Fitness questions and answers for June 7, 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.

My question involves the intake of caffeine. As a student, I live off coffee. I average about 3-4 cups of coffee a day but during the school year I will sometimes drink 6 cups or more. Now that I am becoming more serious about cycling I am wondering what effects this amount of caffeine can have on my performance. I have read studies that suggest that caffeine can improve your performance, but they never say in what dosage. How much coffee is a safe amount to drink without it adversely effecting my riding and training? Thanks.

Sounds like you're aspiring to ride for Jittery Joe's one day. And in the world of cycling, you've got a lot of company. I've seen coffee referred to as, "the cyclist's drug of choice." And in fact the next time you're at a big-time professional bike race and you'd like to check out the pros up-close-and-personal, don't bother fighting the crowd for a good spot at the finish line. Instead, go camp in the nearest Starbucks about an hour before the pros go off. You'll find yourself sipping your espresso smack in the middle of one of those Cyclingnews 'pro moments' . And here is why.

This is more of an inquiry than a personal questions and it pertains to climbing. I've noticed while climbing in a standing position some racers will bend in their knees as if they're slightly squatting while others will almost straighten their leg out as if trying to stretch the cranks. While I know it's an individual matter, what is the preferred method to climb when standing? Or should I say, most efficient?

I'm sure there is a lot more to this than what I have to say, but one thing I've noticed is that shorter riders (a la Pantani) keep their hips extended and their crotches close to the stem while standing, while taller riders won't fit in that position and have to bend at the waist, bringing their butts closer to or even over the saddle when standing. I'm sure that anyone who's knees are more than a little bent at the bottom of the stroke are wasting some muscle tension that they don't need to make.

Two possibilities. You can use callipers to carefully measure the thickness of the sole inside the shoe in the two shoes and adjust the saddle height accordingly. Since the two sets of shoes may also fit differently so that a perfect measuring job won't yield an identical position anyway, another solution is to go back and forth between the old and new pairs and adjust by feel. If you do this, make the adjustment quickly (in the first hour or so of riding with the new shoes) since after a short time the new position will not feel as strange as it does in the first minutes.