Fitness questions and answers for June 24, 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.

It started about a month ago - I noticed when I did a straight legged calf stretch, I felt a 'pulling' sensation in the area where the Achilles tendon meets the heel (assuming it goes that far?). If you viewed the lower leg and foot as a 90 degree angle, the point of issue would be right on the corner. I don't get the sensation on a bent leg calf stretch. Also I do not feel this sensation cycling or playing squash, only when I do that particular stretch.

It doesn't really hurt when I stretch, but as it certainly doesn't feel right, I am concerned I could be on the verge of tearing something, so I stretch a lot - which hasn't helped. I get it a little more intense on the left side, but generally equally on both heels. So far nothing has changed - no better no worse. I have tried to think of anything I have done different over the last 6 months (shoes, types of rides, intensity, bike set up etc), but nothing comes to mind. The only thing is I have been riding in the drops more often, but this has still been comfortable.

I use size 43 Garneau Ergoair (with the single velcro strap over the top securing the shoe - when I bought them, I planned on doing more Tris). I have the cleats all the way back on the shoe (towards to heal), with no more room to move them. I did the exercise of marking the ball of the foot with a pen on the shoe and try to align with the spindle, but felt after several weeks, my foot still felt too far back from the spindle, too much ball of the foot (the exercise positioned the cleat about mid point). I use Shimano PD R540 with the yellow cleats.

One thing I didn't mention though, I just completed a criterium yesterday, and finished with the lead group for the first time. Needless to say I had to push myself harder than before to be there. In the last turn, 400m out, the sprint started and I stood up in the drops and sprinted. About 200m out I experienced a massive cramp in the top inside of my right calf, and shortly after in the left. Strange as I don't usually cramp. I didn't mention this before as I assumed it was the result of going harder than ever before, plus the 'pulling' sensation in my heal has been around for a good month - but may be related?

I did a hard ride on the TT bike yesterday, the first on this bike since the fateful race last weekend, and the cramping started again. I have ridden the road and mountain bike several times and have had no sign of troubles. The problem clearly is this bike. The only other notable is I have changed my pedal stroke to more of a raised heal throughout the stroke and I can feel I'm pawing back a bit more through the 6 o'clock position using some more of the hams. I'm stressed out and need help soon.

Hey there Steve, first I'll satisfy your curiosity. Every Monday I do isolated leg training on my rollers (an adventure in itself involving some serious furniture collision). Several weeks ago I noticed I could keep a smoother pedal stroke with less fatigue if I elevated my heel slightly throughout the stroke. So I applied that out on the road and it felt good. However, my seat felt low when my heel was raised, therefore the increased saddle height.

I realize the middle of the season is the perfect time to mess with my position...sarcasm. Anyway, taking your advice I dropped the saddle back down to where it used to be and took the TT bike out for my hill repeat session. The first thing I did instinctively was drop my heal more through the 3 o'clock and it felt great. Interestingly, when I lifted the heel in the middle of a mind numbing effort; I could feel my hammy getting irritated. Hmmmm.

When I dropped it again, the irritation stopped. To confuse the issue one better, I actually moved the saddle forward 1 cm before my last set of intervals and it felt great. Upon getting home I took a saddle height measurement and realized my saddle was now 5 mm lower than when I started this whole mess. It now makes me want to lower all of my saddles 5 mm. I now have a headache. Thanks for your help Steve! You definitely helped me. I just want to know, were you against the whole raised heal thing?

Very briefly and simplifying dramatically, when you ride near your LT power, you fatigue rapidly. You can delay the fatigue on any given day with good nutrition and hydration; by spinning a higher cadence in a lighter gear and riding in an aerodynamically efficient position, but sooner or later, you're going to lose power or have to ride at higher heart rates to maintain close to the same power. The only cure is to boost your LT power with an aerobic base training program.

I'm a 32-year old cyclist living in Los Angeles. I've been cycling for two years and before that ran marathons. I commute 10-miles each way to work and use these sessions as training. I also cycle 3-5 hours on the weekends. My commute takes me from a neighbourhood near Griffith Park (for anyone not familiar with SoCal, it's the enormous mountainous park near downtown), through the park, and then for 4 miles along a road parallel to the highway.

Ozone and particulates from car and truck exhaust definitely cause many lung health problems from short term impairment of lung function to cancer and emphysema. If commuting necessarily means riding along a busy freeway, you'd probably improve your long term health more by doing as you've suggested (riding indoors on weekdays and outdoors only at low-traffic times) than by continuing to train as you are currently.

I am a 17 year-old junior cyclist who rides between 11 and 16 hours a week. Just recently I have noticed a complete drop in my appetite and have lost my hunger completely. In the past, this has never been the case for when I would ride more, I would gain a hearty appetite, as any normal person would. I never feel hungry, but rather feel sluggish, tired, and grumpy when I do not eat. Any suggestions why this may be occurring or what I can do to increase my appetite? Thanks so much!

Loss of appetite combined with fatigue and grumpiness is a classic sign of overtraining, or of training in the heat. If you lose your appetite for just a few hours after training, just make a habit of forcing yourself to take a carbohydrate drink post ride and then eating when your appetite returns. If you are losing your appetite 24x7, you are probably overtrained. The best thing would be to consult with an experienced coach to confirm the diagnosis before taking drastic action, but if you are in fact overtrained, the corrective action is to back way, way off on your training, doing nothing but shorter endurance (70-80% of max heart rate) and recovery (60-70% of maximum heart rate) rides until your appetite comes back.