Fitness questions and answers for March 29, 2004

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This may seem like a naive question, but what are the limiting factors in sprinting, which is arguably the most important discipline when it comes to actually winning the majority of mass start races? Why do people who are born with all those fast twitch muscles sprint much faster than aerobic diesel engines, like Lance Armstrong? Lance must obviously have one of the best aerobic engines in the game, but when it comes to a four man sprint on the flat, he'll nearly always finish fourth.

Ric expressed doubt that sprinting was important. I was generalising of course, but if you look at the top of the victory list last year you'll see sprinters: Petacchi with 28 wins, Zabel with 14, Kirsipuu and McEwen with 12, Cooke with 10, Valverde with 9 (although he can climb too). Of the non-sprinters, the best is Vinokourov with 11 wins, then Simoni with 10, Mayo and Rich with 8 etc. Lance Armstrong is a fair way down the list with 5 wins, although one of them was a big one ;-) . This is just grouping riders into "pure sprinters" and "everyone else". I dare say if you looked closely at the "everyone else" list you would find a lot of riders who had a very handy sprint too.

In my experience in all sorts of racing, solo wins are very rare, while small to large groups contesting the finish are not. Obviously the better sprinters in the group are going to end up as gaining most of the placings. Also during a race such as a crit, the ability to sprint is crucial if it's a technical circuit and/or there are a lot of attacks. I you can't sprint out of a corner as quick as the person in front of you, then gaps will invariably open up, causing many problems! It's tough closing them down at 50-55 km/h. Same thing applies to following an attack - if you can get the attacker's wheel straight away, you're a lot better off.

Ric also pointed out the important of drafting. Of course, this is why people of widely varying abilities can hang onto a fast, but flat bunch ride. The hills sort things out fast, as the front riders will probably be putting out more power (e.g. 250W on the flat up to 350W on the climb) but the people sitting on will have to nearly double theirs relative to what they were putting out before (e.g. 170W on the flat to 330W on the climb). Depending on steepness, effectiveness of the draft etc.

The issue of peak wattage is what I was getting at in my question. I think my peak power was around 1100W on a good day. I have lost an unbelieveable number of sprints in the jump (as Dave noted it's one of *the* crucial aspects of sprinting), even though once I wind up, I end up at the same speed as the others. And the slower the starting velocity, the worse for me [yes, I've tried starting in a lower gear, which helps slightly]. I've won sprints whenever I've been able to get a good lead out i.e. not being gapped off the wheel when the sprint starts, and drafting until 150m to go, waiting for everyone else to hit their peak speed, before coming round. So I'm not a completely hopeless case ;-)

My current sprint training consists of trying to win the bunch sprint along the Schelde whenever I go out with the boys in the morning. This is never a tactical sprint - it's more of a classic leadout, where the speed starts to lift in the final two km and if I pick a good wheel I can time it right to "win". I find it good practice, but it doesn't address the weakness of the jump. The Schelde sprints are perfect for tactical practice, apart from the occasional rider coming the other way - I'll pull up if this is the case.

In addition to Ric and Dave's comments I think the term 'sprinters' is often overused. If we looked at the sprinters in the pro peloton their percentage muscle fibre makeup is probably around 60% slow twitch to 40% fast twitch compared to true track sprinters who are likely to be above 80% fast twitch. Also the power output of an elite track sprinter often peaks over 2000 Watts compared to the pro peloton sprinter of 1200-1600W as mentioned before.

I think there's probably plenty of races where there's small groups coming together, and the riders that win aren't road sprinters, they're just more practiced at the skill and technique of sprinting (see Brett's reply). However, that said, there's also going to be a difference in actual sprint ability as well (i.e., peak power). This can be trained on the bike with the correct training. Additionally, there's always going to be certain people limited in certain abilities because they chose their parents badly. however, that doesn't mean they can't improve it my just mean that they can't excel at a particular aspect.

I echo Brett's emphasis on the importance of positioning and usually tell my athletes that there are two races. The first is to a certain point (e.g., the last corner in a criterium) and the second is to the finish line. Without "placing" well in the first finish, you cannot really compete for the actual finish. Placing in the first finish has a lot to do with mental attitude (the 'tude in what I call The TMT of Sprinting, which can be read at www.velo-fit.com/articles.htm), which explains why some formerly successful bunch sprinters eventually lose their bunch sprint prowess after experiencing a nasty crash.

Thanks for your response. As I said to Ric, I could probably define a sprinter as "anyone who sprints faster than me" ;-) . But seriously, your point is well taken that it's a big sliding scale from track sprinters down to club C grade sprinters, This is why I initially stated (and still believe) that "sprinting" is is arguably the most important discipline when it comes to actually winning the majority of mass start races. But that wasn't the real point of the question anyway and I don't want to digress.

I agree with you that positioning is crucial in a sprint, and can often be the most important limiting factor. I guess that's why I phrased my question "limiting forces" to refer to just the physical aspects of sprinting. i.e. what is it in your own body that prevents you from going faster? All those extra fast twitch fibres that "sprinters" seem to have must be a big factor in giving them that ability to produce a large peak power and high average power over the course of a sprint. Then there's the aerobic conditioning required to get yourself in the right place at the end and be able to hold it - this is probably why I've never seen a pure track sprinter like Sean Eadie finish a crit [I'm sure it happens].

I'm 19 yrs old, cat 3 racer, but have a major problem. My left leg is shorter than my right. I know this because I have taken measurements by professional bike fitters. Throughout my whole cycling career I've always had a problem with my left leg because I couldn't deliver the same power to the pedal as my right leg could. Is there anything I could do to compensate? So far I've been wearing three socks on my left leg just so that it feels normal when I pedal. Please help and thanks in advance for your help.

I'm a 30 year old rider who was pretty good for a little while. Good enough even to be offered spots on Div 3 teams. I raced and trained pretty well for a number of years, but probably never made enough sacrifices to reach my potential (I've never really been able to keep my weight down low enough to where I'm truly fast in all situations and for no other reason that I love to eat). I don't think so much about going pro on the road anymore though I still have it in the back of my mind I'd like to earn my mtb pro license (I'm semi-pro and again do pretty well) - its just for me to have the satisfaction of earning it, not for any other reason. On one hand, I've worked on it for a long time and know that I can do it - I basically had it the last time I raced a full season.

But, I can't seem to stay focused on training any more. I make excuses that I don't have time, but I probably do if I manage it correctly. A big problem is that I don't really have any goals any more. I feel a bit silly about the whole wanting to reach pro mtb thing, but I can't wrap myself around local stuff, especially short lame crits and road races and get much of any motivation out of it. I've tried to refocus on things like masters championships and what not, but its not really working - I can't seem to want that badly enough.

I didn't ride much at all last year and though I intended to get back into it this season it hasn't really happened. First I injured myself and had to take 6 weeks off and though I still enjoy riding my bike and I still enjoy participating in races when I go, I don't seem to have the motivation to do the training I know I need to do to perform well. I'm not even riding my bike because I'm not really training. I don't think I'm burnt out, but I'm having difficulty in finding reasons to keep riding and racing. Am I being ridiculous? I'm just not making the adjustment to being okay with being a local rider.

I recently got a bike fit to fix a nagging pain in my shoulder. The shorter stem cured the problem, but the raised seatpost is causing discomfort in my right knee, right hip and both my Achilles tendon. The seat was raised by at least half an inch (can't really tell exactly... the fitter just eyeballed it). After talking to a few people, a sports doctor told me that such a drastic change in riding position, even though it might be the right position, can cause problems. He stated that the body needs to adjust to the position bit by bit, and that I should have raised my seat about an eight of an inch every week until I reach the right height. On the other hand, a respectable trainer told me that it doesn't matter how drastic the change... if the position is right, there's no need for the body to adjust. I'm quite confused as to who to believe. Can you shed some light?

I believe that both of your sources are correct, but that there are at least two types of bike fit. One type of bike fit can be done looking only at your skeleton: the lengths of your bones and the angles they make at various points in the pedal stroke. This type of fit could be achieved by say, getting a knee angle between 25 and 35 degrees at the bottom of the pedal stroke and the knee 2cm behind the pedal spindle. With this type of fit, you look right on the bike, at least while holding still, and it can be a great fit for both comfort and power. If you have normal flexibility and muscle elasticity, this fit works well and it is safe to move immediately to the "good" position. If for any reason the ideal fit based on your skeletal structure is not the ideal fit based on your ligaments, tendons or other soft tissues, the "good" position could cause you terrible pain and injury.

The real issue here is how body tissues successfully adapt to stress - in a rapid or slow manner. Research indicates that the tissues of the body take time to respond to stress, be it muscle, bone, or other connective tissue. It is an issue of stimulus and response. If a small stimulus is placed on the body, it will adapt while generally maintaining health, provided that the stimulus is healthy. But the body has limits to the point at which it can adapt and repair, and instead breaks down. Training provides an excellent analogy. If we perform intervals and give adequate recovery, we become stronger. If however we perform excessive workouts without allowing accommodation, we will break down. Soft tissue responds much the same, With a gentle change, the tissues of the body will respond elastically - like a rubber band - lengthening in response. With drastic changes the body will respond plastically - like a rope - and will probably lead to break down. Making drastic changes (and a 1/2" change to your saddle height counts as drastic in my book), particularly to something that is repetitive and to which your body has developed very specific neuromuscular patterns, is a recipe for disaster. We have an "expert" bike fitter here in town who thinks nothing of adding 2 cm (!) to somebody's stem length while adding 1 inch(!) of height to their saddle all at one time, and these people inevitably make it into the clinic. Even when the ultimate position is a good position, the body will never adapt to that large of a change that quickly. I would highly encourage anybody interested in this topic to examine research by Dr. Savio Woo.

I'm 26 year old male cyclist in Melbourne Australia. I weigh about 60kg, have 9% body fat, and am about 172cm tall. I'm what you might call a serious recreational rider but I haven't started racing yet. I took up cycling regularly a bit over a year ago and I love it. I commute to work and cycle on the weekends. About 8 months ago I switched from just cycling for fun to also trying to improve my fitness. I was regularly cycling 8-9 hours/150-200km per week. I try to spread the training out and have rest days. Also, I try to eat reasonably well. I eat plenty of carbohydrates, protein, and fats (the good ones where possible). I could probably eat more fresh fruit and vegetables (couldn't we all though) but I never eat junk food. Plus, daily I take a multi-vitamin supplement. The problem is I keep getting sick. I did let myself get worn out in December and for that I suffered a chest infection requiring antibiotics. Since then whenever I get close to full fitness and start training fully again I get a cold or something. It is very discouraging and hampering my progress as a cyclist. I was wondering what recommendations you could make to help me keep my immune system strong. Thanks.

What you're experiencing is not uncommon and there are certainly ways to address the problem. Given that our autonomic (automatic) nervous system has two main parts, sympathetic (stress response) and parasympathetic (resting and recovery), if we over-stimulate sympathetic drive, immune system function can become compromised. Moderate to intense exercise stimulates this stress response in the body, as can mental stress in our daily lives.

I was just reading the March 15 letters and had a question and a comment. I am a physician, not specifically trained in sports physiology, but I do have an interest in it as an amateur athlete. As regards breakfast, clearly one will have more strength (oops, I am using "strength" in a generic colloquial sense) for most training if one has prepared nutritionally for the training in a similar fashion to which one would prepare a pre-race meal. I was wondering, though, I believe that Andy Hampsten (and I am sure many others) used to advocate doing long distance zone 2 type aerobic endurance rides BEFORE eating breakfast, because they believed that such lower intensity riding without the recent consumption of carbohydrate promoted fat burning and the development of those particular energy systems for endurance riding as opposed to using primarily muscle glycogen. Any more recent literature from scientific studies on such a concept?

I'm training for this year's l'etape du Tour. Obviously, I'm trying to ride as much as possible, but work/family/weather sometimes gets in the way. Until now, I've spent part of my gym time running, occasionally on steep inclines, thiinking that this might be a useful addition to my programme. However, I have now heard some people say that it's wrong to combine running and riding, arguing that the muscular benefits of each are incompatible. Do you have any opinions on this?

It is possible to combine running and cycling - look at triathletes or crossers. The main focus of endurance training is aerobic training. Running trains the aerobic system as well as cycling. It is true, that you won't develop any big cycling punch through running, but running can help you to save time and to develop aerobic capacities faster. Another downside of running is, that running needs more recovery time due to the passive muscle stress when you hit the road with every step.

I'm 49 years old, weight 73kg, and height 1.8m. I'm a very active cyclist, involved in daily commuting and fast weekend club rides averaging 100km. I was recently involved in a car/bike accident, fortunately leaving me with no broken bones, but my right leg and knee were severely bruised and swollen. The knee is now filled with fluid and very stiff. My question is two-fold: how long should I expect the fluid to remain, and are there any therapy modalities that might encourage the fluid dissipation? It's killing me to be sitting around when the spring time weather is calling me! Thank you.

If you have unresolved on continued fluid production in your knee, that is a sign that there is active inflammation (and thus injury) present. Depending on the nature of your injury and the time span through which you have had unresolved swelling, I would question if you haven't had a more serious injury to the joint (meniscus, ligament, etc...). While there are certainly modalities effective at reducing inflammation, if you have active pathology at the joint, it will continue until the offending culprit has healed.

MY doc said, no surgery. He is a pro football coach and I trust his judgement, but I was a bit freaked out. However, he has been 100% right so far. He helped me with a broken femur, a separated collarbone, bursitis and last year he repaired my long-ago-sprained ankle. So far it has not been a problem but yesterday I tweaked it big time. I did the masters 30+race and it was fine and in the pro 123 race it started hurting like the dickens. However, by pedalling differently I was able to finish the race pain free(although everything else was hurting!!)

You certainly could have maintained some stability in your knee with the tear that you sustained. If your main sport is cycling, I do not have any major concerns long term. If you are considering a lot of running and are having pain, you might consider having a second opinion to explore options. It is quite possible that your pain is not due to the ACL, but something else occurring at your knee. With regards to your altered pedal stroke - was it different due to your ankle repair or your knee? If it was because of your knee, you should have it looked at. If it was because of your ankle, and you had a tendon transfer repair, I would consider being examined for orthotics, as your foot and ankle now have different structure and function.