Fitness questions and answers for February 16, 2004

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.

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 recently had a checkup and blood tests and was told my hematocrit was 47.3%. I just turned 20 yrs. old and am a Cat. 2. I am doing a race at altitude this summer and was planning on spending some time at altitude beforehand and then getting there two weeks before the race. Coupled with much better conditioning (the test was done in Jan), could my hematocrit rise a few more points or should it stay below 50%? Should this be of concern or is it just something to chock up to genetics and not worry about?

What's happening here is either you have a naturally high hematocrit level (% of red blood cells) and/or you were dehydrated at the time of your blood test. You see, hematocrit is measured as a percentage of your total blood volume. A large portion of your blood is plasma (which is made up mostly of water). If you are dehydrated, you'll most likely elicit a higher hematocrit or % of red blood cells. I used to coach an athlete (who is now retired) that competed in the top 10-20 in the world. He naturally has a very high hematocrit level and needs to be sure that before any drug tests, he was completely hydrated. This test can force an athlete out of competition because he is deemed "unfit to race".

I would add two comments. First, experienced athletes will actually realize a reduction in hematocrit levels with significant training, not increase (ie., it is highest in the off-season when fully rested). This is because the increase in plasma volumes is proportionally greater than the increase in red cell volume (RCV). This is why among professional cyclists they track hematocrit throughout the season. If an athlete has a significantly higher hematocrit level in-season than off-season, it's a possible indicator that artificial means have been used to boost RCV.

Without being alarmist, I have treated a number of mercury poisoning cases from dental amalgams and eating tuna, salmon and sardines. One the body's compensations for mercury poisoning is a rise in haematocrit. I have seen one athlete with a level at 50%. One of the features of these athletes is great endurance but zero tolerance to any lactate training. They also usually have glandular fever that runs a chronic course due to immune suppression caused by the mercury. Classic glandular fever symptoms are erratic form, so the athlete goes like a train one day and cannot turn the pedals the next. After about four days the form comes back, they go like a train again and cannot turn the pedals the next day, and on the cycle goes...

Saturday : long ride 3.5-4.5 hr steady ride with lots of hill but mostly zone 3-4 (some 20-30mins on the turbo to recovery)
Sunday : long run 90-150mins
Monday : Easy bike to/from work 1hr / easy 30-45mins run
Tuesday : Bike endurance (1 hour zone 3) or Intervals 4-6 mins x 4 zone 4 or long running intervals with friends
Wednesday : Easy bike to/from work 1hr / easy 30-45mins run
Thursday : Bike endurance (1 hour zone 3) or Intervals 4-6 mins x 4 zone 4 or long running intervals with friends
Friday : Easy bike to/from work 1hr / easy 30-45mins run aim to do a 1hr threshold run when fitter

As I understand your question, it's "at what intensity should I be doing lactate threshold work (LTW)?" It is true that in the Friel HR zone system lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR) is around the bottom of 5A. I write "around" because LTHR is not a fixed, static number. It is subject to certain influences on a daily basis and may change over time with changes in fitness levels (the latter being why we advocate periodic testing). Additionally, there is variation in how long individuals can sustain lactate threshold level intensities, but most experienced athletes fall in the range of 30-60 minutes. Finally, much of the benefits of LTW training can be realized by training just below lactate threshold. To that end, I usually prescribe LTW as upper z4 to z5a under the Friel system.

I would suggest from your description that you are magnesium deficient, which is very common due to our highly processed diets. Magnesium is required to relax muscle. In the lungs there are number of smooth muscle rings that control the volume of air flowing in and out of the lungs. If you are magnesium deficient these rings do not relax, (get bigger / increase their diameter) so they cut down the air flow.

I hope you can shed some light on my situation. I have been cycling for the past 8 years and participate in amateur races, but last summer I could not drop my extra weight which I put on during the holidays. Come fall I started to put on more weight even before the Christmas holidays. Blood test reviled that I have Hypothyroidism. My doctor prescribed me hormones to replace the ones my thyroid is not supplying. My Question to you is...How will this affect my cycling and training?