Fitness questions and answers for February 25, 2009

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.

Last year (Jan 16) Scott and Carrie helped me out with a HR issue where I couldn't go hard enough on the flats to reach high HR that I do on the hills. The advice was great and it turned out to be psychological ( I also saw later in the year one bloke wrote in with the opposite problem - could max out in a TT but died on the climbs). Scott warned me not to go too hard testing under what conditions I could achieve high HR 193-195.

Seeing Scott's response to Luc Presseau on training strictly below 80 percent MHR for 3-6weeks I am ready to pay attention. I've been at the same fitness level for year. The only problem is is my rides are very hilly and it is difficult to stay below 80 percentI have tried to stay below 80 percent since seeing the advice but I often go just bit over. Previously I would hit 91-95 percent on every steep hill (6 per day) unless I was very tired. So because I may be in the overtrained state, I want to try the 80 percent rule

If on average I seem to go a few BPM over 80 percent for 3 mins/hour, is the workout shot?
Should I just drop the effort down to about 60 percent for a few minutes when I accidently overshoot?
Is a few BPM for under 30 seconds of no consequence, and should I just go on as if nothing happened?
If I really want to maximise the effectiveness of the base training, what range should I be in (Resting HR of 37 - Max HR of 195)?

I'm a 31-year-old 160lb racer, and by everything I've seen so far, my threshold power pegs me as a strong cat 4, weak cat 3 racer boy, which by my experience is pretty spot on. Cross is my primary discipline and I am interested in time trials as well. I am trying to raise my threshold power from 245W to about 300W. So from about 3.3W/k to 4W/k. I have some nice workouts that seem appropriate, but I have a few questions.

Excellent questions. The best way for you to validate your results would be to do a 20-30 min hillclimb TT, measuring your average power and Heart Rate (HR). While the 3 min stages in the Saris protocol are long enough to allow HR to adjust to the changes in power each stage, 30 W increments are large and can jump over your threshold when you get to the harder part of the test. Nonetheless, it should provide a reasonable (+/- 15 W) estimation of your 30 min threshold power.

1) The CycleOps power test (CPT). The short answer is, Yes, the test is adequate to estimate your Threshold power for training purposes. The only flaws in the CPT is that it has quite a bit of subjectivity built into the test. The results of the test are dependent on what intensity you rate as hard. The question I have for you is," Did you have a friend with you during the test, recording the rating of the effort and observing your outward signs of intensity (i.e. respiration, sweating, encouragement)?" The results of this test can be made more accurate with a friend around to administer the test.

There is nothing particularly abnormal about your lactate values in the test. Blood lactate appearance during incremental testing can vary considerably from one person to the next, much like heart rate values can be significantly different between two people at the same relative level of intensity. Also, similar to HR, an absolute lactate value does not predict your performance or determine your ability. So if you see 1.7 mmol and your friend sees 4.5 mmol, that doesn't tell us anything about your power or fitness, or the difference between you two in cycling performance.

However since then my happiness has declined considerably. I feel guilt at not training in such a disciplined manner, I fear the loss of fitness, weight gain, and the absence of both the adrenalin of racing and the alternating sense of frustration or pride in performance has left me feeling rather empty and bored. I also miss the status of being a "racer" and the company of like minded individuals in the peloton. My perception of how others see me is also troubling. In my eyes the "account manager" doesn't hold the same status as "the cyclist". Sometimes I struggle not to find excitement at the bottom of a bottle.

I read a great deal online about athletes struggling to adapt when they have stopped training, and I am curious to understand this and take some control over the way I feel. Obviously within our sport there have been some high profile tragedies among those who fail to adapt to a "normal" lifestyle, and at present the world's most famous cyclist has apparently also struggled to find an outlet for his energy.

A question I would have for a sports doctor is whether the constant adrenalin, hormonal balance fluctuations and exercise endorphin release, combined with psychological factors that athletes impose on themselves (stick and carrot/suffer and reward) over a long period of time can actually contribute to an athlete going into a sort of physical "withdrawal" after their career has ended. I notice clearly that if I go running every day I feel positive and physically stronger after my run, but on days when I cannot exercise my mood is bleaker and I feel tired and not motivated.

Transition out of competitive sports can be very difficult. If retiring from sport was easy, we wouldn't see so many athletes come out of retirement. If you leave your sport when you're feeling some burnout, usually the 1st few weeks are great. You take advantage of the time that you have to do things that you couldn't do while you were a competitive athlete. Then after some time you start to miss the things that you enjoyed about being a competitive athlete. You miss the training, you miss the status, you miss the camaraderie and the culture, etc.

Your experience is not atypical of recent ex-racers, and feeling much better after exercising than on days when you don't exercise is actually common even among more casual athletes. My first bit of advice is accept that the intense feeling of guilt and deprivation will pass. It typically takes 2-3 years. In the meantime, don't lose yourself in drink. You don't have to quit exercising cold turkey.

In order to come up with a fit that worked we (in conjunction with the folks at Hostel Shoppe in Stevens Point, WI) used a variety of products produced by Hase (www.hasebikes.com). These included the "pendulum pedal" (reduces the effective length of one crank arm), adjustable platform pedal (since she couldn't clip in with the prosthetic foot this pedal used velcro to positively connect the foot to the pedal), and pedal spacers (to move this pedal out from the crank (increase the Q-Factor).