Cyclingnews Fitness Q&A - July 13, 2011

An AIS physiotherapist (Image credit: Gerard Knapp)

Topics: Base Training, Recovery techniques, Shoulder Pain, Another question on numb feet

I'm a 34 year old Australian cyclist who has been competing in road and criterium races for the last 3 years. I race B grade at club level and usually C grade at the open level and have competed in races up to 150k. Over this time most of my training has consisted of approximately a 50/50 split between bunch rides and solo rides and I would average somewhere around 300-350k per week. In an effort to improve my racing I've recently read Joe Friel's training bible and have tried to adopt a more structured approach.

However, I would like to be more competitive in some of the road races held in the middle of the year. So, should I be foregoing a crit season to build a large base in summer given that base building is to be done at relatively low intensity? The other problem I've discovered is that the Friel program is really based on 1 or 2 major peaks a year whereas I guess I'm aiming just to be strong and consistent throughout a road season.

My final question is regarding an off season. Since beginning racing I've had a short break of a couple of weeks around October and then launched back into training and then racing crits from around mid Nov onwards. Given that to me it seems to make sense to take advantage of the good weather over summer to get in as much riding as possible I'm a little bit reluctant to taper my training right back for a longer period to really only begin training in Jan-Feb if I was going to build towards a peak in the middle of the year.

There's no question that most riders can get stronger and race more competitively by adopting a periodized training plan that includes a few weeks or rest, a few months of base, a transition to intensity and then racing rather than just racing year round. The exception is that riders who are so aerobically powerful that they don't need to push up near LT for more than a few minutes to win a race can win races year round because they can build base while racing.

Your problem, having to choose racing and training periods is not unique to Australia. We have the same thing here in California, where if you are willing to race cyclocross and track, you can race at least twice and often as many as six days a week year round. The solution is simple but not easy: You do need to pick training and racing periods. If you train very well for 4-5 months and your races challenge you, it is possible to keep good form for 6-10 weeks, and then get another month of good racing if your are willing to do a month or two of rebuild. Thus you could do two extended periods of racing.

Question 1) Lactic Acid: You are entirely right that lactic acid is better thought of as a fuel than a poison. Lactic acid does not cause soreness or heavy legs or most of the other negative things that many athletes ignorantly ascribe to it. The things that cyclists do to "get rid of lactic acid", such as gentle massage, easy spins on the bike, compression tights and putting the legs up after a ride all help with recovery for reasons that have more to do with circulation or relaxation and nothing to do with clearing lactic acid. Let's say lactic acid is a superstition, but the rituals work.

Question 2) You are also right that cold compresses, ice massage and other forms of cryotherapy inhibit rather than enhance circulation when they are applied for a few minutes, so not much healing or refueling happens during the few minutes of cold application. On the other hand, cryotherapies of at least some sorts do reduce inflammation and next day muscle soreness, and accelerate the return of performance ability, so they are aiding recovery, just not by speeding healing during their application.

There have been many cases of scientists and athlete/coaches being at odds over particular training or competition questions. Generally this has been a result of the scientists needing to reframe the question appropriately. Science can only answer carefully framed questions. Science is good at making statements like, when we do X, Y results. It's not so good at answering questions like, what's the best way to X?

Many times, scientists have done good research to demonstrate that when we X, Y results, and others have come along to say that since we want Y, we should X and come to remarkably wrong conclusions that have taken decades to sort out. For instance, scientists have known for about a century that the most efficient cadence in terms of oxygen consumption is much lower than the cadences adopted by racing cyclists. Some have been foolish enough to suggest that the 60-80 rpm cadences that minimize oxygen consumption for a given power output should be adopted by racers. It turns out however that there is plenty of oxygen in the atmosphere and while oxygen uptake limits moment by moment performance, it is not the main limiter for bike racers. Muscle fatigue plays that role, and muscle fatigue is minimized when peak muscle tensions each stroke are minimized, which turns out to happen right in the 90-110 rpm range where cyclists actually race. (Surprise!) This is a case of we thought we wanted Y, but Z turns out to be more important.

Scientists also thoroughly proved that strength training does little to boost VO2-max or aerobic power in already trained athletes. Some coaches made the error of generalizing from there to say that endurance athletes should not strength train. After all, strength training causes weight gain and doesn't boost the two crucial variables of VO2-max and LT power, and yet many top cyclists continue strength training and continue to win. What's going on? We know that VO2-max and power at LT are important limiters in bike racing, but again they are not the only important ones. It turns out that strength training can increase endurance for very-intense work, for instance doubling the time one can continue to pedal at the power output that corresponds to V02-max in one study. That increase in high-intensity endurance can easily make the difference between making the winning break and getting spit out the back after a series of attacks, without affecting VO2-max or LT power.

I have been racing/riding on the same setup for many months now, but recently developed shoulder pain on my left shoulder. It feels like some kind of rotator cuff impingement and it seems to only flare up after riding and when my arm is stretched out into the riding position. I've had a Retul fit done by a very reputable fitter so I trust the fit, but I was wondering if the shifter position could have an effect on this (in terms of inward/outward rotation). It got me wondering about the subject and I was wondering if there is a standard position for Sram shifters and also, if you had any other ideas of what could be causing the problem (too much reach perhaps?)

2. A factor of position or your own function that is destabilising you and causing you to overextend or bear more weight on the left arm and, or thrust the left shoulder further forward. If so, the most common reason for that is not sitting squarely on the seat with right hip forward / too high a seat height / too low or too extended a bar placement / poor brake hood placement or any combination of those

As a self diagnostic, when next you ride, place hands on brake hoods and after riding for a period at reasonable intensity, have a look and see if your left elbow is more locked than your right elbow. If it is, then in most cases you will find that your left shoulder is thrust further forward too and that this is the cause of your problem. As above, the most common reason for that is that you sit with right hip down or forward or both. This will explain more.

When I started riding I was on Speedplay zero with mid range specialized shoes (comp). After two years they were falling apart so I upgraded. Sticking with Specialized on the basis that I never had any issues with them. One model up - the Comp Pro (I think) - same set up. All of a sudden I started getting numb feet. I changed the inner-sole to the old one - no fix. So I researched and decided to change the shoe - just in case. L Garneau - seemed to have fixed the issue but once I started putting more pressure on the pedals (training, racing, longer rides) - same issue. Ok, changed the pedals to Look. Same issue. Different shoes - Specialized Sworks. Much better but still after 1hr the issue prevails. Saddle height does not seem to make a difference either. Shifting of the cleats changes the timing of the numbness but neverthless after 1hr in the saddle it somehow starts again - with more or lesser intensity.

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.