Fitness questions and answers for April 4, 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.

A couple weeks ago I saw a doctor for a blood test. Everything was normal except my TSH levels, which were 8.48 mu/L (I believe those are the correct units). I've just had another test to confirm this result. My question is: how far out of whack are these levels, from a sports medicine perspective? Obviously it indicates hypothyroidism, but is it "hypo" enough, so to speak, to be the source of my tiredness? I want to avoid unnecessary treatment for this problem, if possible. But I also want to be treated if that will help my cycling. I'm worried my doctor will consider my levels relative to his other patients, who wake up, sit in a cubicle, eat cheetos, and watch TV. My activities extend a little beyond that, and I want to have energy for those activities.

A lot seems to be written about power metres on road bikes, especially the top three or four top brands. But what about the RaceMate CompuTrainer? It would seem there should be many benefits in training regularly with something that gives you instant feedback, such as the SpinScan Pedal Stoke Analyzer. It must be much more productive in making adjustments to position and pedaling when feedback is immediate. Many world class triathletes and ironmen use it every week. Would road cyclists not gain also by training on it regularly?

I too have sufferred from all of the above for years and like Erik Feibert of Ontario, OR, and knew that it was in part due to bad posture and worsened by a few accidents. Last year after an operation that mde me walk and sleep funny for a month it got really bad, the worst I can remember. I ended up getting advice to visit someone who does rolfing, mezieres, or myofascial release - it comes under various brand names.

I started seeing a guy in Bilbao and as I had to travel I could not get the whole treatment but I can say that having my muscles stretch out by this guy and then having a set of exercises that teach me good posture, proper walking habits etc has really helped fix the arch in my back and minimised some of the other problems. I am also taking a magnesium supplement, called biomag, daily to assist with tight muscles etc and am finding with lots of hard work and an authoritairian exercise regime, the pain is going away, my posture is improving and strength in my lower back increasing.

But I strongly reccomend to anyone who has any pain, pronatation of hips, knees etc, one leg shorter etc etc to look into this form of treatment. The normal course is over 10 weeks and although I only manged to have two weeks the changes in my back were dramatic. I am looking forward to some more treatment and getting back on the bike when I get home to the Basque Country in the summer. But for now learning to sit, stand and walk with lost of stretching is really helping overcome the plague of a bad back and all that comes with it.