Fitness questions and answers for March 13, 2007

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.

This is my second year of serious cycling and last year I rode close to 6000 kilometres without any pain or aches. At the time I was running Speedplay x5s and everything seemed quite alright. During one of my rides when I was pushing very large gears I ended up causing some sort of injury to both of my legs. After the ride I felt fine but 3-4 hours later there was this really sharp pain on the sides of my knees that just seemed to not want to go away.

After 3 sessions I felt reasonably good and I was back on the bike. I gradually moved from 2 hours of training per rides/week to 8 hours in the span of 4-5 weeks. However things have really changed since the day of that ride (November 25th 2006). My right leg seems to have recovered just fine and it is back to normal, but my left knee seems to be in quite a bit of disarray (I should mention that I have switched my shoes and cleats since then to the Zeros and the Nike Lance shoes).

So to be more clear, I have a lot more pain off the bike than on the bike. I am ok with that but I am planning to race and bike for a long time and I want to know if I can do anything to go back to the pain free days. I had my roommate have a look at my pedal stroke from the front and he mentioned that when I pedal my left knee tends to go out (get a way from the top tube) when coming up (moving from 6 to 12 position) and move in (get closer to the top tube) during the down stroke (12-6) and he mentioned that my right leg and knee don't seem to move half as much.

I read with great interest Steve Hogg's paper on pelvic symmetry. I am currently dealing with this issue and it is to the point where it is completely ruining the sport for me. I can't sit still on the seat. My right hip wants to move forward, making my body point to the left, causing the left leg to feel out of sorts, etc. It's almost as if my right leg is acting shorter, even though the bones have been measured several times to be equal.

I am very happy with some recent changes to my position as I bought a new bike. However, I feel like my feet are too far apart. I am using a Dura-Ace crank. I can not find info on the Q-factor of various cranks. I intend to purchase a compact crank once I start riding mostly outside. Can you advise me of how different cranks Q-factors compare? Or is another way to solve this problem? Thanks for your help!

Interesting cases like yours are the ones that I would much rather advise on in person rather than via email because so much of getting a result is trial and error. I'm not crazy about different crank lengths in principle but when it is the least worst option, then it is worth a try and sometimes works a treat. What you say about a shim causing you problems at the top of the stroke means that a shorter crank on the right side is definitely an option I would advise you try.

What you describe is quite common; the forward rotation of the pelvis on the long legged side. That twist and the hip drop that is almost always associated with it causes the shorter right leg to reach further and the plane of movement of the right leg to be constantly challenged. It is that that causes the ITB tightness. You will almost certainly find that your right quadratus lumborum is very tight as well.