Fitness questions and answers for October 10, 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.

Now I understand what you mean by the "you already know the answer" part but I still have a question; what are the limiting factors of VO2 - max? My heart could go a little bit faster than 191 for sure as it had in the past. Maybe it's the gas exchange rate in my lungs? Heart could pump blood faster but then each individual red blood cell would pass the lung faster, having less and less time to exchange gas, maybe? (yeah, you can call me a science weenie).

I've been off the bike for about two years now and want to get back in a big way. Could you help me out with some of the basics I need to know to set up some decent base mileage, approx. 35h a week. I have all the necessary tools like HRM and Power output. I use the Polar S725 so I have all the information at my fingertips. What I'd basically like to know is how to set up Power training Zones, how to gauge recovery so I know when to take it easy. I would really appreciate your input on this.

Let me start off by saying how great it is to have a fantastic discussion board like this one! My question relates to using rollers as an indoor trainer when the weather is not cooperating, or when trying to do focused and controlled interval sessions. The issue that I run into is that after around 10-15 minutes of non-stop riding on the rollers, I start to get a bit of numbness in the crotch area. I never have this problem on road, but I think the issue lies in the fact that on rollers you're not nearly as stable as on the road, and are limited to a very steady pedal rhythm, whereas on the road you're allowed to 'squirm' around, not to mention traffic lights, etc that vary the pace. I also find it quite difficult to stand and pedal when riding on rollers. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong? I have had limited success standing and pedalling, but I have rolled forwards off and over the rollers - not catastrophically, but very unnerving. Any suggestions?

In May last year I was involved in a race accident. The guy that brought me down got away with road rash, I unfortunatly had no road rash but broke the neck of my left femur. I was operated on within 20 hours. I went through the 6 months of rehab and started riding my bike again in November 2004. Everything seemed to be going reasonably well, but in February 2005 when my cycling club started the seasonal training I began to notice a problem. When I was on the drops I could not stay in this position for more than 20 km without getting pain at the top of my left thigh and in my groin area.

I have been to see a specialist this month who operated on me this week and removed the metal plate and screw that was in my femur. He also sent me for a MRI scan to try and find the cause of the pain. The conclusion of the MRI scan is stage 1 of Avascular Necrosis. The surgeon and myself are hoping that the removal of the big screw that went into my femur head will have released internal pressure and allow a better blood supply to the femur head. I have an appointment with my surgeon in three weeks where I may be scheduled to have another type of scan, the name of I cannot remember.

I'm a 25 year-old male whose left foot turns in. When I originally started riding three years ago, I thought I would compensate by rotating my cleat out on the bottom of my left shoe. For three years, this seemed to work fine but I wasn't riding a lot (about once a week). Now I'm riding three times a week for about 250km a week (155 miles) and I'm experiencing pain in the muscles around the left knee.

I've tried playing around with various cleat positions to no avail. I don't think my pedal has any float adjustment (it's an older model Shimano Dura-Ace SPD-R), just a vertical cleat play adjustment. Before I dump a bunch of money on a pedal upgrade that would give me float, I wanted an opinion on any other options to fix this problem. I want to increase my training during the off-season with the hopes of doing some Cat 3 races on the Ontario O Cup road series, but this knee problem is causing some concerns.

I got checked out by a physiotherapist and they found some interesting things. My left hip doesn't rotate like it should, which is likely causing increased stress on the nerve that runs down the back of my left leg. This is causing pain behind the left knee with that same nerve. They suggested some stretching exercises to increase the flexibility of the left hip joint, but didn't have much advice beyond that.

So here's where I stand right now. Prior to seeing the physio, I had taken four weeks off the bike to rest the injury. I did the suggested stretches for a couple days before cycling and again just before getting on the bike. My first ride was for one hour at 60-70% max HR with some hills en route. I could feel the nerve behind my left knee, but it didn't hurt. The next day, I did some light resistance speed spins on my indoor trainer for 30 minutes and the nerve began to hurt again.

Have you seen people with knees pointing outwards or inwards while riding? These same people will apparently have their seat heights adjusted properly but in the case of one rider I know his right knee can be seen to almost take a separate path to the right midway through the pedal stroke. Quite a sight, and somewhat painful to watch. This person rides often and says he experiences no problems. Is this a biomechanical problem or is it a result of unusually tight tendons or ligaments in the hips or upper legs that turns the knees out?

I have bicycled 10 - 20 miles a day for at least 20 years on a conventional upright bike with no physical problems. About five years ago, my husband and I bought Bike E's (recumbant bikes). Not too long after we had them, I began having numbness with severe shooting pains in the three middle toes on both feet about 20 minutes into my ride. Last year I invested in biking shoes for the first time. I have Shimano shoes without cleats - I also started using toe clips, but this has not aleviated the problem at all.