Fitness questions and answers for February 3, 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.

I'm a 48-year-old, male Cat 3 racer who's been competing for about 15 years. I primarily race criteriums and on the velodrome. I ride all year long and even manage to fit in three or four double century races each year. I can complete these in 10-12 hours depending on the course. Fitting in training around my job, I've averaged about 200-250 miles of riding per week in training so I have a very solid base.

About a month ago I noticed a change in my HR while training. My power output wattage while training at a given effort on a known course was not changing but the HR I was able to hit at that wattage was significantly lower than it had been (my RPE has not changed for the route either). This remained consistent for about a month so I arranged for a lab test to measure my cardio and metabolic output. To my surprise the power output numbers had not changed but the test now shows my max HR to be 174 bpm and my LT HR to be 147.

However, greater max strength should benefit a rider during sprints as well as in certain situations faced in mountain biking like cranking over obstacles while riding uphill or choosing a steeper uphill line before you have time to shift to a lower gear. There are also broader health benefits of strength training such as increased bone density and muscular balance that a cyclist might be willing to pursue even if it means giving up some pure cycling performance.

Even during maximal sprints by road cyclists for example, the forces are not that great and can be generated by most people. This is because the force decreases as the cadence increases at a given power. Thus, during sprinting when cadence is usually moderate to high the forces required are way below the maximal force that can be generated. Hill's Force-Velocity curve shows us that maximal force is generated at zero velocity.

I routinely recommend strength training in the gym for all the clients or my coaching company unless injuries or time constraints preclude that activity. Last season we had literally over a dozen and often more than 20 podium finishes each month with most of those successes achieved by the athletes who lifted. I can't argue scientifically from that data to a benefit of strength training, but it seems pretty clear that there was no major disadvantage derived from strength training.

Some of the other panellists may have other suggestions for you, but I'd start with making the position the same as before in every way that you can, and that would include setting the varus angle. The other thing that comes to mind is that a jump from 10 hours to 19 hours per week could cause sore knees even with an ideal position. You didn't say clearly if you jumped your mileage of if you've frequently done 19 hours in the past.

In addition to Scott's recommendation about replicating your cleat setup, you might want to check your saddle height and setback. Do you slide forward on the saddle when going hard? Be sure you are neither too high, nor too far back. In either situation you might find yourself toeing down at the bottom of the pedal stroke and challenging the limits of the lateral (outer) quadriceps muscle (vastus lateralis) when your knee is extended, which is a common cause of IT band problems at the knee.

I have two thoughts for you. One is to do your lifting and your sprint training specifically with explosive effort, but the other has more to do with tactics. There are a only a very few riders who can literally ride the peloton off their wheel. The tricks to not having the field on your wheel and coming around you at the end have more to do with timing, sprinting from farther back, sweeping riders off your wheel as you move through the field, using the element of surprise to get a gap before anyone else knows you are sprinting.

I agree with Scott that you will get more direct benefit from training on the bike versus weight training in seeking to increase your explosive power. Also, keep in mind that muscular adaptation is very specific to the type of training you do with regard to torque and cadence. Training explosive efforts on the bike can directly help improve those same types of efforts in racing. In addition, there is a progression to this type of training that can help, and a few specific workouts to consider.

I had a professional bike fit done, but when I ride in the aero position I get cramps in my lower abdomen probably because my thighs are coming too close to my torso at the top of my pedal stroke. I was wondering what I could due to help alleviate this problem. I talked to the bike fitter and he recommended moving the seat back to stretch the body out a little more so that I am not so scrunched up. This did help flatten my back out a little more but I'm not sure it helped increase the angle between my thighs and my torso.

A couple of things. To preface this reply I am going to assume that you have a road position that you perform well in and are happy with and and that problems only arise after adding clip on aero bars for tri's. Next when you say that moving the seat back, "it helped increase the angle between my thighs and torso." I can't see how that is possible and assume you mean the opposite. If any of what I've just said isn't the case, please correct me as what I'm about to say is in part based on that assumption.

Many posts in this forum refer to 'knee pain' and suggestions to remedy it but when I experience 'knee pain' what have I actually damaged/inflamed? At the moment I have some pain behind my right knee toward the outside which I suspect was caused by my saddle being set too low after a change of seat posts. What is the likely cause of the pain? Is it muscular or tendons/ligaments? What then is the healing process?

Tendons, ligaments and cartilage have poor circulation and heal slowly by "remodelling". Immune cells nibble away damaged tissue and the tissue itself regenerates to fill the space. The nibbling is accompanied by inflammation and pain. In some unlucky individuals the inflammation becomes self sustaining. That is, the inflammation releases chemicals that do further damage and cause further inflammation. That's why it's important to interrupt the inflammatory process with cold or medication if knee pain is not clearing up in a few days by itself.

I recently began supplementing occasionally (2-4 times/week) with Melatonin (2mg) to help with an on again/off again sleep disorder. The melatonin alleviates some of the anxiety and restless leg that prevents me from sleeping, and keeps me asleep all night. Surely this is aiding my recovery, but is there a half-life or some other detrimental effect on athletic performance from taking Melatonin?
Thanks,

Better sleep will improve your performance dramatically for anyone who generally undersleeps or gets poor sleep. I'm not aware of any negative effects so long as you take your melatonin early enough that it clears your system by the next workout. The half-life of malatonin is less than one hour, but the amount required to induce sleep can be far less than the normal dose, so it can keep you sleepy for 10 or more hours. The processing of melatotin varies from person to person so the only way you can know how fast you process it, how much you need to take to improve your sleep, or how long it will keep you tired is to experiment on yourself. Try to figure out the smallest dose that gives you good, all-night sleep.

My question is this: When I am riding my left foot rolls inward and my right foot rolls outward which has caused me over the years to set up my cleats so my feet assume a heel inward attitude when I am clipped in. My heel runs within 5 mm of the crank arm when I am pedaling instead of a 'perfect' fore and aft attitude. This is the only way I feel stable on the pedals especially when I am out of the saddle but my right foot still has a tendency to turn and roll outboard. My left foot is stable with no turning or rolling.

You're right that the human body is incredibly adaptable, but for every compensatory mechanism we evolve, a price is exacted. If the price is high we feel pain, which is a good thing. A good thing because if focuses our attention; makes us realise that there is a problem which we then generally do something about. Often though, we pay a small price and feel no pain or perhaps only a small amount of discomfort. This sounds like a good thing but what can happen is that over years, when combined with the effects of aging and neglect, we butt up against the limits of what our bodies will comfortably cope with in the sense that compensatory mechanisms that have worked for a long time cease to work as well, or sometimes cease to work at all.. And after many years, the solutions aren't 5 minute solutions.