Bike Fit article

Here is a blog from BIANCHISTA about one of my bike fits, with a team photo of a rather young looking me!

Climbers

Ok, being light doesn't make you a great climber, it just gives you an advantage over most people. Typical climbers (skinny runts!)feel the need to smash it up every hill they hit (i used to be one!) they just can't hold them selfs back, It's one thing doing it in training, but in races climbers tend to forget they can use climbs to recover on, being 60kgs wet through they have a distinct advantage over most people. It would be far better waiting in the wheels on the climbs and saving it for one or two big attacks, rather than spread your effort over all the climbs then have nothing left for when it matters. Also remember you need a big engine for the flat as well, because it won't matter how light you are, if you hit the bottom of the climb having ridden way above yourself, you're going to climb like normal people!, so as well as training in the hills make sure you build your power up for the flat, climbers tend to think it's all about training up hill, but they might actually go up hill faster by doing some power work on the flat .

'Calories and speedo and garmin calculations'

Going back to the last post, here is abit more about nutrition and 'Calories in and Calories out!' from Barry Murray from www.optimumnutrition4sport.com

'Calories and speedo and garmin calculations'

1st, if you burn 4000kcal... it is not a simple case of refueling with 4000kcal. A calorie is not a calorie. Refueling with 4000kcal of malt loaf versus refueling with 4000kcal of oats, nuts, salmon and sweet potato is a whole different story in terms of health and performance benefits

2nd: there is no such thing as really knowing what your energy expenditure is on a daily basis. It varies based on training, general physical activity and just individual genotype. I have never ever worked out a so called "based on your weight, training and physical activity, you burn 3500kcal a day"... that cannot be an accurate precise calculation !! Also what changes this big time is the individual fitness of the person. The fitter you get, the more fuel efficient you get. So a garmin telling you that you have burnt 2500kcal on a 3hr ride does not take into account your physiological fitness, aerobic capacity, fat adaptation etc !!

3rd: Energy In does NOT equal energy out !! This statement actually defies the first law of thermodynamics ! A good way to explain this is TdF riders.. the estimate on paper is that they burn around 7-9000kcal... yet the eat something like 4-5000kcal. So they have a so called energy deficit of 2000kcal !! that would mean that they should be losing over a pound every 2days... so thats around 10 pounds over the 3weeks... yet, their weight usually remains stable !! So its a complete farce... there are energy systems and ways of utilising fuel that we are still not fully aware of yet

Winter to do list (marginal gains!)

These are the things i would have done more of in the winter, the things i think (know) can make a difference.

Nutrition. I'm sure you all want to get 100% back for the 100% effort you put into your cycling, you don't just want 80% back or 90% back, but 100% back and it's not as someone told me last week just about calories in and calories out, it's much more than that. Have your nutrition analysed even if you think it's healthy, as I've seen many people who think they have a health diet, but it's missing vital nutrients, the timing is way out, I highly recommend http://www.optimumnutrition4sport.com/ for nutrition advice.

Just a point on nutrition and losing weight, i recommend that you don't weigh yourself ever day (I've known people weigh them self's twice a day), but just once a week on the same day, because your weight can fluctuate day to day by up to a kg, because you maybe over/under hydrated or last nights meal was slightly bigger that normal, but people panic if they climb on the scales and see they've added a kg (you haven't added a kg of fat) and then totally change that days nutrition, restricting their nutrients to bring their weight down, but by doing this they maybe not be putting enough in for that's day's training, all you need to do is eat normally for that day and your weight should come back down to normal. Weighing yourself once a week should allow you to see your true weight loss, look at Wiggins, for the 2009 Tour i think he lost 7kgs over 9 months, if my sums are right that is less than 500gs (1/2 lbs) a week, something you are not going to see on a day to day trip to the scales. There is something to be said for checking your weight just before a ride and as soon as you come back, but this is to check your sweat rate, to see if you are under or over hydrating, it's worth doing at different times of year, autumn, winter, spring and summer for lets say a 3 hour ride, as each will give you different sweat rates, so you know how much to drink, but this is not to check your general weight loss.

Dentist. As i said before get a check up now, sort out any problems that could crop up in the middle of the season, which is the last thing you want to happen. Organise a check up now for early in your end of season break, get any problems sorted while in your rest period, so it has less impact on your training when you start back up again.

Blood test. Not the easiest thing to get in the UK if you are healthy! You are really lucky if you have a sports minded GP, but getting a blood test while you're rested and healthy could be really important later on when/if you think you may be ill or run down, as it will give you some good healthy baseline figures to base things on. If you have no luck with your GP try here http://www.csmapc.co.uk/

Testing. If you use a heart rate monitor or power meter this is really important, whether it's a self test or in the the lab, there is no point using one of these unless you know you current level of fitness through a test, if you are not going to test don't bother buying or using one. Also remember you are not training to test, but testing to train, so you're training in your correct zones, not guessing your fitness level and training above your zones and as most people i know will over estimate it and not under estimate it, so get tested!. Good or bad, testing and getting your current level of fitness will help you get the most from your training.

Bike Fit. Get yourself fitted properly, I've seen riders losing up to 10 watts and more with a poor fit, plus it could reduce the chance of injury.

Physio, Osteopath, Masseur. Use these not just for recovery and injury but to have a physical assessment to check everything is in balance and good working order.

NLP and Sports Psychology. www.inside-performance.com/ make sure the glass is always half full, always think you can. Here's some at work during the Tour. Useful links www.rightlines-uk.co.uk/ and www.sun1400.com/

Shoes

This is the time of year when you may be looking for new shoes for next year. I know what riders are like, they buy cycling shoes because their favorite rider uses them or the shoes are shiny! The shoe needs to fit and be comfortable, everyones feet are different and they are not going to fit in every shoes.

Shoes have been the bain of my life as there is not much volume to my feet and as such i haven't been able tighten my shoes up any more, laces come right up, straps come right over and flap in the wind and buckles just close up. I found the best thing for me is to use an extra insole (even 2 thinner ones)under my normal footbed, I've got a selection of extra insoles that are fairly flat to put underneath my footbed, this has made a big differnece to how my shoes feel and fit. If you have the same problem, good walking shops sell thing's called a volume reducers, a firm insole that will go under your own insole. I think Greg Lemond used to butcher his shoes, cutting them away and adding extra straps to get them to fit how he wanted.

Get fitted properly, don't just buy over the Internet because they are a good price, try a few pairs on, not just the ones that look the best (shiny)!!

If you use footbeds or orthotics, take them with you and if you have the same problem as me take some volume reducers/insoles.

Take your own cycling socks with you, don't turn up in your walking socks!

Get fitted at the end of the day when you've been on your feet a bit and not first thing in the morning when they are cold, remember your feet will expand in warmer weather while cycling. This is really important for shoes that you heat up and then mould to your feet, such as Bont or Shimano, get them moulded to cold feet and there will be less room for your feet to expand when it gets hot.

Some shoes come in width fittings, so if you have wide feet search these out.

Just think how many hours and miles you're going to do in your shoes, your shoes need to fit and not just look shiny ;o) UPDATE. Also when you try your shoes on in the shop don't just stand upright in them to see how they feel, this just places your weight in the heel of the shoe, when most of the weight is in the forefoot when riding, when I fit someone I place a block of wood under the heels of the shoes, this sets the shoe closer to most people's pedalling angle and I then get the person to squat a little, this places more weight on the forefoot area of the shoe, more replicating the feel you will get on the bike. This is also what you should do when you are trying to find the 1st metatarsal to mark the shoe when you are looking to place the cleats in the right fore and aft position, because if you just stand up in your shoes especially with cleats on, you will be marking the 1st metatarsal further back than where it is during pedalling stroke, to see what I mean place your shoe on a flat surface and look at it from the side, not many will pedal with the heel dropped that much, most heels are above the cleat.

Cleat setup

Someone ask me about basic cleat setup, i presume he meant fore and aft position and angle of cleat, I'll go over these basics but if needed there is alot more that can be done with the shoe/foot using wedges, shims and footbeds, remember the pedal and shoe are the contact point where your transfer your power through, getting this right could increase your power (together with with the rest of your bike position) and reduce the chance of injury. Beware setting your cleats up wrong, as it may cause injury. If unsure, seek someone out to help and the adjustments below are done at your own risk, so be sure you know what you are doing.

Fore and aft. I find most people will stand on the floor in their cycling shoes and mark the ball of the foot (1st metatarsal)on the shoe, but who pedals with the foot at that angle, with the heel lower than the ball of the foot? the best way is put your bike on the turbo and pedal for a little while, then slow down over a couple of revolutions and with cranks horizontal and without dropping you heel get someone to mark where the ball of the foot and also mark where the pedal spindle is. Normally i aim for the ball of the foot (1st metatarsal) to be between 5-10mm in front of the pedal spindle, but this depend on shoe size, this is normally halfway between the 1st and 5th metatarsal. To find the distance between your 1st and 5th metatarsal, in bare feet draw round your foot, mark the 1st and 5th metatarsal, then draw 2 lines through these across the the foot, normally the distance between the 2 will be about 1.5 to 2.5cm.

Cleat angle. Before starting this mark a round the cleat, i use an eraser pen. With most people using floated cleats, my method is to find a neutral position so you have float both ways and not all the float one way and non the other. With the bike still on the turbo pedal for a little while, then slow down over a couple of revs and without dropping your heal stop on one side at the bottom of the stroke, then gently turn the heal in to see if you have any float, then pedal again doing the same as above but this time when you stop at the bottom gently turn the heel out, repeat the above a few times making sure you relax the foot each time you start pedaling. If you feel you have no float one side or more one side than the other, take your shoe off and adjust cleat to allow the shoe to have more float. Once adjusted climb back on the bike and see how it feels, you may have to go through the above a few times before you find the right position. Remember a little adjustment at the cleat is bigger at the heel. If you are using Speedplay you can go through the above, but when you stop at the bottom at the stroke don't move your foot, hold it in position and get someone else to screw out some or all of the float, that someone will have to get on there hands and knees for this, taking the screws in or out one at at a time.

These are the basics!! It's easier doing it than writing about it! As i said at the start, there are adjustment you can make using wedges, shims and footbeds, but you are best seeing someone about this.

As with previous post do all this during a rest week.

Training Camp nutrition (the hotel buffet)

As it won't be long before we come up to the training camp season, beware the training camp buffet, how many times have i seen or heard that riders have come home from a training camp having put weight on even though they have been doing 4hrs+ per day! What do you expect after consuming 3 full plates of main course evening meals and 4 ice creams for desert! I've seen it year on year, just because it's there doesn't mean you have to eat it, would you have the same quantity at home..no! I know most will be on bed breakfast and evening meal at their hotel, but thinking that I'll wait till the evening to stock up and recover from my daily ride is a mistake for one, in fact you'll probably have missed your window for full recovery from that ride, as the most important time to try and fully recover is within 2hrs of that ride. So nip to the local supermarket and buy some post ride food, doing this may/should stop you over eating later in the evening because you've starved yourself by waiting around for your evening meal.