Fitness questions and answers for April 8, 2008

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.

Jon Heidemann (www.peaktopeaktraining.com) is a USAC Elite Certified cycling coach with a BA in Health Sciences from the University of Wyoming. The 2001 Masters National Road Champion has competed at the Elite level nationally and internationally for over 14 years. As co-owner of Peak to Peak Training Systems, Jon has helped athletes of all ages earn over 84 podium medals at National & World Championship events during the past 8 years.

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.

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.

Michael Smartt (www.wholeathlete.com) is an Associate Coach with Whole Athlete™. He holds a Masters degree in exercise physiology, is a USA Cycling Level I (Elite) Coach and is certified by the NSCA (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist). Michael has more than 10 years competitive experience, primarily on the road, but also in cross and mountain biking. He is currently focused on coaching road cyclists from Jr. to elite levels, but also advises triathletes and Paralympians. Michael is a strong advocate of training with power and has over 5 years experience with the use and analysis of power meters. Michael also spent the 2007 season as the Team Coach for the Value Act Capital Women's Cycling Team.

I am a male, 25, I race expert MTB and have developed what seems to be a subcutaneous nodule at the base of my sit bone and saddle contact point. I was riding a lot of 3 hour days in the saddle ignoring any discomfort. It is a small nodule, the size of an almond, and I can still ride but I think it will make it worse. Seeing that the season is about to start I have decided to cut back on the long miles and do short interval sessions, until I can get a doctor to cut it out.

I have heard that this "accessory testicle" is common in professional cyclist and more in Europe than the states. What do the pros do when this happens? Should I ride on, and just have it cut out or stop riding? The doctors always tell you to stop riding, but they're not competitive cyclists. It is not threatening but needs to be removed. I was just wondering if there was a common treatment among the pros that you might know of?

It sounds like you have a cyst, a hard, contained infection. They rarely clear up on their own, especially if you keep riding on it. I've heard of pro getting through races by cutting out chunks of padding on their saddles, but that doesn't mean they don't go for medical treatment shortly after. Home treatment with "drawing salve" has saved more than a few butts from pea-sized bumps, so that's worth trying, but I've not heard of it working for bumps the size of an almond.

I am a 60 yr old coming back to cycling after 45 yrs. After about a year of riding a folder and working out at the gym, I'm looking at buying a real bike. The Cervelo R3 or RS would be my poison of choice. I'm an ex-racer (45 yrs ago) and have an affinity for the R3 but I'm getting mixed signals. How do I determine which frame? If, in fact, I'm flexible enough for the R3, how do I determine that? And then the question becomes can I expect to be flexible enough for it for the next 5 years or better?

I'm a 28 year old on again off again road racer. I have long suspected that I have some trouble regulating blood glucose. I frequently urinate, constantly feel dehydrated, and have periods of low blood sugar induced stupor. My fasting blood sugar is normal, around 90mg/dl as measured along with a CBC panel. I bought a glucose test kit and measured myself and normally I'm around 130 but have seen spikes over 200 from drinking a fruit smoothie. About 45 minutes after taking that measurement I was back within a normal range.

Here's my answer, "The rules are stupid and have no basis in science but you still have to follow them." Most juniors train in adult gears anyway and put their racing gears on for races only. Many elite juniors train with elite seniors. Yes, the concept is to protect the developing knees of young riders, but climbing a hill in a gear that brings the cadence to 50 or 60 rpm puts far more stress on the knees than spinning a 53x12. The rules are similar to the rules that until recently made women's tennis matches shorter than men's.

My previous bike was professionally fit, but my current one was not, although I took the measurements from that fitting to set it up. I am concerned that my saddle is too high - is it possible that this could be affecting my pedal stroke and stressing this part of my calf? I have my Speedplay cleats moved pretty far back (as far as possible I think, but it doesn't seem very far) on my Sidi Genius 4's.

Two weeks ago I was involved in a crash which left me with slight swelling on my palm between the thumb and index finger, and a small amount of wrist pain. A back slab was immediately fitted and subsequent MRI revealed a non-displaced scaphoid fracture across the distal pole. The wrist was immobilised in a short thumb spica fibreglass cast within 3 days of the fracture occurrence. I am attempting to maintain aerobic fitness by using the trainer/spin bike and strength by core and leg training at the gym.

I understand scaphoid fractures are not uncommon in our sport and yet I hear of professional riders resuming training within 2 weeks of similar, or more severe, scaphoid fractures. Unfortunately it is difficult to find a specialist who can empathise with our desire to resume training (and in my case also work) as soon as possible. Given the present 6 week immobilisation prognosis, I would be grateful if you could suggest other treatment options that may be available which may accelerate the treatment of this type of fracture, or, at the very least allow training back on the road.