Fitness questions and answers for March 29, 2005

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.

I am 48 years old, 5'8" and weigh about 150 lb. Due to Achilles tendonitis from running I have been a recreational road/mountain biker for the last eight years. I have had lower back pain and stiffness for about the last eight months. I partly attribute this to bad posture, but I've also noticed that especially when seated climbing on my mountain bike I tend to want to eliminate the natural arch in my lower back (flatten my lower back) by tightening my abdominal muscles. It just seems too hard to not do this. This sometimes results in lower back pain after long climbs. I've read that cyclists have strong back muscles and weak abdominal muscles, but this seems to be the opposite in my case. I've also noticed that professional cyclists often have a "hunched" or flattened lower back when seen in races. Could this tendency to flatten the lower back be leading to back pain? Could I be positioned wrong on the bike?

About six months ago, my gym got new spinning bikes - Lemond Rev Masters. Shortly after that, I began to notice knee pain - not while spinning - but later in the day, and upon awakening. Tried to ignore it, took some Aleeve, iced occasionally. (I should back up and state that prior to the Lemond bikes, we had Reebok and another type that I can't recall the name-if I ever had to spin on the Reebok bike, I did notice knee pain with those also- but no problem ever with the type I can't recall the name of).

Anyway, after running a marathon in December, I could not fully extend my right knee. I saw an Ortho who put me in an immobilizer for two weeks, went to a physiotherapist for VMO strengthening, etc and progressed with the "crunchiness" under the kneecap to the point where it was audible and made me nauseous to try to extend the knee in a sitting position. Now, I am awaiting the results of an MRI done last Friday, and suspect I will hear the dreaded words "you need to stop running" or "you need to stop doing squats" or "you need to stop whatever"!

Sorry for being so wordy, but I think I have determined on my own, by going back in time to the point of the new bikes, that it is not the marathon running, nor the squats/lunges,etc, but the bike. I feel like there is some setting that is a little off-seat height, distance from the bar, angle of the clips,etc. Have you heard of this? Have you heard of problems with this particular bike? Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks so much,

Hi,
The letter from Jim Breen answered many of my questions. I have a similar problem, but the calf pain is different. Instead of my legs being different length it is my pelvis and back. My right leg is a full inch shorter than my left, rather my pelvis is tilted an inch. The measurement was taken via x-ray by my chiropractor, the difference being between the heights of each femoral head. My pelvis is way higher on the right than on the left. However I don't want to insert Lemond wedges, I want to straighten my body. I am 5'11"+ inches tall, 190 pounds, not too fat, just a big cyclist. I compete (and win) mostly in short time trials, 15-20 miles.

My pain happens during longer rides, 50+ miles. I feel pain in the upper calf in my right leg (the shorter one); I think it is because the leg is trying to reach the pedal. My left leg reaches the pedal fine but the right leg is tight trying to reach it. My right leg is also significantly larger than the left, especially in the calf. My right spinal erectors are also larger than my left, which I think contributes to pulling my pelvis out of alignment. When I ride my right sit bone takes most of the pressure and I, oddly enough, find a really low position more comfortable than an upright one; sitting on my perineum; the top of my handlebars being 6.5" below my seat. I also find a more forward position more comfortable; if I push the seat back on the rails I get more back pain.

I've heard it called many things, but the phrase "art form" is the most commonly used term I've heard in reference to peaking. It is difficult to do even if a rider is on a strict training schedule. I know you can't answer this question as it relates directly to me because you don't know my training schedule, attributes and weaknesses, but could you shed some light on how to peak for a specific race, i.e. Masters Nationals. It is hit or miss, at best, and it can be frustrating. Thanks in advance.

Hey, this is in response to the saddle sore question. Scott recommended 'Boil-Ease' as a drawing salve and it's not. Boil-Ease is a benzocaine cream that will relieve pain but not actually help the boils mature. Several pharmacies sell their own house brand, it can often be found under burn treatment, but usually with the normal Neosporin type ointments. However, the best treatment is to prevent, and the best way to do that is to wipe down with a Wet-One before, use Chamois Butt'r, Assos, or Relief creams and then use a Wet-One after. The alcohol in the Wet-Ones will kill the bacteria that causes these gross and painful bumps while not drying out an area that is prone to chafing (because those wipes are made for babies' butts). Plus they're cheap, available everywhere, and you can throw it in your bag for weekend racing where you can't have a shower right after to wash the valuables. One of Ed Burke's books, Serious Cycling, has a good section on saddle sores, which is where I'm sourcing everything but the WetOnes rec - that's my original (or, at least, I don't remember reading it anywhere). Dr. Ed also says that a hot bath brings them to maturity and, from my experience, a hot bath is much better than the sticky, burnt rubber smell of drawing salves.