Fitness questions and answers for April 24, 2007
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.
Fitness decline on a rest phase
Maximum heart rates
Physiological cycling issues
Overtraining
Iliotibial band syndrome
Lower back pain
Hip rotation
Crank length
Fitness decline on a rest phase
I am male, 35 years old and currently riding Cat 2 events in Australia, mainly criteriums of 60 minute duration.
I have been training consistently since August 2006. I average about 450-550 km per week and haven't had any rest periods away from the bike at all for this entire period. I ride pretty much every day averaging 2-4.5 hours. This training consists of hills, flats, race and low recovery heart rate days - less than 120bpm. So I have a big base.
Before you say it, yeah I know I'm overtraining - and I admit that I'm fully addicted. What I'm wondering, is if I go away on holiday for three weeks (20 days) will I lose the fitness I've gained and also what should I do to 'get back into it' on my return? I suppose I'm asking 'how long before your fitness begins to decline when away from the bike?'
I'll be doing heaps of walking etc while away but no riding at all.
Steve
Scott Saifer replies:
This is one of my favorite questions and thanks for the opportunity to answer it in this forum. When you take time away from the bike, measurable signs of detraining show up by the second day.
Maximum heart rates
I just read a few responses to a query about maximum heart rates and am a little concerned about mine.
Around the age of 21 I recorded a maximum heart rate one day of almost 220bpm. I remember it because it was the hardest I had ever ridden a bike.
I did a VO2 max test at the age of about 32 and reached around 210bpm from memory which the testers noted as being high. They almost stopped me riding towards the end of the test.
Recently (at the tender age of 38) I have recorded (using a heart rate monitor) a max heart rate of 208 during a very hard effort.
Out riding with some friends I have noticed that as we up our pace my heart rate sits about 20bpm above theirs. I can comfortably sit at around 180bpm (breathing moderately) but above this things start getting harder.
My resting heart rate is around 48bpm
Should I be worried?
Jeremy
Scott Saifer replies:
In a word, no. Your maximum heart rate has been on the high end of the normal range for many, many years and is not something to worry about. If you need a way to think about it, you have a relatively small heart that beats relatively fast to move the same amount of blood as the hearts of other, larger hearted riders.
Physiological cycling issues
Hi there, I am studying Sport Science at university. Currently I am investigating physiological issues related to cycling. I was wondering if you would just be able to point out what you would say are the major issues in cycling?
Thanks for you time.
Sarah Nicholls
Scott Saifer replies:
I'm not trying to be flip here, but open an exercise physiology textbook to the table of contents and you pretty much get a list of important physiological issues in cycling: Muscle contraction; glycogen synthesis, storage and use; pulmonary function; cardiac function; responses to heat, altitude, cold, dehydration; contraction speed-force curves; muscle fatigue; glycolysis; lactate metabolism; endocrinology; fatty acid mobilization and metabolism.
Overtraining
I have an enquiry into the conditions of overtraining and chronic fatigue syndrome.
I have been diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, and my doctor has basically explained to me that this is more or less the same as chronic fatigue syndrome. I am realistic enough to expect, at this point, it will likely be a number of months until I am able to return to regular activity.
The basic treatment that I have been advised to follow is to rest for an ongoing period until I feel better. I have also consulted with a sport psychologist to better cope with a long period of relative inactivity.
My doctor, who is quite experienced having worked at a sports institute in Australia for a long period, has also mooted that we may try using some hormone therapy (testosterone), but this would involve jumping through a variety of hoops with ASDA, and there is no clinical proof for it actually working in this circumstance.
Ultimately, the reason I ended up this way is that I tried to put too many races together over too many seasons, both in the northern and southern hemisphere. I was of the mistaken belief that you didn't really need an off season and could just keep pressing on.
My specific questions are:
1) What is fatigue anyway?
2) Is there any way to accurately and scientifically measure it apart from my subjective assessment of how I feel?
3) Is there anything I can do to speed my recovery apart from basic rest and working to ensure I have quality sleep and nutrition?
Also, I'd appreciate it greatly if you could point me in the direction of an article or website that accurately explains my condition.
Martin
Melbourne, Australia
Carrie Cheadle replies:
It's great to hear that you have consulted with a sport psychologist. A couple additional things you can do during this time:
Iliotibial band syndrome
Hi Folks: Got a new bike, did the classic dumb thing. Ran my up miles too early too fast before I'd gotten it dialed in 100%. Bam...ITB in my left knee only. Did the usual rest/ice/stretches. Improved, but I'm still not trusting it...still feel it just a bit. Afraid to jump on the bike and just do a 50-75 miler again.
On my old bike. it doesn't bother me as much...why? I've now got saddle height, set back, and pedals and shoes the same (though when I started off on the new bike, pedals were platforms, not SPD, and shoes were gym). Old bike is a 56cm Specialized Roubaix, new bike is a 59cm Rivendell Bleriot.
I think the old bike is too small, but it feels good when I ride it. My only issue with the old bike was I couldn't get the bars up enough; I've since found a widget that does that for me.
So assuming I stick with the old bike, do I have a chance of ridding myself of this? Thanks in advance, any suggestions on best way to do this would be much appreciated.
Marc Bratton
Steve Hogg replies:
Why the left knee only? The most common reasons in no particular order are:
Lower back pain
I am a 52 year-old male and compete regularly in our local veterans road racing events and commute daily (20kms each way) to work.
Over the past 12 months I have suffered from lower back pain which seems to originate in the left side hip area. The problem only arises after riding for more than around two hours and performance is not really affected. The pain and discomfort becomes more noticeable when standing in the one spot for a while or after lifting and carrying heavy objects.
Stretching and massage help matters and at the moment the problem is quite manageable however, over the past few weeks I have started to experience slight numbness in the left hip when driving, sitting and occasionally riding with one instance of the numbness extending to my left shoulder during a rather hard climb.
I am getting a little concerned with this latest development and am contemplating a number of options, having a total break from the bike and re-evaluating my bike fit come to mind.
Nathan Graham
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Steve Hogg replies:
First option is to see a good structural health professional for a stripped to underwear structural assessment so that you know the state of play. The left hip numbness/left side low back pain I can explain away as various structural shortcomings and a bike position not ideal for that. But now that it is affecting you off the bike and with the shoulder numbness as well, I think you should rethink your approach to fitness. A change of bike position may minimise or even sort out the pain / numbness issues on the bike but will do nothing to solve similar issues you are experiencing off the bike.
Hip rotation
My Chiropractor has told me that I have my right hip rotated forward, also looking at the x-ray you see the right hip lower than the left by almost 9 mm. My left knee moved toward the top tube. I use Specialized S-Works shoes with two varus wedges on my left and one on my right. I did notice a severe pronation in my left foot (inward) that's why I use two wedges.
Can you tell me what can be done to try and get my left side feeling stronger while pedaling? My inseam is 85cm and I have a seat high of 74.6cm. To get my bike fitted I used Andy Pruitt's Medical Guide. I still use the book to address this problem, but I don't know if it's IT band syndrome or a functional leg length inequality. I'm a 44 year-old recreational rider that would like to get better bike fit. I love to hammer my Sunday training rides!
Keep up the good work.
Eric E Medina
Puerto Rico
Steve Hogg replies:
Everything you say can be explained by the forward rotation of the right hip assuming that is still the case on the bike. If it is, then the plane of movement of the left leg is challenged, the left leg reaches further and so on.
Crank length
I just bought a new ride for the spring. I noticed the crank length was different from my current ride. I was riding 172.5mm cranks and the new ones are 170mm. Will I notice a big difference in the crank lengths?
I am 5'10 -5'11, a club rider but no longer race but still do some high intensity workouts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Mark Lovallo
Steve Hogg replies:
The short answer is no, not much. If you have two bikes, you are likely to have different seats, bars, seat tube angles, stem lengths and so on. The difference in crank length for an average leg length for your height will not make a huge difference either way. Other equipment differences will probably have more impact.
