Fitness questions and answers for August 29, 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 39 year old. I've been an avid cyclist since about age of 20, but start monitoring my heart rate for past 4-5 years (only because heart monitors were scarce in the country where I am from). My resting heart rate is bout 48-55 and I can sustain a max rate about 178-180. I noticed that even if I come to group rides well rested, my heart rate right at the start place is slightly elevated at 80-95 bpm. Can it be because I am a little worried about how ride will go? Is it normal to have a slightly elevated heart rate right before the group ride?

Firstly, I have issues with my back. I have a broken bone at the base of the spine, effectively pushing my lower back inwards. I also have some mild shermans disease in the top half of my back, resulting in a slightly rounded posture at the best of times. As a result, the two muscles that run parallel to the spine at the top half of my back are generally very tight. I go to the chiropractor to have the structural issues managed usually once a month. I have had instances where my hips are out of wack also. Ive been told my back issues are structurally related and not muscular. I have fairly strong abs and back generally.

I ride a Bianchi 928 carbon 53cm bike. With a pazzaz all carbon seatpost and SLR saddle (this is the only saddle I've liked since the old avocet o2 racing saddle). The reach from centre of bars to front of seat is 55cm and to the rear of the seat is 83cm. I generally use the measurement to the rear of the seat as this is where I sit, well towards the rear of the saddle. I'm using a 130mm stem. The saddle is positioned slightly towards the rear on the rails (just past centre point) - towards the rear of the bike, not quite 2/3rds. I've had the saddle all of the way back using a 120mm stem (same reach overall) but I felt this was making my back worse, but now I'm not so sure. I feel comfortable on the reach.

I have an 83cm inseam and ride with the seat at around 71.5cm, depending on where you measure to (middle of seat or middle of seatpost clamp). I find that I ride a low seat compared to others of the same leg inseam, but if I ride higher, I feel I lose power. Having said that, I think I'm struggling for power in the hills anyway. Sometimes, the seat feels right in the hills, but a little high on the flat or right on the flat and a little low in the hills.

I also have an issue where the left foot will sometimes get numb on my little toe, from pressure against the shoe (numerous brands of shoes - Carnac, Sidi, Shimano and now DMT). The DMTs have been better in this regard. But again, I think it's because that leg tries to twist the foot in. I've set up the shoes so that the heel can just touch the crank arm on both sides. I ride Look keos with full float. The shoes are about 3mm from the crank at the pedal. The cleats are pretty much set so that they are as far back on the shoe as possible. I also drop my heel considerable when pedalling.

The Bianchi seat angle (I've since found out) is 74 degrees. I was thinking that I would be better served to going to a bike with a slacker angle (73 degrees) and getter further back, without increasing the angle of the hips. The Cervelo 51cm carbon r2.5 was the frame I was looking at as an example. It's a 73 degree seat tube, a 53cm effective top tube (0.5cm less than the Bianchi) and as such, I could have the seat further back with the same overall reach and actually be further back on the bike.

I am an 18 year old road cyclist racing at a national level in the UK. I have been feeling totally run down for at least the past five weeks noticeably, and possibly even months before that. My symptoms include lethargy, headaches, sore throats, and feeling generally terrible on the bike, with the odd good day, as well as a resting heart rate elevated by around 10 beats for weeks now. I don't think it's overtrainig as I have really cut back on training and racing in the last five weeks in order to recover, but the symptoms are as bad as ever. I have had blood tests etc. at the doctors, which show everything is working fine, and they reckon chronic fatigue may well be the answer. So my questions are does this diagnosis sound right and if so, what are the best ways to deal with/ recover from this so as to be able to resume training for next year without damaging myself in the process?