Fitness questions and answers for September 5, 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.

I'm hoping that you can give me some answers or suggestions for the following: I am 42 years old been riding a very long time; I've competed at the provincial level, won a few races, lost a few etc. Anyway, I'm experiencing a burning in my left quad under moderately high to high loads on the bike .The left quad fails before there is any fatigue in the right. What are some possible reasons and or solutions? My saddle height feels good (inseam of 87.5 cm) set at 77cm center to top, with Keo pedals set back of about 8cm, reach is good and I appear to be well positioned on the bike. I'm 6'2" and I know that I have a leg length discrepancy of about 1cm (right side short); I do stretching most days but not enough as you have written about. I wear size 46 Sidi shoes with cleats pretty much all of the way back. Thanks.

Well I seem to be really solid in the saddle. If anything, there may be slight movement on the left downward. It is tiny. The leg length thing was addressed a while back with orthotics which may have been lifting the wrong leg! A recent visit to my chiropractor showed a slight right leg shortness - maybe 5mm or less. My cleats are set up using your method which helped a lot. My second toe on each foot is longer than the big toe, more so on the left. I currently use Superfeet insoles in both shoes. Thanks.

I really haven't made any changes (on purpose) to my position...although I replaced my left cleat somewhat recently and it is my left leg experiencing the problem. I do not think it is strictly over-use because my volume of training right now is relatively low. My battle with tendonitis in the past was cured by some positional changes and very aggressive stretching...but ironically I am now having problems on the opposite side!

For a right pedal, I use a dura ace pedal (look style - spd sl?). I have Le Wedges stacked up evenly about 1/8 of an inch - to account for the leg length discrepancy. My right leg is shorter than the left off the bike, but a couple local 'bike fit experts' tell me that on the bike the left leg is functionally shorter...my guess is that my body has 'twisted' as you suggest to 'make up' for my natural descrepancy...in the process my body has over-compensated and now the left leg appears shorter - functionally - when I'm on the bike.

My name is Helen, and I am learning to cycle - I am really enjoying it and looking to race in the near future. I have just purchased a Pinarello, and would appreciate some advice on positioning for ladies. I find my saddle very uncomfortable with tremendous pressure on my special bits - is there some general advice you can give for ladies positioning on a road bike, ie; saddle tilt, saddle set-back etc as I assume it will be different from men's positioning. I can't find any reference on your site. I am 5'6, weigh 7 st 10 llbs, inside leg 79cm. Many thanks in anticipation.

I had a question regarding the content of a certain energy gel on the market that I have been using. I noticed its main ingredient is brown rice syrup. Upon researching this I found out that brown rice syrup is composed roughly of 50% soluble complex carbohydrates, 45% maltose, and 3% glucose. The website in which I found this information says that the maltose may take up to 1 and 1/2 hours to digest and anywhere from 2 to 3 hours for the complex carbs.

I have a question about cleats that wear unevenly and what that might indicate about power output. My Look Delta cleats (the floating style) always wear much faster on the outside rear corner, the left cleat faster than the right, to the point that the inner corner is barely worn when I have to replace the cleats. I have tried to use the LeWedges to correct this problem, but that seemed only to increase the wear. I'm on my 3rd pair of cleats this season, which seems a bit excessive since I only train and race 6-8 hours a week. I have very flat feet and wear orthotics in both my cycling shoes and my street shoes.

I am a 58 year old avid, recreational road cyclist. Last year my mileage almost tripled (1200 to 3400 miles) I began having ITB pain, but not at the knee. My pain came from the hip area. My ortho doctor said that the band was snapping around some area near my hip. His x-ray showed no arthritis or other problem. A cortisone shot cleared up the problem. That was at the end of last season. Now that I've exceeded 2000 miles this year, the problem has returned.

Obviously there's a fit problem with my bike. I have a leg length difference. The longer right leg has the pain issue. My leg difference is almost 1/2 inch. What about the fact that my position on the bike could be causing such a problem? Should the seat be raised, lowered? I have also noticed that, as I pedal, my right knee (the problem side) tends to travel left and right instead of straight up and down, especially during strenuous, seated climbing.

I'm fairly new to the sport of triathlon, and about a month ago began suffering from what I believe is Metatarsalgia - pain on the ball of my left foot just beneath the toes. Now I'm beginning to suffer from the same thing in my right foot. I've done some research on running sites to see how to treat this condition. The first time I felt this pain (and it was very painful the first time) was immediately after getting off a ride when I began to run (doing a "brick" training session). I couldn't run more than 100 feet the first time.

Hopefully you can shed some light on this. I am a Masters 55, criterium-type racer, cat 2, racing on and off for 18 years. Last year in a crit I experienced a seizure in my right adductor muscle, stopping me completely from the race. It eased off somewhat and I had massage to alleviate it also. I went to see Dr. Testa in Sacramento. He moved my saddle back, suggested a shorter stem and I also got a Fizik Arione longer saddle. All to help me not come too far forward to the nose of the saddle which we think was pressing too hard and causing the trouble. During a recent hard riding century with friends I could feel it coming back into both legs, not just the right. After the century ride and a nap, both legs seized up for at least ten minutes...then finally loosened up enough to be able to massage. I was taking electrolytes and fluids during this ride - is there something else I am not seeing? Cleat placement? In/Out? Strength training?

I have used all kinds of different pedal systems; Look, Speedplay, Keywin, etc. and I can usually swap between different pedal systems with no problem. I just measure the height stack of the pedal and adjust the seat height as necessary. Then I make sure the cleat is in the same place as the old one as far as positioning using the axle as a reference point. There is an exception to my experience with pedal systems and that is with Time pedals. The first time I tried Time pedals in the late 90's I developed a real bad case of ITBS and had to stop riding for over a year. I have alway liked the simplicity of the Time system but I gave up on it. Now, I have bought the new Time RXS pedal and after adusting my seat height and cleat position, I get a tightness on the ouside of my leg, basically a tightness on my IT band.

Is there a reason that you know of that would cause this to happen? Why when I switch to the Time pedal system do I get that tightness on the outside of the knee? I can feel the tightness in the first 5 minutes of the pedal swap. It's almost intantaneous. I tried adding a shim between the pedal and the crank and moved the cleat as far forward as possible and it seemed to help some. But moving the cleat forward makes me feel like I'm pedalling with the tip of my foot.

The shoe size is 45. I am 5'7 and weigh 155lbs. My inseam is 32 inches and right now I have my seat height at 72.5cm (with the Speedplays). I have always used 172.5 cranks. Something peculiar about my anatomy is that I have knock knees and I walk and pedal pigeon toed. Another thing is that I have scoliosis and when I look in the mirror, I can see that my right hip is higher than the left. And the ITB flare up was on the right leg. The only thing is that it happened only with the Time pedals. After the very first ride, I could feel tightness on the outside of the right knee. Thinking that it would go away, I kept riding until I was forced to stop.

Right now I have tried the Time RXS and even after five minutes of riding, I can feel tightness on my right leg. As soon as I go back to my regular pedals, the tightness vanishes. One sad constant with all pedals systems is front knee pain on my left knee, but that is a different story. Sometimes I wonder if the tilted hips cause my right knee to be prone to ITBS and the left knee to pain in the front of the knee.

Another part of the story is that in the mid 80's (I'm 37) I had to stop riding because of ITBS (right knee). At that time I was using regular caged pedals with Diadora cycling shoes. No float. I wonder if the spring loaded float could have something to do with it. Or maybe the side float that Time pedals allow. Or, like I had mentioned, having the pivot point behind the pedal axle. I simply do not understand the root of the problem. Thanks for your help. I read your articles in Cyclingnews and find them very informative.

On long mountain bike rides away from cars my breathing seems to get better but is still not as free and easy as in the past. I rode for a few years before this with little or no symptoms. I've been to the doctor and have had various tests with the verdict - no asthma, but allergies and "sensitive lungs." Inhalers and allergy medication seem to diminish the symptoms, but I never feel symptom free. Obviously riding away from pollution would be ideal, but would limit my available riding. Is this common for cyclists since we are constantly outside in less than perfect air? Would a specialist tell me anything different than my doctor? Am I expecting too much of my medications?