Cyclingnews Fitness Q&A - August 17, 2011

Mary is happy for any chance to prepare some good food. (Image credit: Mary McConneloug & Mike Broderick)

Topics: Fitting a new seat, Diet and weight, Returning to competitive racing, Sore hamstrings - bike fit issues.

I don't think this is an electrolyte or hydration issue. Several months ago I began experimenting with the "sit bone" seats (Selle SMP and ISM) to be a little more friendly on "the boys" and better accommodate my rotated and dropped sacrum. I do feel like I am better planted on the seat and sitting straighter in general but it feels like I have a little more weight shifted forward and my quads, and to a lesser degree my hamstrings, are working harder while my gluts are not as much. I set my knee to spindle distance the same as I have always had. Any ideas or thoughts? Is this an inherent issue with these types of seats?

Then start making changes one at a time. I assume that the SMPs and ISM seats you have tried have altered your position in space above the bike. Your are convinced that your knee is in the same relationship to the pedal that you are used but this doesn't mean you are in the same position on the bike that you are used to. The Knee / Pedal relationship can be the same with differing seat heights and setbacks. Based on what you have said, I'd suggest that your experimenting has left your seat too far forward and and too high.

My question relates to diet and weight. I have struggled to stay down at my winter weight (~167 lbs) despite the longer ride and work out times (currently I float around 170+). I have not changed my diet much if at all (intake ~2000-2200 calories per day). I am looking to start racing next year (at a very amateur level of course) and I would like drop some more weight. My question is this - what do you recommend for someone to do for their diet to help lost more weight? Do you think it has more to do with the exercise being longer endurance rides vs. short interval rides? Any diet plans that you might recommend? Thanks

Regarding your difficulty maintaining your winter weight despite the increased training volume, keep in mind that we are talking about a very small difference in body weight (167 vs. 170 lbs, i.e., less than 2%!). Recognize that body weight and body composition are not the same thing. In other words, you don’t know whether the increase in body weight is due to gains in muscle, fat or a combination. It is quite possible that, in reality, you are relatively leaner now due to a gain in lean body mass since the winter.

Before I give anyone advice on how to lose weight, I always ask them to consider whether their weight loss goal or "ideal" body weight is realistic. Trying to achieve a body weight or percent body fat that is too low and/or cannot be sustained will ultimately have undesirable effects on performance and health. You didn’t provide your height, so I cannot determine whether losing a few pounds would leave you at a healthy body weight. However, at 2,000-2,200 kcal/day, your energy intake is quite low, making it difficult to consume a nutritionally adequate diet. In my experience, you will be much more successful at losing the weight and maintaining a lower weight if you focus more on your training and less on "dieting".

To create an energy deficit you can decrease your energy intake and/or increase your energy output. Being aware of portion size is a great place to start to decrease your energy intake. There are other small changes that you can make to your diet that aren’t likely to have a negative impact on your training. You want to limit your intake of foods that have a high energy density, i.e., a lot of kcals per volume, and that are low in other nutrients (like vitamins and minerals). A good example of this type of food is the fat that we add to our food (e.g., butter on bread, dressing on salad, etc.) I am by no means suggesting that you eliminate these foods from your diet.

This a very small decrease in your overall energy intake, but over the course of 4-5 weeks would result in a loss of one pound of body fat. You should also pay attention to the energy you consume as beverages. Soda, fruit "juice," and beer have about 150-200 calories per 12-ounce serving, and most of that energy comes from simple sugar (or alcohol). You could easily reduce your energy intake by eliminating these "empty" calories.

To increase the "energy out" half of the energy-balance equation you could increase the frequency or duration of your exercise session to expend more calories. You might also try increasing the intensity of your workouts by doing hill repeats or intervals once a week. The high-intensity efforts (>85% of max) cause your metabolic rate to stay elevated for several hours after the workout. This increase in your metabolic rate by ~10% is equivalent to approximately 200 extra calories expended during the 24 hours after the high-intensity session. It takes an energy deficit of 3500 kcal to lose one pound of body fat. You could accomplish this by substituting a high-intensity workout for 8 weeks.

You are on the right track with the idea of training through the rest of this summer and right up to the 2012 races. You need a training plan, which is more than I can describe here in adequate detail. I'd suggest you get yourself a book or work with a coach. Very briefly, you should do a few months of base and then start increasing intensity gradually with one month that includes long sub-lactic threshold intervals a couple of days per week, one month that includes shorter LT intervals a couple of days per week, and then one month that includes either club rides, races that you enter for training, or supra-threshold efforts, sprints, all-out hill repeats and the like one or two days per week. I usually suggest that people use racing to put the finishing touches on racing fitness so that they get a dose of tactical education along with their high-end fitness, but if you want to be hot off the blocks, you'll have to develop your high end before you start racing.

Scott Saifer (www.wenzelcoaching.com) is head coach, CEO of Wenzel Coaching.com and has been coaching cyclists professionally for 18 years. He combines a master's degree in Exercise Physiology with experience in 20 years of touring and racing and over 300 road, track and MTB races to deliver training plans and advice that are both rigorously scientific and compatible with the real world of bike racing.

Steve Hogg has owned and operated Pedal Pushers since 1986, 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. Clients range from recreational riders and riders with disabilities to World and National champions. He can be reached at: www.stevehoggbikefitting.com

James Hibbard progressed from the junior to the professional ranks as a rider and has over 15 years of competitive cycling experience. He is a former Collegiate All-American track cyclist, trained as a resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center, earned international medals as part of the U.S. National Team, and was a member of the powerhouse Shaklee and HealthNet Professional road cycling teams.

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.