Fitness questions and answers for April 3, 2005

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. Due to the volume of questions we receive, we regret that we are unable to answer them all.

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.

I am a 40 year old Cat 2 with 20+ years of experience. I recently competed in a 55 mile RR consisting of 5 laps of rolling terrain with one small climb in it. At roughly the beginning of the 5th lap I began to experience cramping in my quads. The temps were in the upper 40's to about 50, no rain, little wind. The average speed was about 28 mph. I normally train with a power meter. I get about eight hours during the week and about 4-6 hours on the weekend including a three hour 45-50 mile group ride on Sundays.

My weekly training includes interval workouts of various lengths and efforts. My Threshold power is 310, VO2 measures at about 71-72 this time of year, diet is good /healthy, and I do squats and lunges with a barbell twice a week. Do you need more information? I really felt I was riding within myself and not extended at all. This is the first time I ever experienced such severe cramping. I was able to finish with the group but had to dial back a lot, lag the climbs, spin and pray not to get dropped. Thanks in advance.

I have been professionally fit and know my measurements on the bike. I believe the problem started when I was out on my training bike and my saddle height was about 1cm to low. In addition, I was trying a new pedal stroke, (toes down and piston like movement up/down) in contrast to my normal stroke of pedalling circles. The rumour is that this stroke increases watts substantially and I was curious. After that ride I went back to pedalling normally and iced the knee with some rest days. The pain subsided and I trained as usual. A week later I raced and had some severe pain after. Is this serious and do you have any healing tips? I am currently taking Motrin and ice twice a day.

I resumed cycling in October 2005 and I have dropped to 80 kg and discontinued weight training. I used my old racing bike all winter and for the most part found it ok; however, on long climbs I would find myself pulling up with my left leg trying to get my left foot further back in the shoe, my right knee also turns in towards the top tube and now that I have started racing in high cadence situations my left hamstring and soleus get fatigued and sore very quickly, forcing me to slow dramatically. I have tried lowering the saddle and moving the cleat on the left shoe forward, both of which proved counter productive. I am currently riding a new frame with the exact dimensions as my hack bike, however, I still have not gotten used to the new ultra hard saddles as they were never so hard when I raced before. Please, can you give me some advice?