Get a good bike fit
November 24, 2010 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
“Get a proper bike fit” – it’s just one of the things I tell any cyclist who’s putting in a lot of hours on the bike, or any cyclist who is a competitive racer. A proper fit can help reduce the potential of injury and it can also increase your abilities on the bike.
Taking my own advice, on Monday I headed for downtown Calgary to hook up with Adam at Speed Matrix for a Retul fit on my 2010 S-Works Stumpjumper FSR. Speed Matrix has an area setup in the Speed Theory retail location just across from Mountain Equipment Coop.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Retul fit system it’s a three-dimensional computer analysis done as you are riding the bike you are being fit on. The resulting data is recorded and stored and can produce various end-user printouts. I’m a fan of cycling science and saw eye to eye with Adam on a number of subjects prior to and during the fit. I’ve experienced several fit systems over the years but I can confidently say this is the first fit system that provided the amount of recorded data that Retul does, no offense to any other fitters I’ve worked with in the past but Retul captures a LOT of data.
Upon arriving, Adam and his assistant Rory had me take off my shoes and socks then they got on with some range of motion tests to determine my cycling specific flexibility. Adam also watched my walking gait, checked my arches and looked at such things as my forefoot angle for signs of forefoot varus. I fall into the high percentage of cyclists who have a need for shimming but luckily my S-Works mtb shoes have a built in varus wedge that works extremely well in my case.
With the bike mounted on the Retul platform it was time to climb onboard.
If I remember correctly, the 3D measurements are accomplished by placing eight measurement points on each side of the body via a harness held in place by sticky velcro pads. The Retul device sits off to the side of the rider at approx 90 degrees and measures the harness points as you ride. The active LED lights on the harness points show things like knee angle, hip angle, ankle movement in space, how the knee is tracking, etc.
Putting things in place only took a couple of minutes, here is an example of a single side Retul measurement being taken, video courtesy of my iPhone. All I had to do during the Retul measurement was adopt my usual riding position and pedal at a medium intensity. I chose a low RPM pedal stroke so I could see what goes on at that cadence.
When one side is done the Retul platform is rotated 180 degrees and the other side is measured. After the first run the numbers are reviewed based on what the Retul ‘sees’ and any possible modifications to the bike setup are discussed.
In my case, the Retul indicated my bike setup was pretty much perfect but I could benefit from sliding the saddle forward approx 1-2 millimeters, which I had been thinking about doing anyway. The saddle had been feeling ‘a bit off’ ever since the 24hr Solo World Championships in Australia when myseatpost failed at the 21hr mark. Getting back to Canada and messing around with the new seatpost required a bunch of tweak time to get it perfect, something I didn’t do as I knew I was in the ballpark and just wanted to ride while the weather allowed for it.
Once the minor saddle adjustment had been made I knew it was a good call as soon as I got on the bike. I mentally kicked myself for not making the saddle tweak prior to the Retul fit – but my seat tweak laziness helped demonstrate the value of a proper fit.
Adam took a second round of Retul data as I pedaled on the Retul platform, I jumped off the bike once both sides were done and he ran the numbers to see how the saddle had changed things. It was obvious in the number details that the minor saddle change was a good decision. Here’s what the data looked like from one side.
Once Adam and I were happy with the saddle change it was time to record the final setup. Adam shot a Zin of the bike for the documented final setup, the results look like this.
What does the Zin process look like?
At the end of the fit I was happy to know that I had been solid before I showed up at Speed Matrix, Adam said it’s quite uncommon for someone to show up with such a dialed in setup. Knowing my fit was/is optimized for my body and the particular style of racing that I like is comforting. It took a few years to dial this fit in but I’m glad I took the time to experience a variety of fits and learn a few things along the way. I’m a fan of the Retul system, that’s for sure.
Spend the money, get a good bike fit. It’s a much smarter purchase than that carbon widget you want to put on your bike so you can shave another 10 grams off it. You’ll thank me years from now.
Racing nutrition advice part 3
July 28, 2010 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
As promised, here’s part 3 of the racing nutrition advice for endurance racers, it went out in the WSC newsletter two weeks ago. Hope you enjoy the advice, as always you can drop me a line with questions anytime.
“Nutrition for recovery
During the recovery phase of a 24hr mountain bike race, key nutrition goals include fluid and electrolyte replacement and the restoration of muscle and liver glycogen stores. Consideration should also be given to the nutrients required to support the repair of damaged tissue and promote immune function following exercise.
Most athletes will finish a 24hr race with some degree of dehydration, even if they have stuck to a fluid intake plan during the event. One way to gauge fluid losses from exercise is monitor your change in weight immediately after exercise to determine your fluid deficit. Remember that 1kg of weight loss roughly equates to 1L of fluid. Fluid losses continue during the recovery period in the form of ongoing sweating and urination therefore athletes are advised to replace about 125-150% of their fluid losses over the 4-6 hours after exercise. For example, if you lost 1kg (1000ml) during exercise, you should aim to drink about 1250 – 1500ml of fluid after exercise.
In 24hr racing however, this method…”
To read the rest of the article go to the archived newsletter and scroll down towards the bottom:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs005/1102936960953/archive/1103566110802.html
Racing nutrition advice part 2
July 8, 2010 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
I just got back from racing 8 days out on the West Coast of BC. That’s my second year doing BCBR and it was epic. Approx 400kms of racing with over 25,000′ vert gain on 70% singletrack – that’s gnarly technical West Coast singletrack. I loved it. I highly recommend the event if you are seeking incredible singletrack.
Upon reflection post-event, I saw improvements this year as compared to racing the same event last year. I can account for this due to a tweak within my training calendar to more correctly address the demands of 3.5 – 4hr race days requiring redlined efforts every day. I managed the intense starts better and generally could stay on the rivet longer. I was pretty happy with my fitness and am looking forward to checking out how things are progressing towards the World 24hr Solo Championships in Oct with another race fitness test comprised of a 24hr solo race coming up in just over two weeks. Canmore is always a tough but fun course, I think it will be my 4th time racing there for a 24hr solo. I’m interested to see how things will pan out.
As promised, here’s part 2 of the racing nutrition advice for endurance racers, it went out in the WSC newsletter just over a week ago so I hope you weren’t holding your breath all that time. Hope you enjoy the advice, as always you can drop me a line with questions anytime.
“Hydration
Many individual and environmental factors affect the rate of sweat loss during exercise. It is therefore recommended that athletes monitor changes in body weight during training in order to estimate sweat losses (see table). Undertaking this exercise in a variety of conditions will enable you to develop a hydration plan for use during races.
Typical sweat rates may be around 500-1000ml per hour but can be higher in hot conditions and may be lower in cool conditions when exercise intensity is low. During a 24 hour mountain bike race, sweat losses will be at their lowest during the night as the pace slows and the temperature drops.
Athletes are advised to drink at a rate that is comfortable and practical to replace most of their losses. Remember that thirst is generally not a reliable indicator of hydration status.
How to estimate sweat losses during exercise…”
To read the rest of the article go to the archived newsletter and scroll down towards the bottom:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs005/1102936960953/archive/1103503869669.html
Racing nutrition advice
June 6, 2010 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
I finished editing issue #7 of the World Solo Championship newsletter a few days ago and it went out on time. In case you haven’t seen it yet there is some good basic racing nutritional advice for the endurance racer (or most racers) and if you keep your eye on the newsletter over the next few weeks you might learn a thing or two.
This is part one of a three part series and I’m including the relevant text from the newsletter as well as a link to read the rest of the article in the newsletter.
Enjoy!
“Carbohydrate Loading
Good preparation for a 24 hour mountain bike race should begin a few days out with attention to a high carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrate loading, if done correctly, maximizes muscle glycogen stores and improves endurance exercise performance. For effective carbohydrate loading, an exercise taper and a daily intake of 7-10g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight is required for the 2-3 days before the event. For a 70kg athlete, this means about 500-700g of carbohydrate per day. Achieving these targets requires planning and it is essential to practice this strategy during training and less important endurance events as it can represent a significant change to your normal eating plan. Commonly, athletes attempting to carbohydrate load fail to meet these targets and consume too many high fat foods along the way. Effective carbohydrate loading is associated with a body mass gain of about 2kg due to the increased stores of muscle glycogen and the water stored with it.
Race morning
A normal sized meal should be eaten 2-4 hours before the start of the race to allow sufficient time for digestion. Choose familiar foods that…”
To read the rest of the article go to the archived newsletter and scroll down towards the bottom:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs005/1102936960953/archive/1103188354292.html
Things to consider in endurance racing
February 22, 2010 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
There are so many things to think about in endurance racing. Big things, little things, they all matter. Knowing how you are going to race is one of those things that becomes a necessity if you are toeing the line at a long event and a 12hr race is just long enough to teach you a lesson if you haven’t thought things through.
This week I asked Jillian to write about her recent experience at a 12hr race, Jillian did her homework before she got on the line and it made a difference in her results. She had a solid plan, enough flexibility to adjust to the conditions and the right mindset. I’ve read other reports on the race and it sounded nasty, congratulations goes to Jillian on a solid performance under tough conditions!
Free Road ID
January 25, 2010 by Shaun · 4 Comments
I like Road ID – www.RoadID.com
I’ve been wearing one for over three years now and don’t leave for a ride without it strapped to my ankle.
If you take a look at their website you will see it makes a lot of sense, particularly for athletes who train long hours by themselves. It’s not just for road rides by the way, if I’m going out on a solo ride on the dirt I usually strap it to my ankle as well.
I like the Ankle ID, once it’s on over your sock and you’ve been riding a few minutes you forget it’s there. It’s really cheap piece of mind. If the Ankle ID isn’t your thing then look at the Shoe ID, my wife uses one for her long runs.
I like their product enough that I contacted Road ID and asked how I could help them spread the word, they just asked that I mention them in a blog post (done) and that they would offer up a little bit of schwag as a giveaway for folks reading the blog. The schwag = an eCard for a free Road ID. my choice on how I want to give it away. I thought about giving it to the first person who sent me a photo of a pineapple carved to look like a battleship but instead I’m going with the first person to send me an email gets the free Road ID offer.
Fire away…
How important is Mental Conditioning?
January 7, 2010 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
This week I asked Iain to do a guest post for the Coaching Blog, the subject was “think about an endurance racing topic that’s important to you”. Iain chose to write about Mental Conditioning, something which I believe can be a tipping point for every athlete in tough racing.
At some point in a race it’s not uncommon to start feeling the cracks appear, the longer and harder the race the better the chance the cracks will start surfacing. If you don’t have good mental conditioning the cracks can start to manifest into something you might not have imagined and ultimately they can really turn your event on it’s head. The cracks usually start as inner dialogue, some of it might sound like some of these… it’s too cold, it’s too hot, I’m too thirsty, I’m so tired, I can’t do this, taking a nap would be good, I’ll never catch them, I shouldn’t have signed up… the cracks come in many forms. How you manage them is dependent on how well you prepared your mental conditioning game long before you toed the line.
In just under a year of coached endurance racing Iain has made huge strides in both his physical and mental game. Competing in some tough events, he has learned a ton and become a much better racer for it. In 2009 I had the pleasure of standing on the line next to Iain at the World Solo 24 Hour Championships, for me as a coach that was a really inspiring moment. Iain exceeded his personal goals in that event, on a VERY tough Solo course, it was strong mental conditioning that defined him on that day.
Here’s ‘Iain’s homework’ reply… thanks for your insight and personal clarity on this one Iain. Now get back to charging your lights as 24hrs of Old Pueblo is almost on the horizon. 
Why do you race?
I asked Sarah to do a guest post for the Coaching Blog, not because I have run out of things to say, but because I thought Sarah might have something important to offer. Nearly a week ago I gave Sarah the subject of her Blog post and it wasn’t an easy one – ‘Why do you race?’
I think most athletes have a good idea of why they race, until someone asks them to sit down and REALLY THINK ABOUT why they race. If you spend several days on this question you might find your initial answer turns out to different than the answer you end up with.
I want to thank Sarah for being so honest and insightful in her post, and I also want to thank her for allowing me to share this with all of you…
Complimentary Training
December 14, 2009 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
I enjoy core training, strength and resistance training, and several other forms of training. The types of associated or complimentary training I do for the kind of racing I participate in are broad reaching in nature and they apply to most sports. Complimentary training works for me, but what about other athletes as well? I think a lot of athletes get caught in a rut of specificity and that rut can be to their detriment because they miss some of the advantages provided by complimentary training.
Complimentary training can produce a more rounded kind of athlete, by using the term rounded-athlete I’m not talking about CrossFit-rounded or any other specific branded training system. I’m talking about athletes that expose themselves to their weaknesses through complimentary training without losing sight of the need to maintain the specificity of their sport. As the weakness is addressed a new weakness is engaged through creative complimentary training, all this occurs as a secondary priority to the specificity of the athletes focused sport..
Lots of competitive athletes can put on impressive displays of their particular abilities, it’s typical that a competitive athlete trains and displays to their strengths. Take a skipping rope master as an example, the better someone gets at skipping, the more comfortable they become in their skipping world and the more they like to keep skipping. A skipping rope master can skip all day but can they do a plank for 90 seconds? Without realizing the circular reinforcing nature of a narrowly focused path an athlete can soon become oblivious to their glaring weaknesses. The weaknesses aren’t obvious to them because they are, after all, a skipping master.
I like to use the balance ball as a good introductory example of a training method that will expose weaknesses. Complimentary training doesn’t have to be all about strength or power or cardio, how about demonstrating an athletes short comings regarding their fast twitch balance and center of gravity recognition – huh, what’s that? Get on the balance ball, on your hands and knees, find your center of gravity and steady the balls movement with no body part touching the ground. When things are reasonably solid… close your eyes, how long did you last before you fell over? Nothing changed, except your eyelids, so how come you fell over right away? There are lots of reasons you fell over and there are benefits in training to improve these areas, some benefits are more obvious than others.
Why learn something like fast twitch balance and center of gravity recognition? Name a sport that doesn’t use it…
Why get involved in complimentary training methods? Name a sport that doesn’t use it…
What’s in a name?
December 11, 2009 by Shaun · Leave a Comment
Giving something an identity should never be taken lightly. I struggled for some time trying to create a brand name for my coaching service because I believe it should represent much more than just a name. Naming a service is taking a lot of things and trying to wrap it up in one neat little package; you are trying to represent who you are, what you do, your philosophy, commitment, ideals, experience, the name doesn’t represent just me but also the athletes I coach.
And so I took the challenge of branding quite seriously.
I didn’t outsource the brand name problem, I didn’t mention to anyone I was looking for a brand name, I wanted to name it myself. So I sat and thought about it late at night, I thought about it driving the kids to school, I thought about it while on the trainer or while drinking a coffee. I gave it a lot of thought.
‘Forward Momentum Coaching’, why did I choose those three words as a brand name? Well to answer that question I would have to go back a couple of decades to a time when I was in a very demanding career path that was extreme on many levels. On nearly a daily basis I was tested, not in the written sense, it was in a physical, mental and emotional sense and sometimes things got so off the chart hard that I found myself falling back on a mantra that I didn’t know was a mantra at the time… ‘just keep going, just a few more steps, keep moving forward’. It was 20+ years ago and in those moments who I am today was being formed. As the years went by and when things got crazy hard I found myself falling into a familiar pattern of repeating ‘keep moving forward, keep the momentum’, somehow when the dust settled I would find myself unscathed and a little surprised that I was still standing. Along the way I started repeating the same thing to others that were in my charge, ‘just keep up the forward momentum’, or ‘as long as you are showing some forward momentum’.
Forward Momentum Coaching represents the lessons I’ve learned and the experience I’ve gained over a lot of years acting as a coach, teacher, mentor and willing participant across a wide range of events and challenges. The name means something to me and it acts as a guiding principle in everything I do as a coach. None of us know what we are going to be doing 10 years from now but I know with certainty whatever it is I will have kept my eye on maintaining the ‘Forward Momentum’.
FMC shirts (click on ‘Buy’)
Velonews RSS feed- Video: Gesink recaps victorious Mount Baldy ride May 20, 2012
- Giro Notebook stage 14: Amador scores for the Ticos; Pozzovivo still believes; Schleck, Cav hang tough May 20, 2012
- Video: Daniel Lloyd gives insight into stage 15 at the Giro d’Italia May 20, 2012
- Amgen Tour of California 2012 stage 7 results May 19, 2012
- Gesink takes command of Amgen Tour with powerful attack for stage win, overall lead on stage 7 May 19, 2012
- Video: Boonen happy with California, aiming for final sprint Sunday; next goal Olympics May 19, 2012
- Photo Essay: It ain’t easy being pink May 19, 2012
- Pro bike gallery: Peter Velits’ Specialized Tarmac May 19, 2012
- Video: Velits has no idea what to expect at Mount Baldy May 19, 2012
- The Feed Zone Service Course: Amgen Tour stage 7 May 19, 2012