Fitness questions and answers for July 3, 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.

I notice that my walking shoes always have wear on the outside heel, so that makes me think that I am pushing with the outside of my feet and heel when I walk. When I ride, I have a feeling that I am twisting my feet from mostly straight to more of a 'pigeon-toed' position. I have tried to minimize this by keeping my knees closer to the top tube. I did try some Dr. Scholl's gel inserts/heel cups and that did help by about 50 percent.

Like Richard (Heart rate concerns), sometimes I wonder about my HR figures. I am a 47 year-old male, 173 cm and 65 kg. I've been a competitive cyclist for four years, was a smoker/drinker for 15 years before that and had a 17 years surfing career before discovering the high life. My weekly average is 260 km, including races when I normally average 158 bpm. After I wake up my rest HR is 42-45 and I have reached 193 MHR during a sprint - 195 MHR on an indoor trainer.

At the moment I can not get my HR higher than 166 bpm - sprinting. I am not reaching my top speed at the moment and I am finding hard to get motivated to get on the bike. Are these signs of fatigue, after a period of 10 months of training and racing? Or just the winter blues as I am in the southern hemisphere? Having some important events coming up in the next two months, I have no time for a proper break. Is there anything else I could do to be prepared for those events?

A heart rate that won't come within roughly 30 beats of a recent maximum is a sign of extreme fatigue, or a significant disease such as heart disease or hormonal problems. The lack of motivation suggests fatigue. The lack of top speed could be illness or fatigue. The problem could also be related to nutrition (do you get enough carbohydrate?), electrolytes or several other factors. If you've recently changed your diet or lost weight, increase your caloric intake. If you restrict salt in your diet and don't have high blood pressure, start eating more salt.