Fitness questions and answers for January 23, 2007

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.

My ears have been "ringing" for 6 years, and the one specialist I went to never asked me about cycling, and I didn't think to mention it. Now a buddy of mine has had a tinnitus diagnosis, and cycling was listed amongst various causal factors. Of the basic list of caffeine, alcohol, and drug abuse listed, I can say that a couple of cups of coffee a day and a couple of beers/wine probably do not fall into the abuse category.

Tinnitus is one of those medical issues that plague a lot more people than most of us realize. Unfortunately, a single direct cause has not been medically determined. The source of that sensation (cochlea) is affected by many issues in its normal function: air pressure, attitude or position of the head, temperature, cavity and tissue infections, natural and unnatural internal damage, dehydration, etc. Lately, there is some pretty substantial evidence that food allergies may play a significant role, too. These things were all mentioned by your casual investigation.

You mentioned you had changed pedals from Time to Speedplay. Speedplays are a great pedal but their major weakness in my view is that the standard baseplate has less rearward adjustment than most other pedals. You may have ended up with your less foot over the pedal than you have had in the past. Have a look at these posts on cleat and ball position and attempt to gain the cleat position recommended there.

Just read Steve Hogg's post on SLRs. I am tall and lean but a bit heavier (6'3" and 85kg), and found SLR and SLR XP to be as hard as hell after an hour. The SLR XC however, I find the most comfortable saddle I've ridden. The thing I have found with SLRs (of all the aforementioned variants), is that they are mostly not straight: looking from the front the right side is higher (I have packed under the left rails to level it).

I feel no discomfort in any portion of the ride, distance, strong effort, climb... nothing. Except for getting into the drops. I find that I can't stay in the drops for anything longer then about 4-5 minutes. I start to feel tired and a little winded, almost like I am not getting enough air. This is accompanied with a cramped feeling in that position. I am a larger rider, 5'11' 193lbs so perhaps I am not made to go fast.