Fitness questions and answers for August 19, 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.

Spinal stenosis occurs when the opening for the nerve root is reduced in size due to a number of factors including spurs, loss of disc height, and alterations in posture. The typical surgery for stenosis is a laminectomy, during which the bony opening is enlarged to relieve compression of the nerve root. Your ultimate outcome is, unfortunately, somewhat unknown right now, as the nerve has been compromised over a significant time. I have found clinically that the longer that the nerve root is compressed, the less likely a full return is, although there is nearly always a significant improvement in function. So, the ultimate result of your surgery is not determined as much by the surgeon (although you certainly want the best surgeon you can find!) as by the time the nerve was compressed.

I'd appreciate your guidance on knowing whether I should be racing to a cardiologist or if I'm maybe just a bit "different" than my peers. Many of my friends seem to believe the former (well, both I guess) and seem to expect me to keel over at any minute. My concern is that I have a measured maximum heart rate of 199bpm (I'm 40 and 165lb and in reasonable condition) which seems to be much higher than the norm for people my age. My most recent measured resting heart rate (reading in bed) was 55. Recently I rode a 15KM ITT and my heart rated stayed between 192 and 198 for the entire race -- only a few beats off my max. Other than a side stitch for the last few minutes I felt fine. The position of my GP is that so long as there are no associated pains or discomfort they're not concerned - if I didn't have a heart rate monitor I probably would have never known better.

Your maximum heart rate is a bit above the average for your age (~190) but well within the normal range, which extends about 15 beats either side of the average. I concur with your GP that a maximum heart rate of 199 is nothing to worry about. I am surprised by your ability to stay within 7 beats of your maximum for a 15 K race. This suggests, though not definitively, that you would benefit from more lower-intensity riding (140-160 bpm for you, 70-80% of max for everyone else reading this) and less very high intensity, unless you won, in which case I'll just shut up.

I have recently started getting slight knee twinges; I have been riding a year and have previously been absolutely pain free. When I started riding I noticed my boyfriend (who is an experienced rider) positioned my cleats slightly inwards (literally a millimetre off centre, inwards). I ride black Look Keo cleats. I am happy with no float, I tried red ones and didn't get on with them at all, and I prefer the stability of black. So, when my cleats needed replacing I did it myself, drew the outline and placed exactly on the top, I may have been a bit complacent as I didn't realise you needed to be so exact. But my question is - as I am now having to try "trial and error" adjustment now that I have totally cocked up the original placement, should I re-think this inwards pointing cleat position?

I notice that I tend to stay sore for a few days longer than I remember in the early days. When I go out we usually ride for 35 to 60 miles. I take one to two rest days after riding hard. On rest days I ride my trainer very easy at 100/114 BPM of 45 minutes in 39x21. I eat between 100 to 125 grams of protein a day. I also take Glutamine BCAA and Inosine. This seems to help a lot as I used to stay sore for a week.

Unfortunately, a decline in recovery time is an inevitable consequence of aging. That said you've taking a reasonable approach to minimizing the age-related decline. You might also be sure to consume a diet that is high in fresh fruits and vegetables. Although not proven to improve performance, there is some evidence that the antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables can reduce exercise-induced muscle damage and, therefore, accelerate recovery. I caution against using dietary antioxidant supplements, however, as they often provide nutrients far in excess of the recommended intakes. Somewhat surprisingly, nutrients that have anti-oxidant properties at physiological levels can become pro-oxidants when present in excessive amounts.

I have knee pain on the outside of both knees as well as in my hips. The knee pain is usually present and the hip pain comes and goes. Doctors always say it is due to tight it bands. I have recently been told by a chiropractor that my left hip is higher than my right hip and that it is farther forward than my right hip causing me to have a shorter left leg. He did not tell me how much shorter, but the difference is small. I would guess 3 or 4 mm shorter, but you can definitely see my left hip is forward of my right. My shoulders are also slightly different heights and I get pain in my left shoulder blade as well.

I have tried everything from seat up, down, forward and back. I currently have the ball of my foot forward of the pedal spindle. If I drop a plum from the most forward part of my knee, it will fall about 3-4 mm behind the pedal spindle. I have my right cleat about 2mm farther forward than my left. My thinking is that my left leg was having to reach farther than my right because my right hip is farther back. I had a bike fitter watch me ride and he said I look fairly symmetrical on the bike. We did do some power tests though and I definitely pedal with more effort with my left leg than my right leg. Approximately 55% of my effort comes from my left leg and 45% of my effort comes from my right.