Fitness questions and answers for February 28, 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 27 years old and have cycled for fitness and recreation on a weekly basis, injury-free since my early teens. I am 11.5 stone and 5'10.5" tall. I started experiencing knee pain last October after training on a newly purchased turbo trainer, set up with my road bike. I think I over-did the intensity somewhat. My road pedals are Look Arc, (and as I have just discovered, the cleats are worn by about 3-4mm on the outer side).

The pain started some hours after riding on the trainer for only my third time - a session of about 40 mins. When it hadn't eased after 2-3 weeks, I had physio treatment on both knees in November and was told I had fallen arches in my feet, which caused a greater than normal force to be transmitted through my medial, or inner cartilage, causing it to become inflamed. It was particularly sore when I bent the knees into their end range, i.e. heel to backside. There were no signs of any other damage to cartilage, ligaments, tendons or other soft tissue. Following four or five treatments, involving traction, laser, daily leg strengthening exercises, and the use of orthotic insoles for walking and biking, the problem improved and I was able to bend knees fully without pain. I began slowly building up weekly rides on my mountain bike (with SPD pedals and shoes) from 30 - 40 minutes, then 50- 60 minutes, and things were going well until January, when after a walk of about 90mins, I had a dull aching around the knees - due to, I think, wearing additional insoles over my orthotics which arched the feet a bit too much. This aching persisted for 2-3 weeks, however, there was no pain in the end range of knee movement as had been previously.

I have since had around 5-6 weekly treatments from the Physiotherapist using acupuncture and light traction. I kept off the bike in this period, but did go swimming twice a week for the last 3-4 weeks, which I felt helped. Exactly one week ago I went for a light to moderate 40-minute mountain bike ride on a fairly flat course, after which the acute end range pain returned in the medial cartilage (although there hasn't been any dull aching or other pain - I had been riding in fairly low gears over this time since the first injury, with high cadence). This pain has eased though, over the past week, with strengthening exercises (hamstring curls, mini squats, calf raises, and hip hitches) and quad stretches into the end range of knee movement. I had an illness just over a year ago, which saw me lose about a stone and a half, (mostly muscle) in a fortnight. I have since regained about 80-90% of leg muscle mass by weekly swimming and cycling and my overall weight is as it was pre-illness.

Is there any reason you can think of for this seemingly recurrent problem? Is there any specific bike set up or exercise you can recommend? I have looked at my pedalling and it seems linear enough, though I noticed my right foot toes out slightly, the ball of my foot is directly over the pedal axle, and centre of knee joint is directly over the pedal axle also. I dropped my saddle by about 8mm (as it was over the recommended 9% greater than inside leg length (which is 812mm, 32 in.). Looking in the mirror whilst pedalling at a light resistance on the turbo trainer, I think this keeps the pedal stroke more linear at the bottom. I haven't tried it out on the roads yet, but I hope it will help.

I am a 34-year-old male that recently got into road biking. I have been riding mountain bikes for eight years without a single problem. I picked up a road bike several months ago to do some additional training and notice that I have been getting peroneal tendon strain on my left leg while riding. It doesn't necessarily hurt very bad but it is uncomfortable on longer rides - it feels like it is straining right around the lateral malleolus as it bends around the ankle to the foot. I have tried various seat adjustments, seatpost height adjustments, orthotics, and orthotics with lateral wedging, with no change. I ride a 56cm Specialized Allez and have an inseam of 31.75 in. Thanks for your help.

Hi, I'm an 18 year old male, 175 lb, 6 foot, cat 4 / comp level mountain bike racer that's looking to get into some endurance races. I've been doing a spin class one day a week with my bike team, as well as several days per week on the trainer. Last season I completed two 12-hour duo mountain bike races, but at both of these races I became extremely uncomfortable in my saddle region after 4-5 hours of riding. During my weekly training on the bike, I've recently had lots of chafing in between my legs. I constantly have to re-adjust my shorts in order to move the chamois of my shorts back into the correct position. In addition, it seems like my "parts" are being pinched between my legs and my shorts on my right side. After riding, when I take a shower, I have a rash on the inner portions of both sides of my legs. Although I wash the area with soap every day, it continues to cause discomfort and will hinder my endurance riding.

I use, on my road bike, the new Specialized Alias road saddle with my sit bone width, 143mm. But I don't think the saddle is the problem, as I get chafing on the spin bike as well. I believe it is the fault of my shorts - I have a narrow 32'' waist, but a huge 35'' inseam for my 6' tall body. Right now I'm using size medium shorts from Fox, Verge, and Performance, but all of them cause chafing. Should I be wearing a size large short? Specialized has a new Body Geometry short out - could this new chamois design help get rid of my chafing? Or is there another lubricant product that I should try, like Chamois Butter? I hope that this chafing is not permanent, and that it will resolve itself by the time my base training outdoors starts. What are your suggestions?

What a lovely subject for an email, but here's the question - my night's sleep after an evening turbo-training session is usually broken by at least four trips to the bathroom to urinate. My bladder seems pretty much full and the urine is light in colour. During my session on the trainer I sweat a great deal and drink around 300-400ml of an electrolyte drink. After the session I probably only drink about 500ml of water; usually with my evening meal. Could it be that I actually need to drink? Is there any way round this that doesn't involve some type of special products?

Recently, several friends of mine have 'tuned' their position on the bike using the spin scan and other features on a shop's 'CompuTrainer.' I am curious to hear your opinions about doing this. I am reluctant, for the simple reason that I think unless there is a gross problem with one's placement on the bike, determining your position with the aid of data would require one to ride any given position at least a few times to see if you can get used to it. Is this true? One friend says all you need is 15 minutes for your body to adapt. Hence, if you try four positions over the course of an hour, record all your data, and repeat, you can 'fine tune' your position over the course of a week or so. I think you could end up chasing perfection rather than riding.

Also, the spin scan data, which I would actually consider to be separate from the watts/speed, etc. data that they are using above, seems particularly prone to misinterpretation. For example, I can improve my score be lowering the power I'm putting out at the 3/9 o'clock portions of the stroke. By doing this, my stroke appears more even, even though actual power is going down. So how useful is this number - got a beer bet riding on the answer.

Hi. I'm 40 year old male weighing about 150 lbs and an about 5'6". I ride about twice weekly (full-time work and two kids prevent more riding). I ride a Giant TCR Alloy with Dura-Ace 10 speed, weighing about 16.5 lbs. During the week I usually ride about 1-2 hours, including some sort of interval set. Weekend group rides last 4-6 hours for about 50-70 miles. I have worked on my climbing in the last few years and have improved, no longer getting dropped; but I want to start being at the front or even be more explosive. I stay seated on most of my climbs, but have started to ride out of my saddle some. I want to know the advantages of this style, and whether body type dictates style? Is there a way for me to be more explosive using both or one style? What is good training to improve this style? I'm open to any type of feedback and/or suggestions. Thanks for you time.

I am a 32-year-old road cyclist. I am 5'11" and weigh 160 lbs. I would consider myself to be in good physical condition. My question requires some initial explanation. I've noticed that immediately following a rigorous ride or training session, I detect a distinct smell from within my nose/lungs. I would best describe the smell as being ammonia like in nature. It lasts only about 20 minutes after my workout is complete. I do not notice it at all during my rides. Nor does it typically occur after less strenuous workouts. Also, it seems to occur regardless of whether I ride outdoors or indoors on a trainer. Am I alone in this experience? Can this be explained in any way, and should I be concerned?

Is there any value to glucosamine supplements in order to maintain joints such as the knee?
I am a 29-year-old high recreational rider/beginning racer with about 7-9 hours a week training during a week with good weather. When I first got my road bike, I struggled for a time with mild knee tendonitis, which I believe I have corrected through trial and error fit. I have occasional twinges in the same area (front of the right knee).

I've never been an adult competitive athlete before cycling, but I injured my right knee (a sprain) in a fall several years ago. I needed no treatment for it at the time, but ever since I have been more consciously cautious with my right leg, and in fact it does "click" where the left knee does not. I had never experienced pain with my right knee until taking up cycling in clipless pedals (Shimano SPD).

Hi Paul, Once an athlete has achieved their genetic potential through training, the goal is to maintain peak fitness, regardless of age. You are right in your assertion that maximal performance declines with age. Starting about age 35, lean body mass, muscle protein synthesis, resting metabolic rate and maximal oxygen consumption decrease at a rate of about 3-5% per decade. This age-related decline is due, in part, to the fact that people tend to decrease their training volume and intensity as they get older.