Fitness questions and answers for February 20, 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'm a pretty active girl but not very extreme. My main exercise choices are spinning (indoor cycling), yoga, walking, and dance. A couple of weeks ago, I started experiencing pain in my foot and it got to the point where every time I take a step it hurts. I don't have a car and rely heavily on walking to get around so it's especially troubling that I have this injury. I went to the podiatrist and was diagnosed with a neuroma. I'm still not exactly sure what caused it - my doctor thinks its one pair of heels I wore once for about 4 hours. But I'm wondering if this injury can be caused by spinning. I typically spin twice per week for an hour session each. Occasionally, it's three times per week.

I wear Pearl Izumi shoes that fit me nicely and I wear socks faithfully - only occasionally do I forget the socks and spin without. In yoga, I jump to and from downward dog, so that's a possible cause for injury. And I do my swing dancing outdoors on concrete - but with comfortable rubber soled shoes. Can you help me solve this mystery and do you have any recommendations for treatment/recovery? Oh, and if it's important, I'm 30 years old and in good health except a few lingering back issues.

Help! I came up with tendonitis or a strain in my Achilles tendon in early January. Four weeks of icing, anti-inflammation drugs, Aspercreme, ankle wraps, cold, heat; stretching and weeks off the bike have done nothing. Any attempt to ride makes it worse after about five miles. This came up on a ride after about two months of a pretty concerted strengthening routine in the gym. Road miles consisted of low-intensity, low force riding. Occasionally, I'll stand up and churn a very big gear for a few minutes at low intensity to stretch the muscles and to rehab a weak hip I busted almost four year back.

I am 57.5 years old 3 years post L Knee Total Knee Replacement (LCS System by Johnson and Johnson). Even after extensive Physical Therapy Range of Motion of replacement Knee is only a maximum between 100 and 105 degrees. I have developed a small decrease in ROM of the same side ankle. My R side has no problems. Curious on type of bike fit system that will help fit me to ride a bike more efficiently. I have been trying many different changes including shorter cranks and moving cleat to my mid foot on the effected side. With the increased baby boomers developing knee problems from over use and changes in ROM of knees information on how to adapt a bike fit to accommodate there problems.

In my experience there are 2 types of replacement knee joints; one a 'sports' model with a greater ROM than the other but still not approaching that of a good knee. The simplest solution is to shorten crank length. If you shorten your crank length 5mm for example, then you can lift your seat 5mm higher as measured from the centre of the bottom bracket. This in turn means that at the top of the pedal stroke, your knee will be 10mm lower and hopefully, within the comfortable ROM afforded by the artificial joint. If not, shorten crank length further.

I have been struggling with sore quads for quite some time when riding the trainer, I have my saddle pushed quite far back (my knee is a good cm behind the bb and my cleats are as far back as they will go) yet still get this feeling of fatigue in my quads even during a zone two ride, and feel my hamstrings are not nearly under the same strain. Is it possible my saddle could be too far back or too low/high?

I have an Argon 18 Platinum that was bought through the store that sponsored our team last year, they had a fitting kit that Argon manufactures, it calculated from my measurements what my saddle height and setback should be. Everything felt really good until I changed my saddle in the fall and have been fighting with my position ever since. I have been putting in 10-12 hours a week on the trainer and my quads feel they are taking the brunt of the work which was not the case previously.