Fitness Features

Cyclingnews.com's section devoted to fitness and riding technique. In this section we'll cover training, position, bike set-up, injury prevention and cure and everything else that affects your ability to ride further, faster and stronger.

The Form & fitness Q&A archive

The Cyclingnews form & fitness panel 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. Current riders that Steve has positioned include Davitamon-Lotto's Nick Gates, Discovery's Hayden Roulston, National Road Series champion, Jessica Ridder and National and State Time Trial champion, Peter Milostic. Scott Saifer (www.wenzelcoaching.com) has a Masters Degree in exercise physiology and sports psychology and has personally coached over 300 athletes of all levels in his 10 years of coaching with Wenzel Coaching. Eddie Monnier (www.velo-fit.com) is a USA Cycling certified Elite Coach and a Category II racer. He holds undergraduate degrees in anthropology (with departmental honors) and philosophy from Emory University and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business. Eddie is a proponent of training with power. He coaches cyclists (track, road and mountain bike) of all abilities and with wide ranging goals (with and without power meters). He uses internet tools to coach riders from any geography. 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. 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. Pam was an All-American in track while at the UW. She started cycling competitively in 2003 and is the defending Missouri State Road Champion. Pam writes a nutrition column for Giana Roberge's Team Speed Queen Newsletter. Dario Fredrick (www.wholeathlete.com) is an exercise physiologist and head coach for Whole Athlete™. He is a former category 1 & semi-pro MTB racer. Dario holds a masters degree in exercise science and a bachelors in sport psychology. 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. Dave Palese (www.davepalese.com) is a USA Cycling licensed coach and masters' class road racer with 16 years' race experience. He coaches racers and riders of all abilities from his home in southern Maine, USA, where he lives with his wife Sheryl, daughter Molly, and two cats, Miranda and Mu-Mu. 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. Kendra Wenzel (www.wenzelcoaching.com) is a head coach with Wenzel Coaching with 17 years of racing and coaching experience and is coauthor of the book Bike Racing 101. 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. Kim Morrow (www.elitefitcoach.com) has competed as a Professional Cyclist and Triathlete, is a certified USA Cycling Elite Coach, a 4-time U.S. Masters National Road Race Champion, and a Fitness Professional. Her coaching group, eliteFITcoach, is based out of the Southeastern United States, although they coach athletes across North America. Kim also owns MyEnduranceCoach.com, a resource for cyclists, multisport athletes & endurance coaches around the globe, specializing in helping cycling and multisport athletes find a coach. Advice presented in Cyclingnews' fitness pages is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to be specific advice for individual athletes. If you follow the educational information found on Cyclingnews, you do so at your own risk. You should consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.

Fitness articles

Fitness features in 2009

Nutrition: Eating advice for every day people
Health & Fitness: What you need to know about knees
Riding nutrition: Fuelling by numbers
Glycogen and cycling: Running on Empty

Fitness features in 2008

The anatomy of bike position: Steve Hogg takes you through his ideas on how to set up a bike.

Fitness features in 2006

Exercise and effective salt replacement: How much do you need?
Testosterone, epitestosterone & the doping tests: Steroid science explained

Fitness features in 2004

Altitude training: An interview with Dr John Hellemans
Power-based training Part II: Power to the coaches
Power-based training Part I: What it can do for you
Lactate and lactic acid - dispelling the myths by Dario Fredrick, M.A., wholeathlete.com

Fitness features in 2003

Cyclingnews' Winter Training Series Part 1 by René Wenzel, Bike Racing 101
Cyclingnews' Winter Training Series Part 2 by Robert Kühnen and Beppo Hilfiker, 2PEAK
Cyclingnews' Winter Training Series Part 3 by Eddie Monnier, Ultrafit & Associates
Cyclingnews' Winter Training Series Part 4 by Ric Stern, cyclecoach.com
The art of muscle care - Self-help massage and preparation tips from US Postal's chief soigneur Freddy Viaene
Ozone Code Red days - should you ride?
Inside CycleLab - a unique South African cycling facility that's part spinning gym, part coaching centre, part bike shop - and all about bums on saddles.
Race prioritization - Properly Planned Priorities Promote Perfect Peaks
Goal setting - Looking forward to the season and a suntan
Strength and cycling - The Great Debate

Fitness features in 2002

Short, interval sessions to improve fitness - End of season boost
The Way of the Fixie - Riding a fixed gear on the road
Power zone training - How to set training levels with a power meter
Training for crits - how to use intervals to build speed

Index to fitness-travel resources

Prestige Training & Racing Camps Italy - Since 1999 the aim of Prestige Holidays has been to give cyclists a chance to experience Italy, the home of cycling. They offer touring holidays, to specialized training camps for amateur and professional cyclists. They also offer the chance to race and train year round, with their own team based in Italy.

AthletiCamps - AthletiCamps sponsors a series of cycling training camps throughout the year in the Northern California area that feature physiological testing by Massimo Testa MD as a cornerstone of all their camps.  Their staff and contributors have a proven track record of helping riders realize their goals.

Ideal Cycling Camp Italia - Train on the roads the Italian professional cyclists train on, and race 2 or 3 times a week with the certified Ideal Cycling Camp Italian team in local amateur races.

Ciclismo-Euskadi training camps - Race and train and tour in Spain's Basque country.Ciclismo Euskadi cycling camps will be open from the first week of June to end of July in 2001. All cyclists are welcome in the beautiful Basque region of Northern Spain. The camp is most suited to avid touring riders, fitness riders, and those who want to take the next step and live out their dream of training and racing in Europe.