Fitness questions and answers for October 18, 2004

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.

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 25 year old Cat 3 racer, 6'1'' and 175lbs race weight. I would like to think that I am a classic rouleur. I can sprint with the best but I am certainly not the best. I can climb but I am no goat and I can time trial within the top ten of any race. That being said I was having a great year and was in the hunt for the statewide points race along with a couple of victories. Approximately one month before our state championship and two weeks before our last major stage race, over the course of a week I came down with a bad cold then worse nausea then absolutely horrible back pain. After two doctor's visits, I decided to go to the ER for fear of a kidney stone. My back pain wouldn't let me walk more than 5 consecutive steps.

They took me in, performed a battery of tests and decided to check me in. While they didn't find any stones, the urinalysis showed extremely elevated levels of protein (25X normal range) and creatinine (6X normal levels). I had acute renal failure/ acute tubular necrosis. They got me on saline to re-hydrate me and waited for various other test to come in. On the third day in the hospital, my chest x-ray showed a gathering of bi-lateral infiltrates/pneumonia. My O2 saturation levels were at 62 percent (Normal is 95-99 percent). Immediately I was taken to the ICU where I stayed for 5 days. Two different antibiotics were administered and after some time I began to feel better. I was released the following Sunday with strict orders of no activity for 6-8 weeks. All of my tests came back negative and the only presumption the doctors could think of is Legionnaires Disease.

Grapefruit interferes with the metabolism of many, but not all, prescription drugs. Whether grapefruit affects the metabolism of a particular medication depends on how the drug is broken down in the liver. The metabolism of some drugs is not inhibited by grapefruit because they are broken down by enzymes that are unaffected by grapefruit. The metabolism of the medication that you take, candesartan cilexetil, is not inhibited by grapefruit. If you should avoid consuming grapefruit juice with a particular drug, it will be indicated on the medication. Drug toxicity means that the medication is accumulating in your body, which may result in negative side effects.

I am a 32 year old Cat 4 cyclist (I used to be a Cat 3 but downgraded) who is looking to upgrade to a Cat 3. I will train about 500 hours this year. I live in Montana and 2 years ago I started Nordic skiing. I plan on doing about 8 Nordic races this year starting in December with the most important race happening on March 12th. I would like to dedicate as much time as possible to Nordic skiing (training 10-15 hrs/week) from Thanksgiving to that last race. My question and problem is that my most important bike race is on Memorial Day, so how do I maintain bike fitness without decreasing ski fitness? How do I accomplish the most with the least amount of time? My plan is to train 2-3 times a week on my trainer for 20-30 minutes each and do high cadence/sprint work along with some specific bike strength intervals like 4-5 minutes at low cadences of 60-70 rpm. My goal is to maintain as much muscle memory as possible. What do you think? Carl Swenson can do it so...

I have loved the series on positioning and cleat adjustments. I am a taller rider - riding a frame that is 58cm (top tube and down tube). I put my saddle way back and found that I was ending up sitting on the nose (with consequent problems) and started overreaching on a 12cm stem, so have moved it back to something less extreme and am happy. However I have found much joy in moving my cleats back a few mils. This has all made me consider the science of bike position and I have a few remaining questions.

Also you do not mention much about the effects of different pedals/systems on position. I have just switched to Look Keo which put me 6 mm closer to the axle and have allowed me to lower my saddle, reduce the height difference between stem and saddle (which I think is key to comfort and power output on a larger rider who may not be as flexible as someone like Petacchi who has a really extreme difference) and consequently get more comfortable on the bike. It must also have an effect on the way my legs work as effectively I have shortened the calf/lower leg length have I not ?

You are right, a frame should fit the rider. Mass production frames are designed primarily to keep unit costs low rather than address a mid point in the range of needs out there. The biggest compromises are made in small frames in so far as there are too many compromises often made to fit 700c wheels into a small frame and use the same fork offset as the rest of a range of sizes. The major compromise made in larger frames is that chainstay length is the same as on smaller frames, even though that the higher seat height [ and often more relaxed seat tube angle] means that the larger riders often greater weight is positioned further over the rear wheel to the detriment of weight distribution over the wheels and handling qualities to varying degrees.

For the past month I have been doing fewer miles and my training has been at a much lower intensity than in the peak of the season. What I have noticed though is that given the same level of perceived intensity my HR is much higher. Climbing up familiar hills at the same level of perceived intensity, my HR is 10 to 15 percent higher than normal. Said another way, If am in a zone 4 but don't feel the normal stress associated with that intensity. I don't feel as though I have lost much fitness. Any input into solving this mystery would be appreciated.

There are a few reasons why you might experience the rise in your heart rate. One of the most common reasons is that with significantly reduced intensity or with multiple recovery days, the sensitivity of the stress response to moderate to intense exercise in the body increases. HR thus responds to stress hormones in a more acute fashion (i.e. raising HR for a given effort). HR is also affected by temperature, so hotter weather will initially tend to boost HR for a given effort until you adapt to it. This occurs because the body works to maintain core temperature within a narrow range. Athough your are not necessarily working harder in your pedaling, the heart has to send out more blood so that it can circulate to the skin's surface to be cooled via the evaporation of sweat. Hydration can also play a role in increased HR. If you are less hydrated, total blood volume is reduced. This reduction means that less blood is ejected with each heart beat, and since blood demands in the body remain, HR increases to compensate for the required cardiac output. Finally, stimulants such as caffeine can be both dehydrating and increase stress hormone production, both effects boosting HR. I hope this helps clarify your situation.