Fitness questions and answers for April 12, 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.

It has been interesting reading the recent features on sprint training etc on Cyclingnews. As a sprinter myself I am beginning to struggle with a few things. My coach and I have been developing my sprint over the past few years. Sprinting comes easy to me. Positioning in the pack is usually not a problem, I am aggressive and feel quite at home bumping elbows with people. I agree that sprinting is partially genetics, as is climbing for some people. Body type and muscle tissue type all play a role. My struggle is trying to make it OVER the climb for sprint points and the finishes.

I don't believe that riding a large gear (e.g., 53 x 11) at low cadence (e.g., 50 revs/min) will provide the forces and benefit you require, unless your fitness is low (which we don't know). Using the above gear and cadence combo, on flat roads you'll end up riding at just under 31 km/hr, which is likely to require a quite low power output of maybe somewhere between 120 and 200 W. Depending on your fitness, this may be a long way below your threshold, and as power is decreased so are the forces at the pedal.

I'm a 22yr old male road cyclist interested in boosting my recovery following hard rides. I use Endurox and I recently purchased the massaging "stick" to work on some self massage. Is it necessary for self massaging to be somewhat uncomfortable to derive benefits from it? What about using a balm such as Freddy's Choice in aiding recovery? Any other ways to make my legs feel fresher on the next ride?

The recovery benefits of massage do not necessarily require uncomfortable, deep work. While deep tissue massage can release tight areas and even help align joints, a lighter, more "flushing" massage may also help by improving circulation to the muscles involved. Although there is minimal scientific literature on the performance (& recovery) benefits of massage, most cyclists find massage to be an important aspect of their recovery regimen. Another way to improve circulation and flush the legs is to lie on your back with your legs up a wall for 5-10min. Additionally, to feel fresh on your subsequent rides is with good post ride nutrition, hydration and adequate sleep.

As daylight saving has just finished in our state, any training time out on the road after work hours is now pretty much zero. I am mid forties and have been racing for about 18 months with the vets on the weekends and also mid week up until our day light disappeared. The question is that I Need to increase my LT and vo2 max but would like to spend some nights off the wind-trainer and do something else. Is interval training on a rowing machine a viable option? There seems to be so much information out there regarding LT and vo2 max training, however some of this info is conflicting so it can be difficult at times working out what the hell is the best thing to do!