Fitness questions and answers for July 4, 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 have a 2004 Pinarello Dogma that I simply cannot get enough set back on using the standard 31.00mm Pinarello seat post and a Selle Italia Flite TT saddle. I wondered if you know of a seat post with extra set back that will fit the Pinarello's unusual seat tube diameter? It seems the closest that most brands seem to come is 31.6mm, which is all too wide, or 29.4mm. If 29.4mm is the closest I'm likely to get, is there a way (which I would undertake at my own risk, I realise) of shimming out the excess space and if so to what depth into the tube should the shim be inserted? Thanks and regards.

For the past few months I have been following a program that is primarily based on Heart Rate Zones and have found it extremely difficult to stay in the zone prescribed for the various workouts. My HR always seems to be much higher than anticipated, even in very low intensity workouts. For example, in a recovery ride this morning my HR hovered around 78% of MHR (should be 60 - 65%) and to get within the prescribed zone I almost had to come to a complete stop. On longer training rides it's not uncommon for my HR to sit between 80 - 90% of MHR for hours on end, without too much discomfort. I feel good while I'm training, but the recovery from these rides is often slow.

1) MHR was determined through a test on my indoor trainer. I'm currently using the 'Lance Armstrong Performance System' from CTS, which suggested the test. Essentially, after warming up I increased my intensity every 2 minutes while maintaining a cadence of 80 rpm. I progressively increased the intensity until I couldn't go any harder - and then finished with an all out sprint for about 15 seconds. Once my vision cleared, my MHR during the test was 196 bpm.

2) In terms of slow recovery, I regularly find my legs are fatigued and heavy for up to three or four days after a hard weekend ride of 2 to 2.5 hrs. I expected this initially, but after three months of consistent training, I would have expected my recovery times would have reduced for similar efforts. Particularly given I was in reasonable shape before picking up my training. I look forward to your response.