Fitness questions and answers for June 21, 2004

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.

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 am curious whether fitness levels have any bearing on amount of calories consumed during riding. For example, if Lance and a recreational rider like myself (assuming I was the same weight and had the same wind resistance profile as Lance) were to ride side by side over 100 miles, and you normalized for his better technique, would we not burn the same calories? After all, we're both doing the same amount of work in a pure physics sense. However, my perceived exertion would be so much higher, intuitively it would seem I'm burning more.

You would most likely use more calories than Lance in covering the same distance at the same speed even if you had his enviable aerodynamic profile, height and weight. One of the benefits of extensive training is increased efficiency, meaning that the highly trained athlete uses less energy to complete the same amount of work. I don't know if this effect is fully understood (perhaps one of the other panelists will jump in). One way that efficiency could increase is that the experienced athlete might apply pedaling forces closer to tangential to the pedal circle. Less experienced athletes might also have more activation of the muscles that pull against the desired movement. A small amount of counter-tension helps control the movement and make it smooth. Excessive counter tension requires energy from the driving muscles to overcome.

Isn't it something to do with fitness (not just efficiency) as well? i.e. isn't there *some* heart rate dependence on calories burned. To me it seems intuitive that this would be the case. If you take someone who is unfit and they're riding at 35 km/h at 90 percent of their max HR, then a few weeks/months later, under the same conditions they are riding at 40 km/h but still at 90 percent of max HR, wouldn't they be burning a very similar number of calories per hour?

Maybe there's an analogy to a well tuned or poorly tuned car. Two cars, same weight and coefficient of friction (same aerodynamic profile and same tire patch etc.), one poorly tuned, the other perfectly tuned. The poorly tuned car will not get the same gas mileage - there will be wasted fuel in its emissions. Is there an analogy at the cellular level in a human being? Does the amateur burn fuel less efficiently, completely independent of any of the mechanics involved?

Jeff, no, when a rider is able to ride faster at the same heart rate, they don't use similar calories to do it. They use more. When you make more power at the same heart rate it is because something else has changed that allows that extra power production. There are several possibilities: Increased oxygen extraction from the same amount of blood, increased stroke volume so more blood and oxygen pumped at the same heart rate, or increased efficiency.

Percentage of HR doesn't dictate calories burned. Rather, it's the amount of work that's done that matters. Assuming your riders efficiency hadn't improved, your hypothetical rider would burn the same amount of calories so long as s/he covered the same distance (ie, did the same amount of work). That is, the total energy required for this individual to cover say 10KM is the same regardless of the speed. Notice that at the higher pace, the rate of energy expenditure is higher (but offset by the shorter duration due to higher average speed).

I think I'm finally getting it now - apart from the efficiency factor, calories burned relates mostly to power output, not necessarily how hard your heart is working. Thus, in a bunch you need less power to go the same speed as you do solo. Anecdotally, while I was using a power tap I found I could save about 30-40 percent of power by sitting in a bunch compared to being in front. Just sitting on one wheel takes a bit more effort though. That knowledge comes in handy!

Have you passed by any mirrors lately? Are you sleeping days and staying up nights? You mentioned a Northern European diet, and I'm not sure of the location of Transylvania, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and rule out your unwitting complicity in the feeding habits of nocturnal flying rodents. I'm fairly certain your problem is similar, however, but it should be infinitely easier to test and treat.

Normally, I'm able to stay with the pack in races fairly ok, but after the 10 day break, I've just struggled to hang on and usually get dropped very quickly in races. I've noticed that I just can't keep up with the group when the speed increases. I thought I might have lost some muscle mass in my legs after the vacation as my legs were aching for hours & hours after 1 recent, completed crit. I noticed that my recovery rate after hard efforts seems to be nil unlike before.

My clients report that after a 10 day lay-off it usually takes 6-10 weeks to get your race legs back, so my first tip is patience. It only takes three to six weeks to develop the ability to handle high intensity without blowing (to the extent that one can develop that ability), so there's no reason to do super-high intensity training in the first few weeks after your return to training. Not knowing much about you, I'll give you my generic post-vacation suggestion, which is three weeks of base only, three weeks of threshold work and then start racing and/or race-pace training. You should have legs 3-6 weeks into the racing period.

I am a 21 year old road cyclist (occasional MTBer), 187cm and 73.5kg, though last season I think I raced at between 71.8kg and 73kg so I would be looking to lose a small amount of weight if only I could train (I don't focus on this, it just happens). I race A grade and opens, and this year have been aiming at a number of state and national level road races, however, my performance has been significantly hampered by illness. I was wondering if you guys have any idea if I am doing something wrong with my training, diet or anything else. Here is a timeline of what I've done this year and what's gone wrong:

Last year I had problems with illness too, but my program contained too much volume completed at a high intensity, and I wasn't as aware of the importance of CHO consumption. I now consume 40g+ of CHO and hour on all my rides of over 90 minutes, and am very careful to eat directly following as well. My diet is excellent and varied, includes red meat, and over the last 2 months I have even tried a multi-vitamin, despite general skepticism about their utility as I am not deficient in anything (that I can work out).

Cameron, if there is one thing I am sure of with respect to athletic achievement, it is that the temporary setback you're experiencing is much more common than is success. And in fact, some would argue that success is born out of adversity. So before we get technical, here is a list of clichés for you to choose from: "Hang in there," "Keep your chin up;" "This, too, shall pass;" "No pain, no gain;" "You're only human."

In my century last year. It was extremely hot - in excess of 90 degrees. The first 60 miles is not very hilly. The last 40 we climb about 3000 feet. During this time I was drinking quite a bit of Gatorade and Cytomax mix. I drank over 100 oz in less than 25 miles. I was not getting the fluids, it just sat in my stomach and I felt bloated. So much so I had to pull out of the century at a service station in which I lost all of my fluids through my large intestine if you know what I mean. After the pit stop I felt so much better and actually rejuvenated to pick up the tempo.

You have discovered the importance of getting fluid and electrolytes into your blood and not just into your body. There is a difference, which you experienced as an emergency pit stop at the gas station. There has been quite a lot of research done to determine how to optimize fluid absorption during exercise and to reduce the risk of dehydration. What you drink, how much you drink and how often you drink it, all affect your body's ability to absorb fluid.

I'm sorry to hear about the numbness in your hand. This can be quite frustrating. Hand numbness can come from a variety of sources. The key is to find the cause of YOUR particular situation. I've had to deal with this issue myself, and met with 2 different health care professionals to determine the root cause of my hand numbness. Thankfully, we determined what was causing this problem, and much of the numbness is gone. Now, however, I must take preventative measures (which in my case involves stretching and strengthening exercises) in order to hopefully prevent this from becoming a chronic problem.

I have a follow up on the caffeine question. I don't drink caffeine regularly and have thought to myself that if I only drink caffeine 45 minutes before a race that my body will respond better to the effects of caffeine. Any truth to this? Can the body lose its response if you drink caffeine all the time? I also only drink caffeine via soda pop - is there any negative impact of carbonation and endurance events?