By Nick Clayton

Many cyclists’ suffer from tight hamstrings, even though they stretch frequently. What’s the deal? Tight hamstrings are commonly a result of “gluteal amnesia.” In essence, the glutes forget how to contract, causing the hamstrings and calves to overwork. This is especially relevant for individuals who bike frequently then sit for long periods.

Think of the body as a puppet controlled by strings. If one or more of the strings get out of balance the whole puppet suffers. The body is the same. Muscles in the front of the body, especially the hip flexors, get tight and cause the muscles in the back of the body, especially the glutes, to become weak. Think about it — if you have tight hamstrings when was the last time your butt was sore (aside from sitting in the saddle for 4 hours). In addition, I’d be willing to bet that 1 out of 2 cyclists with tight hamstrings have low back pain and headaches. For the purpose of this article, the reason is too lengthy. Here is what you can do to alleviate the tightness, which reduces your performance (endurance, pain, and power).

Here is one really quick test. Stand up tall. Raise your left leg so that your left knee is above your hip, bending your knee. Hold for 10 seconds. Do you feel your right glute working along with your left hip flexor (the muscle dead center in the front of your left hip), or do you feel the burn in the outside of your left hip (TFL, or tensor fascia latae)? If you feel anything other than I described (right glute, left hip flexor) your body is compensating for a weakness created by one or more of the following.

Causes of tight hamstrings

- Increasing volume or intensity too much in a short time period
- Weak glutes and deep abs and tight or weak hip flexors
- Poor choice of exercises (too many situps and crunches these exercise do not work your “deep” abs)

Results

- Low back pain and stiffness
- Overuse injuries in the foot, calf, and knee
- Decreased motivation to run

Prevention

- Stretch consistently; perform active stretches before a workout and static stretches after a workout. Get in the habit of stretching and foam rolling 10 minutes before bed every night. Do not focus on stretching the hamstrings.

- Stretch your hip flexors with proper technique. To stretch your hip flexors, assume a lunge position. Tighten your abs (lightly squeeze your belly button) and squeeze the glute on your back leg; drop your hips straight down until you feel a gentle stretch in front of the hip of the back leg. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat 3 times.

Commit to core stability training 2-3 times per week that includes planks, and side planks. Reduce any ab machines — they focus on the more superficial muscles which compensate for the deep stabilizing muscles.

Find a good deep tissue massage therapist and sports medicine professional (I hear TMI is really good, wink-wink).

Nick is the Director of Performance at TMI Sports Performance in Arlington and is an avid off-road triathlete. Contact him with your injury prevention and run specific strength training questions at nick.clayton@tmisportsperformance.com

One of the most important components on a bike, the chain is often the most maintained part whether it’s made from plain carbon or alloy steel, but some are chrome-plated or stainless steel to prevent rust, or simply for aesthetics. It gets worn out, needs lubing and constantly picks up dirt and even mud when its raining.

Ever wondered when is the right time to replace the chains on your bike? This great article byLennard Zinn of VeloNews can give you tips when to finally get a new one.

As a chain wears, the pins and plate holes wear, increasing the spacing between rollers. This concentrates load on the top gear tooth, rather than distributing it over all of the teeth around which the chain is wrapped. Over time, the gear teeth will become hook-shaped and the tooth valleys will lengthen. A new chain will skip and jump when running on worn cogs and vice versa.

Chains are cheaper than cogsets and chainrings, and to avoid having to change all of them at once, check your chain regularly and replace it as needed.

The easiest way to check your chain is to measure it. Since bicycle chains measure a half-inch between adjacent rivets, there should be exactly 12 inner and outer link pairs in one foot. Set one end of a ruler on a rivet edge, and look at the rivet 12 inches away. If its edge is 12-1⁄8 inch away, replace the chain. If it is 12-1⁄16 inch away, replace it if you use titanium or aluminum cogs or an 11-tooth cog.

Source: Active.com
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By Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D. of Active.com
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Many cyclists consider sports bars and gels high in carbohydrates to be handy pre-ride snacks and a good source of calories during rides.

These energy sources help provide ample carbohydrates, with minimal amounts of fat and protein.

Many cyclists eat irregularly or skip meals due to the time constraints of work, social events and training. When you forgo meals, however, your blood glucose drops and you’re more likely to get the “bonk” on a ride.

Eating a high-carbohydrate sports bar an hour or so before cycling will help to maintain your blood glucose levels so that you can perform optimally.

Filling Up

High-carbohydrate foods such as sports bars, Fig Newtons, and bananas provide a feeling of “fullness” that you won’t get from drinking fluids or sucking down gels. Sports bars and gels purposely have a very low water content so that they can be compact and easily carried. By comparison, high-carbohydrate foods that have a high water content, such as bananas, take up more room.

For example, to get the amount of carbohydrate supplied by one Clif Bar (40 to 45 grams), you’d have to eat 1.5 bananas (45 grams). One gel packet supplies only slightly less carbohydrate (25 grams) than one banana (25 to 30 grams).

By Matt Fitzgerald for Active.com
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Every meal is important, but no meal is more important than the one before a race. Choosing the wrong foods, eating too much or too little, or eating at the wrong time can affect your performance and possibly ruin your race, or at least make your performance less than optimal. Eating the right pre-race meal at the right time ensures that all your hard training doesn’t go to waste.

The main purpose of the pre-race meal is to fill your liver with glycogen, especially if it precedes a morning race. Liver glycogen fuels your nervous system while you sleep, and as a result, your liver is roughly 50 percent glycogen-depleted when you wake up in the morning. Your muscles, inactive during the night, remain fully glycogen loaded from the previous day.

What to Eat

At least 80 percent of the calories you consume in your pre-race meal should come from carbohydrates. Keep your protein, and especially your fat and fiber consumption low. These nutrients take up space that are better utilized by carbohydrate. Also avoid gas-producing foods such as onions.

The types of carbohydrate are not important. While some studies have shown a performance benefit associated with eating a low-glycemic index (GI) meal rather than a high-GI meal before exercise, these meals were eaten just 30 minutes before exercise (the worst possible time for a high-GI meal, because blood glucose levels tend to decrease about 30 minutes after a high-GI meal). Recall that in a high-GI meal, carbohydrates enter the bloodstream very quickly, whereas in a low-GI meal, carbs enter the bloodstream at a lower rate.) In studies involving a more sensibly timed pre-exercise meal, the glycemic index of the meal has had no effect on performance.

Part 2:  Tips and tricks before the race

1. SLEEP!!!! Make sure you get plenty of sleep from Thursday/Friday night.  The day before folks usually have a hard time sleeping.  So make sure you give your body the maximum amount of rest you can.
2. Pack your gear the night before:  Logical right?  You’d be surprised how many riders freak out in the morning because they realize they left that extra tube at home.

Quick Checklist:

• Bike
• Helmet
• Headband/do-rag
• Gloves
• Shoes
• Socks
• Bottles (filled with water)
• Heartrate monitor/GPS/whatever you use
• Sunscreen
• Extra tubes, patch kit, emergency bike tool
• Gu/Shotblocks/whatever you eat during the ride

3. Talking about tubes, make sure you have at least two extra tubes with you on this ride. For some reason, the combination of heat and awesome Wichita Falls road conditions is really tough on them.
4. Whatever you do, do not wear underwear under your riding shorts.  It’s a ‘sensitive’ subject but we speak from experience when we say that saddle sores, ingrown hairs and blisters full of puss… well, you get the picture. Some of the real manly guys use Chamois/Butt Butter.  Yeah, yeah… but it works!
5. Sunscreen: You are going to be in the sun for at least 5 hours or longer at 90+ degrees.  Nuff said.
6. Don’t listen to one of the Wheelbrothers called Wade.  There are more then one gears on your bike. Use them!
7. Find a great group to ride with and draft, if you are experienced enough to do that. Remember to ask for permission to do so before hand. 99% of the time it’s fine but there are anal retentive goobers everywhere.
8. Draft wisely: If you do not know the folks you are drafting of be careful. Figure out if they know what they are doing and if they can hold a steady lane.  If not, the potential couple minutes you are shaving of your overall time, might not be worth the road rash.
9. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate: Read part 1 – yesterdays story on how to survive the HH100.
10. Keep your head up and have a great time.  ENJOY the ride.  Don’t take it to serious and relish in the experience of riding with 13,000+ other riders.  Make new friends and most importantly, if you see one of the Wheelbrothers say ‘Hi’!!!!

Part 1:  How not to die of dehydration

Written by Brad our team Doctor (Okay, so he happens to be a Doctor that rides with us… details, details… he still knows what he is talking about!)

There are a lot of prevailing theories on how best to hydrate for an event such as the HHH so let’s break it down into its simplest terms:

1. It’s all about the day before:  hydrate your brains out 24 hours before the ride.  Use water or electrolyte solution.  If you are not drinking, then your not allowing the individual cells to retain the fluids that it will desperately need.
2. Avoid all caffeine for 24-48 hours prior to the ride.  Remember that caffeine is a mild diuretic (makes you urinate more) and obviously this is the opposite of what we need to be doing.
3. Take a multivitamin the day before and the day of the race.  If you cramp often, consider adding an OTC potassium tablet (8-10 meq should do) the day before and the day of your race.
4. Complex carbs the day before the ride to eat (pasta, rice, pizza).
5. Hydrate during the race.  I have observed that most riders under hydrate.  I plan on stopping at mile 25-30, 50, 70, and 90 miles.  Bring 3 bottles with you and make sure they are gone before you get to the rest stop.  The desire to drink decreases as your cardiac output increases so you have to remember to drink.  What’s the best solution?  There is great debate on this one but water vs electrolytes is probably a wash.  During extreme conditions (of which this will be) electrolytes show a 3-4% improvement in performance in elite athletes only (and we ain’t that except for Ron – Cat Racer extrodinaire).  I start out with 2 waters and one Gatorade and after the first stop I switch to 1 water and 2 gatorades.  Why?  Electrolyte solution doesn’t quench your thirst like water does and therefore your more likely to drink.  Also,  you’ll need the calories during a long event like this.
6. Are you urinating?  If the answer is no, then significantly increase the volume.  I want everyone screaming to pee at that first rest stop.
7. Pickle juice?  A trendy pick and has some merit but I wouldn’t try it for the first time on ride day.  It may upset your stomach and that is NOT where you want to be.  Also, it tends to turn off the desire to drink more.
8. Kick some ass…

So Chris our team test subject, tried this method during the Goatneck race and reported, that he had finished the race feeling better and faster then ever before.

Rumor has it, that he set up a shrine of worship with Brad’s picture on it.  Kind of strange…

Not that there is anything wrong with that.