Fitness questions and answers for October 24, 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.

Thanks for all the informative articles in the past. If you haven't covered this topic, I have a question regarding possible side effects of this "nuke and pave" antibiotic my doctor prescribed. When he gave me Avelox (Moxifloxacin), he warned me not to exercise. At all. Walking, yes. Hiking, no. No riding, no lifting, no yoga or pilates. (No drinking, thanks to another drug he assigned me - great, now how am I going to spend these two weeks?) However, I found this in the drug literature:

"Fluoroquinolones [Avelox's classification] may rarely cause inflammation or even tearing of a tendon (the cord that attaches muscles to bones). If you get sudden pain in a tendon after exercise (for example, in your ankle, back of the knee or leg, shoulder, elbow, or wrist), stop taking the fluoroquinolone and check with your doctor . Rest and do not exercise until the doctor has made sure that you have not injured or torn the tendon."

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question (in detail, I might add). I know how hard it is to answer these kinds of questions without having all the information, but I figured I would see what you thought about possibility of the shorter side pelvis being anterior rotated. I truly enjoy reading your column and respect your opinion. The largest leg length issue I've had to deal with is a rider who had one side 4.0cm shorter than the other from a bad fracture (the result of being hit by a car). I corrected for half the discrepancy but he was still experiencing ITB and knee pain on the shorter side. Perhaps I would have had more success with your 5mm:1mm suggestion. Thanks again.

Unable to race the past few years because of a nagging back injury that seems to be improved, I am now facing a return to the sport I have loved for decades. But my narcolepsy is making a return to fitness a daunting task. Where I would expect to be tired because of the ever-increasing demands placed on my system, the normal overnight recovery after a long training day takes longer [I suspect] because I am just plain tired, and give in to the sleep that is all-too-common with narcoleptics.

But the one medication that actually HELPS me without elevating my heart rate to unnaturally high levels - modofinil [brand name PROVIGIL] - is, as I understand it - a prohibited substance. What can I do? Will a doctor's prescription suffice? The last time I raced, I was taking provigil under my doctor's supervision, and my sleep and workouts were at a wonderful equilibrium. Have things [rules and such] changed since 2002?

Unfortunately I had to go to the doctor the other week due to an incredibly itchy groin. It turned out to be a fungal infection, (a result of sweaty cycling shorts) which he has given me some antifungal cream and wash for, which seems to be working nicely. However he told me to wash all my underwear in a boil wash, to reduce the chance of reinfecting myself. Cycling shorts usually say wash at 30 or 40 degrees centigrade; surely it will ruin them if I do them at 60? Is there another way to clean them to make sure there is no risk of re-infection? Thanks.

I am a 21 yr old cat.3 cyclist. For the past two months (Aug/Sept) I had been doing some serious training directed by an ex-pro as my coach. (LT intervals, motor pacing, power intervals, etc.) I started using my HR monitor again (I had stopped because I was using a power meter to gauge my efforts instead). One day while in a race I was curious to see how high I could get my HR. So after the race was done, I looked at the watch, and it said that my max was 237. I immediately thought this to be absurd and figured since a lot of people were wearing their HR monitors, that I was getting interference from other riders. But then another day when I was doing motor pacing I came home looked and it said 217. This time I was really puzzled, since it was only me and the car I was riding behind. Now, I've been training with the thought that my max HR was somewhere near 200-205, but now I am not so sure. Should I change my HR training zones to reflect the 230 max? Or is something else going on here?

I have a question regarding the fit of a saddle in relation to the sit bones. I have been riding for about a year and a half, and originally started on a thickly padded saddle because I couldn't stand to ride on a racing saddle for more than a few minutes. As I progressively added miles, and improved my equipment, I became more comfortable. I now ride a Selle San Marco SKN that is 140mm wide. My sit bones are approx. 105 to 110 mm apart at the points, and I find that on longer rides (35 miles +) that I end up "eating the saddle", and numbness sets in. I am 37 years old, 5'11", 200 lb (I know, I know...but I'm big-boned!) and I ride a 55 cm Litespeed Tuscany about 100 miles per week.

The SKN saddle has a decent cutout, so it seems more to be that the saddle is too narrow. My question is how much wider should the saddle be than the sit bones in order to position them in the location that would provide the best support? I know that saddle comfort is highly suggestive, and that if possible I should try a saddle out before purchasing it, but that is often difficult. I have been looking at the Strike Pro Plus saddle, as it has a larger width (159 mm) and an incredible cutout, but could it be too wide for me? Or perhaps not wide enough? I am loath to spend $250 for another saddle if the one I have is sufficient and I just need to do something different, or should really look for something wider. Thanks in advance for your help.