Fitness questions and answers for November 22, 2006

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.

That was 2 months ago, and I've had a hard time wanting to get back out on the bike since then. What is going on? What can I do to get the desire back? I don't want to be done with biking, but my bikes hang in my garage like two stoic bats. Sometimes I look at them with a nostalgic feeling, rather than the excitement I used to have looking forward to the next ride. If you can help I would be eternally grateful.

What are the main differences in the quadriceps vs. hamstring utilization when riding in the aero position, and why is this important for triathletes? I've heard that increased seat angle/forward seat position equals greater quadriceps utilization. But isn't that bad from a muscle utilization perspective? Wouldn't you want to use all your muscles, like the hamstrings, so that a single muscle isn't excessively sore during the run afterwards?

Firstly, differential cleat position to compensate for a real or imagined leg length difference is about the worst way I can think of to tackle the problem. As you found, it changes the whole pattern of muscular enlistment and causes each leg to function substantially differently. This is not what any of us are trying to achieve. We are never going to have two identical legs but one of our goals should be to have them function as similarly as is possible within the constraints of our structure and function. Have a look at these posts regarding cleat position and ball position then position your cleats as suggested. That will put the cleat issue to rest.

Then I learned about sit bones. I realized that they weren't even on the saddle and measured them. I now have a wider saddle, the Selle San Marco Aspide Glamour, to support my weight with my sit bones. However, in order to have my sit bones in the right place, I have to sit farther back on the saddle than I was used to doing with my previous saddle, but to reach the handlebars I needed to move the saddle as far forward as possible (my seat post has zero setback so that wasn't an option). That wasn't far enough forward so I also had to get a shorter stem (80mm).

Driven by your postings on cleat position, a while back I ripped the whole soles off my Equipe Time shoes, and re-glued them further back. This put my foot fore-aft position in line with your advice, and the result was nothing less than stunning. Your analogy of the 'sweet spot' on a baseball bat was 100%. Suddenly I don't toe-down like a ballerina. I actually use my hamstrings. As a size 39 foot, and a bad pronator to boot, I suspect I have never (i.e. for many years) had my cleats far enough back, despite having them as far back as they are made to go.

I have put a washer inside each pedal to make my road bike Q-factor wider. This helps, but not enough. Are there any other options for making things a few mm wider still? I considered a triple chain ring on my road bike but there are apparently problems with bottom bracket compatibility. Are there any ways to extend the pedal spindle? Any cranksets that splay the cranks wider than others? Advice appreciated. Seems like an opportunity for manufacturers too.

My problem is that I have a right leg which is about 2cm shorter than the left. On my road bike I have managed to alleviate the problem by building up my Look cleats with Le Wedges. Now on the MTB I have SPD pedals and the wedges are totally ineffective which is causing me tremendous pain in my lower back on the right side (I think it's called the sacral iliac joint). I have tried building my shoe up by using a raised insert but it is not helping.