Fitness questions and answers for November 29, 2004

Form & Fitness Q & A

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.

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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.

I am a 22 year old male road cyclist, starting my second winter training. My concern is about weight training. I planned to do 3 months of just base training and a month specifically of weight training after the base period. This seems to make sense, because I will initially just develop endurance and then power (so I can go hard on the weight because my legs will have the endurance to handle it). But I have read some tips advising to do weight training during the base period too. Can I still benefit from the base training while doing "intense" training simultaneously?

For most scenarios, you can benefit from combining base training with a strength program, but, I think the answer for your question is based on the type of strength training you are doing (% max, reps, sets, etc). vs. the total amount of weekly volume you are doing during your "base". Not all strength training should be considered "intense" for a cyclist. It is okay to combine a lower intensity weight program with base miles provided you are getting sufficient recovery between workouts.

The idea that you should not do any intense exercise during the base period is a myth. Some coaches have suggested that low intensity, large volume 'base' type work leads to the increased development of capillary density, and that intense work somehow damages these capillaries. However, this is untrue, and a high capillary density is correlated with a high VO2max, which is best trained with intensities that approach and are around VO2max.

I know that a lot of people say that if you can hold a certain number of watts uphill you can beat the competition, right? But is Watts per kilogram what matters, more than just training at a certain amount of Watts while climbing? Lets say I am 68kg, then if I can produce 350-400 Watts while climbing that will make my Watts per kilo around 4.7-5.3. What kind of Watts per kilo would I need to be competitive at the Tour? Is power output in Watts per kilo a better indicator of success? And does it also matter for endurance races and other types of racing?

I am a 31 yr old male cyclist who is currently riding at B-grade level. I am typing this letter with my left hand as l unfortunately broke my right collar bone in a club Madison race on the weekend. My collar bone is now in 3 pieces, with quite a large bump visible from the outside. The Hospital/Doctors have put me in a sling and I am seeing a specialist in a weeks time. I am a little concerned about the healing process, and that I will always have this large bump. As broken collar bones are a fairly common cycling injury, I was wondering if you could give me some advise to what I should do to help the bone heal as straight as possible. I am not in pain and am able to ride a stationary trainer.

Yes, unfortunately a broken collar bone is a common cycling injury, and even worse, you had to experience that. When people fall, they instinctually try to hold out their arms to brace themselves with their hands. This will seem obvious, but there's a point. If the fall weren't broken with outreached hands, the body core would slam against the ground, damaging vital internal organs. When a person falls, they'll usually jam their hands straight into the ground. The force is transferred from the hands directly up the arm. If the fall is hard enough, the force will be passed through the shoulder joint to the clavicle (collar bone). If there's still enough force, the clavicle will break. Sound familiar?

I've seen a few letters recently about problems with numb feet (e.g., Nov. 8). I'm no medical expert, but cyclists with this problem should look into whether they have a condition called Morton's Neuroma. Its symptoms sound a lot like some of the ones being reported. I had this problem myself. My understanding is that it is caused by the metatarsal bone in the foot pressing on a nerve. In my case, the symptoms were tingling in the fourth and fifth toes after about 30 to 45 minutes riding, with increasing numbness, gradually building to excruciating pain around 60-90 minutes. I could pedal through the pain for a while but invariably I was forced to stop. A few seconds after putting my feet back on the ground, the pain would disappear. At first I thought that my shoes were too small, but as it turned out I had plenty of wriggle room -- Morton's Neuroma was the culprit. The solution was an orthotic insert with a small, firm lump that fits just behind the ball of the foot. You can find this kind of orthotic in drug stores, sometimes called a "metatarsal insert," or you can buy more expensive prescription devices. Once I started using them (both while riding and for everyday use), the pain went away. Anyhow, some of the letters have mentioned symptoms that sounded very similar to mine, so they may want to consider this information. And of course, a good podiatrist would know more.

The real advantage, though, of the Impact system, is when a 3-screw shoe is used. Some of the best carbon-soled shoes have thicknesses of near half of the Time (or other brand with adaptor). You usually will need to add the curved black plastic shim (just under 1mm in thickness at it's thinnest point - at the typical ball of foot location), but still the total cumulative distance from axle center to the bottom of your foot can be 2-2.5mm less than the Time TBT pedals.

I've been a 12 year user of the TBT system, and am only just this season converting a few bikes to the Impact pedals. The above details are what I arrived at after much investigation, and riding impressions seem to support it. I use Sidi shoes with the Time adaptor (about the same total sole thickness as my Time Equipe shoes - I never tried the Universole models). Incidentally, I found that the Impact cleats would not function directly with the Sidi-supplied Time adaptors. The cleat, though metal, would deform a bit where the two countersink areas were (for the two TBT cleats) and the center would bulge out. I had to find shim spacers to match the depth of these countersinks, so the Impact cleat would have a level surface to rest on. I suspect a similar problem may occur with Time-brand shoes. I have not yet tried replacing the Sidi-Time adaptor with the Sidi-Look adaptor.

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