Fitness questions and answers for November 18, 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.

I did take him to see a physio who examined him and told me that although he had some spinal curvature as viewed from the rear, there was no significant leg length discrepancy. She also felt that the curvature in his spine was not structural in the sense that when he bends forward his spine straightens out. At the end of the day she felt that his ride position was the result of bad habits and that he could alter his position.

I had my bike in for basic adjustment check-ups and the guys asked my husband (who took the bike in for me) to tell me that they were concerned about my seat being angled too high in front instead of having it dead level. I had actually played with it considerably before settling on this position. I do fight patellar pain and pelvic lordosis virtually every day, have a home exercise program from my PT and work hard on my structural problems.

On some days I am mostly pain free, and other days miserable. But I keep at it and continually redouble my efforts to keep that left patella and tight TFLs happy. The reason I like the seat angled back is that otherwise I feel like I am falling forward off the seat. I do tend to sit upright on my bike as it or lengthening my torso as I learn forward do seem to change the pevlic geometry such that I get less pain. Is there any real reason I shouldn't have my seat so angled? Or, what am I risking by having it angled upwards?

If you have found a position that allows you to be comfortable on the bike, you are justified in wanting to keep it how it is. For many riders, the best saddle tilt has the contact portion of the saddle roughly horizontal or very slightly high in front. Note that the contact area is (or should be) back on the saddle where the 'sit bones' sit. Many saddles are scooped (High in front and back, low in the middle) so setting the front and back of the saddle level actually means the contact area is sloped down, throwing your weight onto the bars.

I am a fairly active cyclist, riding about 4-5 times per week, ranging from 15 to 40 miles in length (25+ usually on the weekends). I purchased a new Cannondale SystemSix and never had it fit. I had ridden a Felt for about a year (same amount of miles) and had no knee/achilles problems. After training for the MS150 century I developed some tendonitis in my achilles. After resting, stretching and doing strengthening exercises religiously, the problem dissipated.

After that the fit on my Cannondale it has been better than my Felt, but the pain in my right knee is still intermittent. The knee was affected after the bike fit and after I readjusted my bike back to my personal specifications. I stretch religiously before and after I ride, but am wondering if there are some stretches I am not doing or any strength training exercises for my quads that would help without making the pain in my knee worse.

I'm starting out as a competitive road cyclist, just racing my first few road crits, though i have been pushing myself in training for almost a couple of years, and truly love it. I'm a 21-year-old, and at around age 16 undertook medical tests for an enlarged heart. Through numerous diagnostics I was indeed found to have a very large heart, and one that I was told was unlikely to develop complications.

At the time it didn't phase me, though I had suspicions it had helped me to national-level sport throughout juniors. I have been training with a heart rate monitor for around a year and noticed a high capacity maximum heart rate. Standard heart rate calculators put me between 191-199 max bpm (though I understand these are likely conservative estimates), however I have consistently recorded my max heart rate on a reliable, good quality watch at around 226-228 max bpm. Have you heard of similar maximum bpm heartrates? Could this be advantageous to my cycling? I'm a little bit stuck for info on this subject in my brief research.

I am a 38-year-old male cyclist, whom, after many years off the bike joined a local group one year ago and have enjoyed many happy hours of cycling during this time. Originally from Scotland I love the climate in Queensland, Australia, and this has allowed me to ride my Trek Madone weekly all year round. A typical week for me previously involved a recreational 60km on a Saturday, a medium paced 40km on a Tuesday including some pace lining and an easy 40km on a Thursday. After making good improvements throughout the year I have recently increased this to a medium paced 90km on a Saturday, a medium paced 40km on a Tuesday and a medium paced 60km on a Wednesday.

The problem I experience is an uncomfortable and at times painful cramp in the muscles at the top of my left hamstring/bottom of my left buttock as the intensity of the ride increases. It can be described as feeling like a hard block of ice the size of my fist. My inner left leg feels like it is rubbing on the side of my saddle whereas my right leg does not. During this time I feel the need to stretch it out however any stretching I do appears to have little or no effect. I recall experiencing this discomfort when riding my previous road bike as long as a decade ago and remember having to stop on the way to work to perform a stretch after a short warm up.

I recently visited a local physio who informed me that one of my hips is higher than the other and my sternum is not central above my naval. I got the impression that this was not uncommon. Other than some manipulation and a deep tissue massage, which appeared to free the tightness I was experiencing, he was unable to offer further advice regarding my riding style. Subsequent rides have been less uncomfortable but the symptoms are still there, just to a lesser degree.

Is it possible for me to return my hips to the correct alignment through exercise and stretching or is my posture likely to remain this way forever? If so, is it possible to avoid the discomfort I am experiencing by changing my rising style using wedges as I would if I had one leg shorter than the other? I imagine that if my posture is inclined to one side that I am effectively riding with one leg shorter than the other as my body selectively leans to one side.