Fitness questions and answers for June 28, 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 17, male, and started racing mountain bikes in the Sport class this year. I laid down a good base, about 1000 miles and then started my build phase and racing. I just finished up my A race and am returning to base to rebuild some strength and prepare for my next race at the end of July which is a 60 miler with 11k of climbing. In school, I had no problem feeling good at the end going out for a ride. I trained consistently, overreached correctly sometimes, and didn't go off the deep end. I used Friel's training bible to help me train really smart.

However, now that school is out I need to some serious help. I work for my dad who owns a family stone yard business. I am on my feet, lifting heavy stuff sometimes, from 7:30 to 4. I drink lots and eat a high amount of quality foods. Unfortunately, work has its tolls. I just started working this week and have noticed that on my first ride I could barely get my heart rate up to 150 in the flats (my LT is 180).

I have a feeling this pattern of exhaustion/poor ride results is going to continue unless i do one of a few things. One is to just do recovery rides on the week and do intervals/long intense rides on the weekends. The other is to ride before work and rest afterwards. The other is to work less hours. The last is to get a different job. The business is a very important family thing that is hard to explain. I can't really imagine working anywhere else, somewhere where I'd be sitting on my butt all day (which would be a good thing for training though).

This is a question of priorities. You will not reach your potential as a cyclist while doing a job that involves a lot of standing and heavy lifting. No specially arranged training program will get you around that. You could race well part of the year and work part of the year. You could race and train year round below your potential indefinitely while you do the job in the family store. A lot of people enjoy racing for years without reaching their potential, so this is not such a horrible thing.

A question about the article on soda pop as a drink while riding. Although I do believe all the data presented about absorption I still have a question. If it is such a bad choice why do all or almost all the pro riders in Europe (I have been over to watch races and seen the amount of use with my own eyes) drink Coca Cola as their choice for drinks while riding and afterwards. I tried to count how many a day these guys are drinking and it is a lot. These guys ride/race everyday and consume at least a few cokes a stage. If the absorption is so bad that you recommend something else - why do the best riders in the world, with the best nutritionist and doctors allow them to use such a poor choice for glucose and rehydration? Based on what I have seen it seems to be the best choice of beverage to consume while riding and right afterwards. I know they do drink other drinks while riding but they sure do drink a lot of cokes. I get so tired of hearing everyone say not to drink soda and how horrible it is for you but when cycling elites use them everyday it can't be too bad.

My question is this: how many days, generally speaking, does it take for the body to grow stronger from training stress? I realize there are many variables--amount of sleep, whether one is training through and adding more stress, nutrition, life stress, etc. Let me contextualize this better. (It's too late now to do anything differently, but I'll know for the future). I am doing a 4 day stage race that begins in ten days. Three days ago, I had planned to block together two or three high-intensity, high-volume training days and then do only recovery and aerobic rides from one week out until the day before the race when I would do an "opener." I am wondering whether the training I do seven to ten days before the race will actually make me stronger (assuming I rest well) before I begin the race. Is there an average amount of time the body needs to recuperate and strengthen? I know that when people do two week crash cycles, it takes almost two weeks of recovery for the body to fully respond and strengthen. What about "regular" training cycles?

There are two questions here: How long does it take to respond to training stress and how long does it take to recover from training stress. The answer to the first question is not nearly so relevant as the second. Very hard training will slow you down for ten days to three weeks or even longer. Milder training leads to a shorter period of fatigue. As you learn your body's way of responding you'll figure out how much to do how close to important events. As a rule of thumb until you know better from your own experience, I'd suggest not doing anything hard enough to make you tired in the final ten days before an important competition.

I really enjoy Pam Hinton's extended responses to nutrition questions. My question involves the ubiquitous advice to have a drink with 6-8% carbs, etc. I only drink water and rely on food for my carbs/protein mix and electrolytes. The various sports drinks just don't work for me. Water is always appetizing, no matter the near-death experience currently underway, and I can always choke down real food.

I eat fig newtons and bagel sandwiches (with a little lean pork or chicken) and the ever yummy Clif bars. I measure salt onto the sandwiches during prep for rides over 3 hours (~1 gm/hr), where experience shows I need electrolyte replacement. I like keeping the food and hydration separate so I can fine tune either as I ride, depending on how hot it is, how far I'm going and how I feel (feed me now!). I have rules of thumb about how much I need of everything per hour, and keep learning as I go so I'm not shooting in the dark on the target century or performance event du jour.

The riding diet you describe is very similar to what I did when I was racing and doing long distance tours. I won a few events and if I didn't, it wasn't because I was bloated or ran out of fuel, so I know water + food works just fine. On very hot days you may need more to drink than you can carry from home, and I never liked carrying and mixing powders at each water stop. I also never had trouble riding with a belly full of sandwich. Many riders find it difficult to ingest and digest solid foods while riding hard, and for them carbo-drinks or gel-foods are essential.

I don't know if you could answer this regarding low red blood cell counts, hematocrit and hemoglobin low numbers. I have a physical once a year for work so have 7 years worth of data, each revealing low rbc counts. I have thalassemia so am blessed with permanent low blood cell counts. I am 36, 6'1", 195 lbs. somewhat healthy. I snow ski 35+ times a year, water ski and mountain bike with a little road riding. Looking at getting into road riding more seriously. Is there anything I can do to offset this? I don't give blood because of this. I will have to check to see about the ferritin levels in the liver and if they are reported. I was told to stay away from iron supplements because they could cause me stomach problems. I haven't run across a doc that has any experience in thalassemia. Any suggestions?

I used to coach an athlete that has beta thalassemia. It's important for you to know your limitations with this blood disorder and always to be very careful. To understand the significance of Thalassemia, you should understand the different forms, how it effects the body and why the different forms are named what they are. The following is a small section I found at the following web address that I feel describes the blood disorder very well and a provides a brief review of hemoglobin structure for you to better understand it: http://www.cariboo.bc.ca/schs/medtech/rice/thalassemia.html#review written by F.A. Rice, ART, CLS March 1, 1996. It is still current information. I've provided additional insight after this section on hemoglobin structure.

So, there are 4 different types of the disorder - alpha, beta; each with their own subsets, and also E beta and Sickle Beta. It will be important for you to try to determine which of these types you have and also its severity. I'm under the impression that you have a mild form of the blood disorder being as athletic as you have portrayed. For one, you should not give blood (as you state you do not) because it is not uncommon for someone with Thalassemia to have a hematocrit (red blood cell) level of 20-25% (normal values per ACSM guidelines are 40-52% males, 26-48% females). Secondly, common treatments of this disorder (depending on the degree of the disorder) are transfusions. With this, you need to be aware of iron toxicity. You should talk to a doctor about this.

You said you haven't run into a doctor that has experience with thalassemia, but I would encourage you to actively seek out a doctor that knows blood disorders. The more educated you are with this disorder, the better you can live with it. I'm not an expert in blood diseases and disorders but merely have worked with an athlete that has Thalassemia. It is possible for someone like yourself to compete and be moderately competitive, so don't loose hope. My suggestion would be to stay at low altitudes and possibly look into track cycling or events that have a more anaerobic component over aerobic. Reducing or eliminating the aerobic component of your sport will bring you (competitively) to just about the same levels as anyone else. It's something to consider.