Cyclingnews Fitness Q&A - January 5, 2012

It was a dusty start to marathon nationals in Bend, Oregon. (Image credit: Scott Nelson)

Topics: Power to weight ratios, Returning confidence levels after a bad crash, Efficient cadence, Balancing aerodynamics and power, Recovering from a shattered femur

I am a 17-year-old road cyclist and I compete at the highest level for my age nationally. I see a lot of stuff surrounding road cycling in power relative to weight. I’m an all right time trial rider but my real strength is hills, while I don’t have the power of many of the more mature top riders my exceedingly low weight means that on longer climbs (4min+) and steeper ones I can keep up and beat many of the much better all round riders on those hills. This brings me to my point of writing into you guys.

The reason I have such a low body weight is down to three things, my physical maturity, (which I accept will come to pass), my height (173cm) and my extreme lack of upper body muscle volume. I want to know form you guys if it is worth while doing any upper body specific exercises to increase my strength in my Pecs, biceps, deltoids etc... I already do abdominal workouts because I recognize the importance of strength there.

My last note is that sometimes at an exceedingly high pace when the hammer is down my arms fatigue and go kind of weightless as in a complete loss of strength, far before any other muscle sets do which generally results in a loss of power at the pedals. So I want you guys to answer this question: increasing upper body strength will obviously increase my ability to apply power through a more rigid frame but will the gains in strength be applied enough to outweigh the extra gains in weight.

I have really good news for you. Muscle strength depends on two factors which can develop separately: How much muscle mass you have (size and number of muscle fibers) and how efficiently your brain can recruit the existing muscle mass. Gym workouts done without aerobic endurance work in the same program (not the same session, but sessions of each within the same week) will cause increases in the protein component in individual muscle fibers, increasing muscle mass. The research says that if you do gym work while doing high-volume endurance training in the same program, you will gain muscle strength without gaining muscle mass.

I survived the crash with cuts and bruises and my recovery is going well but my psychologically side is no doubt how to continue with my riding. Reason of my crash is a dog that ran in front of me in second. The accident was unavoidable. How can I channel my fear and my breaking doubts? I stayed locked and paralysed second before crash and that's all I remember! I have only second and half to react and my reaction is both brakes squeezed down to the bottom. My speed was about 40 km/h moment before impact.

To start regaining your confidence you want to create a way to set yourself up for accomplishing small successes. Start off small and slow. When you are ready to get on your bike, go for a short fun ride. Start with situations that don't make you feel nervous and start building confidence from there. Working on your bike handling skills including Scott's suggestions on learning how to fall is a great way to build that confidence as well. Practicing those rolls helps your brain get the message that you aren't as vulnerable as you think and you aren't going to get hurt every time you fall which can help to start breaking that anxiety loop.

It sounds like you might have experienced a concussion as a result of your accident. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that changes the way your brain normally works. Loss of consciousness is one symptom of a concussion, but there are many others, including headache, nausea or vomiting, balance problems, dizziness, double or blurry vision, sensitivity to light or noise, feeling slow or foggy, problems with concentration or memory, and confusion. You don’t have to be “knocked out” to have had a concussion. In fact, most concussions occur without loss of consciousness. You should pay attention to how you are feeling and avoid exercise that aggravates any of these symptoms.

There is no shortage of oxygen or heart beats in the world, so getting maximum power for a given rate of oxygen consumption is not a particularly important goal. The thing that stops racers is not running out of oxygen, but various forms of fatigue. In the case of Ironman triathletes, fuel is the limiting factor. They run out of usable carbohydrate sooner than they face any other sort of fatigue. It turns out that at intensities well below LT, the cadences that reduce oxygen use also spare carbohydrate, enhancing endurance. That doesn't explain why mased-start bike racers ride around 100 rpm though.

Pedal slower than the typical 90-110 of a pro and the well known power=force x velocity equation dominates. Lower foot velocity means higher force to get the same power, and higher force means more rapid fatigue. Pedal much faster than 110 rpm, even if you have a well developed spin, and another effect becomes dominant: Think for a moment about pedaling really fast in a very low gear or with the chain off and you'll realize that a lot of energy and muscle tension go into keeping the feet moving in a circle, even when there is little or no pressure on the pedals. Very high cadences mean more wasted energy, more muscle tension and more rapid fatigue.

Biomechanical modeling studies show that peak muscle tensions during riding at typical power outputs of racers are minimized around 100-110 rpm, coinciding with the cadences actually used by the most successful longer-distance, massed start racers. On very long cranks, the tension minimizing cadence is proportionally slower, and on very short ones, proportionally faster. It appears that racers choose their cadences to minimize muscle tension and thus delay fatigue.

From a training perspective, you want to include lots of time at typical racing cadence, including spinning 90-110 rpm, but also down to 50 rpm if you'll be doing hilly races. Even if you won't be doing hilly races, lower cadence riding is good for recruiting and training fast-twitch muscle fiber, which is very important for sustained and short term high-power efforts, such as time-trialing, riding a break away, chasing and sprinting.

If your heart rate rises when riding in the drops, then there is a problem with the position of your bars, or your flexibility or what is more likely, a problem with both. Ideally, when using an indoor trainer at a given load, your heart rate shouldn't change when moving from the brake hoods to the drops. That it does means that you are reducing your breathing ability or having to enlist more muscles to support your position on the drops.

Given that you are going to need a substantial shim stack on the side of the shorter leg, (and possibly other measures) here is what I would advise. Find a bike fitter with an adjustable bike with adjustable length cranks. Duplicate your existing bike position and crank length on the adjustable bike. Use clipless pedals and shoes. You will not sit squarely on the seat because of the 2" LLD. Keep shortening the crank on the shorter legged side until you are sitting squarely on the seat and both legs are able to pedal smoothly. What difference results in the crank length is the size of shim stack that you are going to need under your shoe.

If you do decide to go to clipless pedals, use Speedplay. The reason I suggest this is that with the size of shim stack you need, rocking torque will become a problem on the shimmed side. The only way to negate or minimise rocking torque is to move the shimmed cleat further back relative to foot in shoe. Speedplay (with optional part no. 13330) offer more rearward adjustment potential than any other system. Also to that end, the current Specialized S works shoes have a more rearward cleat mounting hole position than any other shoe.

Once you have worked out an ideal shim stack with further rearward position of cleat to minimise rocking torque, my advice would be to have a boot maker heat and remove the sole of your shoe and fit a full length dense EVA foam build up of the desired height. Done properly, it will look like a factory job at a glance. A large shim stack will have multiple layers which can come loose where as a built up shoe is faultlessly reliable.

Re your question about differing crank lengths. Only consider this when it is the least worst of only bad options. You already have significant difference in femur (primary lever) length. That means that you will either develop less torque on that side or have to contract muscles harder to produce the same torque. Shortening crank length will reduce torque even more because torque is muscular force exerted on the pedal multiplied by crank length. Ideally, you want to function on the bike in as functionally symmetrical way as possible. The only reason to use a shorter crank is because all else has failed and a shorter crank in conjunction with a shimmed or built up shoe is the only viable option left to you to allow you to ride a bike.

Re your sloppy knee. I have one too but in my case it is an unrepaired rupture of the PCL and MCL that is 38 years old. I've got about 10 - 12 mm of fore and aft slop between tibia and femur but have built up VMO's and hamstrings to the point where I can perform deep single legged squats, have run marathons on it and so on. I would get it repaired but everyone who looks at it tells me that the chances of an operation making any long term improvement are not high. In contrast, my understanding of ACL repairs is that they are fairly routine with a very, very high success rate. Have you considered surgery?

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

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.