Fitness questions and answers for January 16, 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.

Hi I am currently doing base km’s as part of early season training and to lose some weight (Male, 191cm, 98kg). It’s summer in Australia and gets up to 42C. Even though I exercise during the early morning, I note that my heart rate is higher for a given cadence/gear/terrain vis a vis a cooler morning, therefore for the same speed a higher heart rate is the result. My HRM tells me I have therefore burned significantly more calories, but does this translate directly. To put it another way, would a HR of 150 for an hour in 20C really burn the same calories as 150 HR for an hour in e.g. 30C heat – my Polar HRM would give the same answer. I’m concerned that my elevated HR in the heat is overstating actual calories burned and negatively impacting on my strict diet exercise regime (measure calories with CalorieKing online and use HRM for exercise calories).

I'm a male 32y.o road rider 176cm 68kg. I ride 250-350km/week. I was recently lent a heart rate monitor and on the last few rides I paid attention to what my heart rate is doing on the bigger hills as compared to the flats. I tend to be a good climber and a pathetic sprinter. I generally feel comfortable spinning 100-110rpm. I normally climb with my elbows sticking out and my hands on the bend between the tops and the hoods.

I have a good 10km/500m climb nearby as well as a 8km/ 380m climb. When I was climbing these ascents last week with the new HRM I noticed my HR was 180+ for the duration of the climb. My highest I have seen is 195bpm (I get close to wanting to be sick at over 190). But on the flat I cannot seem to make an effort that gets my heart rate sustained over 170. It is as if my HR is an indicator of the gradient. An slight descents I find it hard to sustain HR of 160+. This doesn't make any sense to me, why I can happily put out power up a climb for 30mins to make my HR 180+ yet cant put out the same power to make my HR go over 170 on the flat for 30 seconds. Even slight plateaus on a climb will see my HR drop. It also seems to explain why in a group ride every time the hill kicks the bigger advantage I have.

The lowest I do is 95rpm on anything, unless I'm drafting a bunch and just ticking over. If the hill is too steep to maintain over 90rpm (17km/h in 39x25) I will get out of the saddle. The range of cadence is purely for covering the gear ratios. I don't make good power at low cadence. Wind greatly affects my climbing, into a headwind I will be markedly slower than climbing with a tailwind but I will just gear down and spin regardless. I feel like I am mashing at 95, but have recorded max cadence of 201rpm. If we are sprinting for the top of a hill, I will normally gear lower and spin up to 130rpm which is normally enough to beat my companions.

If I ride the flats at 93 rpm my heart rate still drops, it feels as though I can't push as hard on the flat. My position does changes with the grade of the hill, on a steep climb I will have my hands on the tops, and sit upright, on a moderate grade I have my hands on the bend b/w the tops and hoods (both allow me to open my chest up), on slight grades I will be on the hoods and I only ever get in the drops going on descents.

I've had a 45 year hiatus from training and racing but I'm now back on the bike. I've been reading lots of training books but they all seem to be geared towards people who are much further along than I. After 3 months of riding and 2 in the gym, I'm getting more serious as my fitness level has increased rapidly. I'm doing laps in my local park much faster, I've dropped a few pounds (6 ft. 180 lbs, 59 years old), but I'm confused as to what I should be doing.

Should I just forget about all the training stuff and just try to put in as many miles as possible on the bike? Intervals? Is there some reference I should look to that I've yet to find? My natural inclination is to race again, probably time trials as that's what I was always best at as a junior. Everyone seems to think that because you are reading a training book you have 10,000 miles in your legs already. Thanks for any help you can give me.

I read somewhere that B12 vitamin helps produce red blood cells. Therefore, it can help cyclists perform better. Should one be interested in taking B12 supplements to hopefully increase performance, what dosage do you recommend? I use to take B12 as a teenager, because I was vegetarian. The dosage back then was 1200 mcg, which, to my knowledge, is the higher dosage available on the shelves here in Canada.