- Welcome to Ask GCN Anything.
- This week we answer your questions on asthma,
burning carbs and white shoes.
- Oh, it's a packed out show this week, isn't it?
- It's a good one.
- If you'd like to be involved on next week's show,
then use the hashtag torqueback
in the comment section below.
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First question comes in from RavingMunster,
"Chris has mentioned a couple of times that he has Asthma,
"can you give some tips on managing asthma during sport.
"If it's not been a barrier to becoming a pro cyclist,
"I'm guessing you have your asthma management just dialed."
- You hope so, wouldn't you? - Do you?
- Because I don't have asthma so I am not the person
to answer this question.
- Well, I'm gonna snatch the laptop from you,
and read out the answer which I spent
quite a long time writing out, actually,
because there's a lot of information that I think
will be really useful to you.
So basically, it is a very personal issue,
certain catalysts that affect me won't affect
your son and his asthma.
The treatment that I've had is, by no means,
a one size fits all plan,
and at times it's definitely held up my cycling,
I think I mentioned in my presenter video
that in June and July I felt like a useless cyclist,
and that's because I really struggled to breathe
because the hay fever allergies that I also have
really triggered my asthma and made it a really tough time.
And to this day, there are definitely still aspects
of my asthma that I wish I could control better,
such as the hay fever period.
And I'm not an expert on this subject,
but I've got lots of experience so here goes.
There are some guidelines which I think apply to everyone
that suffers with asthma that I think we could all benefit
from learning from.
So gain an understanding of when your asthma is triggered.
Are there certain pollutants in the air?
Are there some odors?
Certain spores, like mold or anything like that.
And are you allergic to certain types of food
or certain food groups.
And then don't be afraid to visit your family GP
or doctor as frequent as possible, basically,
because you need to get on top of what it is
that's going to control your asthma.
Persistence really pays off with this,
and you need to work with them
to find the correct medication.
It's not gonna happen in just one visit,
this could take a period of months, or even years.
Anything you think works for you personally
does definitely work.
For years, for example, I used to refuse to wear
a heart rate strap because I felt like it kind of
restricted my breathing a little bit,
and it definitely helped, whether or not it actually helped,
if it helps between your ears then it is going to give
you a boost out on the road.
Next up, it's an evolving issue,
and no two seasons will ever be the same,
so from year to year, or from spring to summer,
to autumn to winter, it will always be different,
your asthma is constantly changing
as the environment changes around it.
And that requires work to stay on top of it,
you have potentially different medications
at certain times of the year,
for example, some people will be affected more
in cold air than they are warm air,
and vice versa, of course.
You are more susceptible to respiratory tract infections
when you have asthma,
so things like chest infections, for example,
bronchitis, that sort of thing,
you're more likely to get those than the average person.
That doesn't necessarily hold you back,
I mean, personally, it did wipe out most of one season,
when I had one after the other after another,
but that's not always the case for everyone.
The best way to actually monitor your asthma
is lightly training.
So keep daily notes, what happened at the time you felt like
you had tightness with difficulty breathing,
what did you eat in the hours before that,
what were the environmental conditions of that day, as well,
so things like pollen carrying and that sort of thing.
You really just need to have a lot of mindfulness
about it when you come to think
about how you're managing your asthma.
None of the above, or none of what I just previously
mentioned, makes it impossible to be a top level cyclist.
And just because you have asthma, it doesn't mean
that you need to use an asthma drug that requires a TUE,
in fact, there was only one time I had to have a TUE,
and that was before Ventolin became a non-therapeutic
use exemption drug, so it's quite a laid-level drug--
- Explain what TUE is.
- Therapeutic use exemption is what someone might need
to use in an extreme case when they need to take a drug,
which is actually banned in competition,
but for whatever health reasons
they're then exempt from that, from that drug.
- It's an interesting concept, isn't it,
because it's not something that you can see,
it's not something, - Right.
- It's you right next to me, I'm not gonna know
what's going on with your breathing, really,
I can't really hear much.
But do you feel you are at a disadvantage?
- Well, at certain times you definitely are,
because you can feel like someone sat on your chest,
basically, you'll feel like your legs are burning,
that's 'cause your muscles aren't getting enough
oxygen to them, you'll go red in the face,
you'll look visibly different when you're suffering
from asthma.
At times, you almost become numb to the fact
that your breathing isn't as good as it should be,
that's why it's really important to keep those notes,
and keeping track of how your breathing actually is.
I've always used an online diary,
and the other day I typed in, "Breathing"
and "Breath" and "asthma" into the diary
and it came up with tens and tens and tens of results
where I've commented on how my breathing was.
- And there are loads of world tour absolute riders
that are hitting the top, top, top levels
who do suffer with asthma,
so don't feel disheartened, get on top of it,
like Chris says, and yeah, you can go as far as you want
with cycling.
- Yeah, there are a few misconceptions when it comes
to asthma drugs.
I wanna point this out, because it's actually
really, really important to make clear
that no asthma drug will ever take you up past 100%
of your airway's capability,
so you're not cheating by taking your inhaler,
so don't trash our way from that.
All it's doing, is getting your body back
to where it should be.
- Okay, interesting. - Hope that helps.
- Yeah, I hope that helps
and thanks for answering that, Chris.
And the winner of this week's three months
free subscription from our mates over at Zwift,
is who, Chris? (drumroll)
- Gogs.
- Sorry mate, you'll have to say that again.
- Gogs. - (laughs) There it is.
- "My recovery after short efforts,
"RPE of nine out of 10, for up to five minutes is lousy.
"I seem to need loads of time, and I can't hit
"the intervals normally prescribed in my sessions.
"How do I improve my ability to get back
"and hit the power numbers, and what kind of sessions
"should I use in my training?"
- Well great question, as always we send off to Zwift
and they come back with this answer.
And to be honest, it's such a good question,
and it's really common among loads of cyclists.
- Yeah mate, you're not alone at all.
So what you're experiencing is lactate accumulation,
and the subsequent lactate clearance rates.
When we perform efforts above lactate threshold,
we accumulate lactate.
- Yeah, to be honest, you are riding in
upspeed effort around nine and 10,
which is going above and beyond your lactate threshold.
- Yeah, because of that, this is actually where judging
an athlete's ability by their power duration curve,
is irrelevant, it doesn't really show what the athlete
is capable of repeating
on their next high intensity efforts.
We should go through it a little bit, haven't we?
So the first thing to look at is your recovery interval.
After a very intense interval, our instinct
is to actually completely to sit up and pedal really gently,
or do what I did today and sit in a ditch for a while.
- Yeah, which isn't actually optimal,
and I find this really interesting,
how the actual optimal ability
to kind of flush the lactate through,
is riding around 65% of your FTP, which sounds completely
bonkers, but it makes total sense.
- Well it does, yeah.
And I've had that kind of sneaky suspicion
for a little while,
because I would generally pull over to the the side
of the road and freewheel and do whatever.
- Well I saw that today, didn't I?
You did a massive effort,
and then you were in the ditch.
- But I've often thought when after big effort in races,
and then you've been forced to continue pedaling
I've actually recovered faster.
- Yeah.
- So that is the science behind it,
a lot of people that can't fight that.
- And it's looking to do a duration of around
three to four minutes at that 65%,
after your effort.
- And then you can turn around,
so imagine you were doing reps of five
times five minute intervals,
you do your max five in an effort, and then you continue
at that 65% of FTP, a little bit further up the climb,
for example, before you then turn around.
Whereas normally, what you might have done
is just turned around straightaway in the hill.
That's what I would have done in the past.
- Yeah, which makes perfect sense when you're doing,
and it actually works perfectly on a climb,
so you can do your effort, going up half the climb,
and you continue just riding the climb at that 65%
without actually having to really press on the pedals
just to get up the climb,
and then you can turn around once you've got that little
bit further up the climb.
- Yeah, so the answer to your question
is to improve your numbers on the subsequent intervals
continue for three to four minutes at 65% of threshold,
before turning around and repeating the intervals,
because basically, you're doing each interval
with a higher level of lactate in your blood.
- There you have it, there you have it.
I've learned something,
I hope you've learned something, too,
if you did, then let us know in the comment section below.
Right, next question is from,
I'm gonna try my absolute best to pronounce this.
- It's William. William Kujanpaa.
No, Kujana-- Kujanapaa.
- That's a name. - Well, you guys can all
have a go at home (laughs).
"Hey guys, I was wondering if you could tell me why
"this spring I have a problem with my calves
"burning when I ride now. The two things I have changed
"since the fall have been now I ride clipped in,
"and I changed my tires to 28 with more tread,
"which change do you think has caused this overworking
"of the calves? Any suggestions?"
- Well, the fact that you say "overworking"
implies that you already know what's going on.
And it's probably because you set the pedals up
a little too far up towards your toes on your shoe,
which means your calf muscle is having to overwork
to stabilize the foot.
As when we pedal, really, you don't want,
the calf doesn't contribute a huge amount
to the pedal stroke, - No.
- Despite you sometimes see riders with big calves,
what you want to aim for is quite a neutral position
for the calf, so the muscle doesn't tire
and cramp quite quickly.
- So you try it out, really.
- Otherwise it could be that your saddle height's
maybe a little too low, so your foot's trying
to take up the, trying to create space
for your legs to move and dropping hill too far.
- Two good points that is worth trying to change
and then you might feel a little bit of release
on your calves.
- All right, next up is Rampager Eve.
"Why all road shoes of the pro peloton are white in color?"
- Great question,
and it's just because, I think, they look better.
Don't you? - I'm pretty sure they do.
- Fresh white socks, fresh white shoes is just bling.
- Fresh white socks, only fresh once though.
- Well, that's true, but--
- Fresh black socks are always fresh.
By the way, there's a picture on screen right now
that shows that that's not necessarily true.
If you look at all those colors.
- Yeah, I still think white on white on white.
- White on white on white. - Yeah.
- Maarten Meynen.
"Did my second FTP test today on the road.
"I felt there was more in the tank,
"even did a decent ride afterwards,
"but I seem to struggle mentally to complete the 20 minutes
"and go all the way.
"Any tips to mentally succeeding in a 20 minute FTP test?"
- Right, I would say practice really does make perfect.
So just keep on riding those efforts,
and they will get easier, and you will get more use
to the time and how to sustain that effort
for the 20 minutes.
But I also would say, something that really helped me
with my 20 minute effort, is I that I did an effort
of little less intensity, but I did it for half an hour
or 45 minutes.
Because then you're going a little longer
than that 20 minutes,
and that 20 minutes does feel that shorter,
and it's a bit easier on the head, mentally.
- Yeah, it's a good point.
It could also be a sign that you're not including
enough intensity in your training, potentially,
you're finding it hard to access those deeper,
deeper power numbers, but don't be afraid
of your 20 minute test, like, it's not the
be all, end all and it's not the only marker
of your fitness. - It's not at all.
- So don't build up on something that's not.
Feel free to go really hard at the start,
if you blow halfway through, it's not the end of the world.
You can always do it another week.
- Yeah, and you know where you are, I guess.
- Yeah, that's true.
- Next question from dutypaidrock,
"I'm finally off the trainer and training outside on a bike
"I bought last winter and thus haven't ridden outside much.
"During some sprint intervals, I noticed when I get out
"of the saddle and go as hard as I can,
"the back wheels spins out and the back end of the bike
"is like a bucking bronco.
"I tried moving my weight back over the back wheel
"for traction, but I feel like I can't get the power out
"effectively, and even then, the back end was still
"like an old 911 on an ice rink," Oh I like that,
"is the gear I'm setting off on too high
"to begin with? Any tips on keeping
"that rubber on the tarmac?"
- Well it's a good question.
- And it's a great worded question, as well.
I did like that. (laughs)
- All the references there.
Yeah, it could be that you're slightly overgeared,
but I doubt it's just that
because it's probably more due to your position,
and your weight balance over the bike.
Are you leaning too far forward,
and are you trying to pull up too much on the pedals?
If you try to pull up too much on the pedals,
then try to focus on the downstroke,
perhaps don't overextend your leg
while you're trying to sprint.
And then finally, I think the most important thing
when it comes to printing is actually form over function.
So instead of just thrashing around on the bike
hoping for the best power numbers wise,
focus on having a really neat, tidy sprint,
so you're really focused on where your arms are,
where your elbows are,
we all want, and I'm guilty of this,
and I'm sure everyone is at some point,
trying to make a really big number appear
on your computer screen.
- Don't talk for the team, mate.
- That's a joke, I do most days.
But that is not the be-all, end-all,
and actually a faster sprint will almost always
be a clean and neat and tidy a sprint,
so focus on your form when you're doing a sprint,
and then the power and the speed
will come naturally after that.
- Like engaging core, and stuff like that.
Like a good, solid frame will really help.
But then again, my wheel doesn't go like a bucking bronco,
but I don't know if that--
- Or maybe she will bounce.
- I'm not putting enough power out.
(upbeat music)
- During the sprint, you'll want to stand up
on the pedals and really explode
down through your core muscles into the bike.
Moving the bike side to side with your legs and arms
in a continual, smooth motion.
It is a complete maximal effort,
so really push down hard on the pedals,
and pull back up til you've gotten through the pedal stroke.
- Ooh, that's another one.
- That was a great answer though, Chris,
I have to say you did well this week.
Yeah, you really did.
- Oh, thank you.
- (laughs) If you want to get involved
on next week's show, then what do you do, Chris?
- Use the hashtag torqueback for all your cycling questions,
and to be able to chance at winning
a free three month subscription to Zwift,
use the hashtag askGCNtraining.
- Yeah, don't forget if you did enjoy this video,
and it really helped you,
then to give it a big thumbs up.
And if you're in the mood for watching more GCN videos,
then why don't you check out that one over there
which is the Descending Like a Pro video,
that Chris and I did,
and I think we really enjoyed doing it, didn't we?
- We did, and if you enjoyed this,
why not check out the T-shirt,
with the limited editions sac lebre,
I call it The Descend T-shirt,
short for globalcyclingnetwork.com.
- Did you get the PB for going down that?
- I got a personal record.
- Absolute nutter.