or sore).
My problem is that for most of last year I experienced slight to major pain in my left hamstring area. It is on the inside of my leg (closer to the inside than the outside) about 3 inches from the centre hinge of the knee (poor description?). I have looked on a chart and the closest I can figure is somewhere around the semitendinosis. It feels like a cramp coming on, but never quite gets to that major pain of a cramp. I know it is not a pull, because I don't feel it other than on the bike.
It also feels worse during high cadence spins doing good circles and not so much climbing or mashing. Very strange! It made me pull out of several races last year. This year, it is less noticeable, but I can (only sometimes) still feel it coming back - it comes on more in crits than road races and even less often in training (have I confused you enough?).
I know I mentioned the gym earlier, but I never feel it doing weights. In fact, last year I didn't lift at all during the season. I surely don't want to go through what I did last year (my worst year ever). Any suggestions? I would really appreciate your excellent opinion either in your forum or by e-mail.
Bryan Funsten
Bryan Funsten then said
My legs are exactly the same length. I use Time shoes with Look cleats (and have for the last 10 years or so). I am a fanatic (way to much so) about riding and cleat position and have multiple bikes (RR, multiple crit,TT, etc) that are all measured exactly (with a slight change for the tt bike). I have my shoe soles marked for replacing cleats. I am in a good position with relation to shoe vs axle. Bottom line is - everything has been the same and worked well for years, until last year. I pedal pretty good circles (spent too many years on the track) with a fairly flat follow through. I did some experimenting yesterday and found that when the pain came on, if I tried to push through the downstroke even more with my heel, the pain would go away! Does this give you any more clues? Thanks!
Cycling duration without eating
How long or far can a person cycle (15-16.5 mph) without eating but while drinking enough water? Thanks.
FC
Climbing events
My question involves the preparation for two centuries that involve total climbing of 12,000 and 16,000 feet respectively. Both events will involve courses that approach between 8,000 and 9,000 feet in elevation. I have ridden one 30-mile climbing stretch and found my times to be extremely competitive with past events.
However, in my preparation I have not done a single day where I have 12,000 feet of climbing or more. Is it necessary to match the same amount of climbing in a day to know that there will be no problems the day of the event? Is it reasonable to ride 70% of the total climbing and expect that the rest will not be an issue the day of the event? Thanks again.
J Ishmael
Laguna Niguel
Foot pain on new bike
I purchased a new road bike a few weeks ago and have an emerging problem with my feet. The outside of my foot at the base of the small toe develops a hot spot that is quite painful after riding in large gears (such as on local 'power climbs', or after riding in fast groups for extended periods of time). I've experienced this pain on rides as short as one hour but the pain goes away quickly after a half-hour or so.
The pain did not occur on my previous bike and the pain is found in the same spot and with the same intensity on both feet. The cleats are in the same position (the pedal spindle sits slightly behind the ball of the foot) on each shoe with the right cleat set slightly off-center to compensate for a misaligned foot (points right rather than straight).
The pedals are Shimano SPD-SL and I use Nike Poggio II shoes. I used to ride a 51cm Cervelo Soloist, but have switched to a 50cm Cannondale R5000. I should also mention that I have changed saddles (SSM Concor to a Fizik Arione), added one cm (9 to 10) to my stem and widened my handlebars from 40 to 42 (c-c) after going through a fit session (with the same shoes and pedals) prior to buying the new bike.
I have considered buying new shoes (Pearl Izumis or customs from Rocket 7) and pedals (the new Time pedals), but I would like to wait until I hear from any of the consultants on my problem. Thank you for taking the time to help me with this problem.
Greg Michalak
TX, USA
Patella Tendon tingling
I'm a 36 year old male, 5'8", 150 lbs. I am training for a 585 mile ride from San Fran to LA. I have been doing Triathlons for the last two years, so this is my first year dedicated to cycling. I was fit by a local bike shop. I have been building up my mileage according to the following schedule over the past 13 weeks:
60,60,80,80,90,60,70,130,125,140,95,100,150 miles per week. Most of this is flat, although once or twice a week I add in some climbing. I use the Shimano PD-R600 pedal which has 6 degrees of float. I have orthodics that were prescribed for my running that I wear when I ride. I eat a healthy balanced diet and take a daily multi-vitamin supplement.
I had trouble in my left knee, but a slight change in my cleat position (was not the same as the other foot) cleared up the problem quickly.
A week ago, however, my right knee (the one I've never had trouble with), has started to tingle during the day. The tingle feels like it is below the knee in the patella tendon. This seems to happen regardless of whether I rode the previous day or not. I don't feel it while riding, just while I am sitting at work or walking around. It's not constant; instead, it is a wave of tingling that comes on for a few seconds and then goes away. It can be a few seconds or a few minutes before the next wave of tingling. It's localised and is only a very mild annoyance, but it's been persistent now for a week, so I am wondering if it's OK to continue to ignore it.
Ray L.
Salty?
I am a 29 year old roadie and have been cycling for almost 10 years now. I do weekend races and ride an average of only 50-75kms per day(these includes 200+ kilometres on Sundays)
Recently, I noticed that I'm a bit saltier than the rest of the group I ride with. 'saltier' meaning lots of salt deposit on my skin and clothes after few hours of riding. Is something wrong with my system? What would probably cause this?
Christian Entica
Road bike shoes
I am just getting into road biking with a little racing mixed in. I am 30 years old and have basically been riding since the first week of February. In the past month I got my first pair of clip on pedals (classic Forte) and shoes (Adidas). I have been riding between 10-30 miles about 5-6 days a week. My shoes have three Velcro straps.
My question is: On my right foot (I am right handed) the strap closest to my ankle puts a lot of pressure on the part of my foot where the bend is on the strap(top side of my foot, left side. How do I decide when this is not the correct shoe for me or that I just to keep riding and break the shoes in? Thanks in advance for your help.
Justin T. Newman
Midland, Michigan
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