Training

Mountain Bike Radio Focus on Endurance Nutrition

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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The excerpt is from the first episode of the new Apex Nutrition Podcast on Mountain Bike Radio. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian in Golden, Colorado, who helps endurance athletes fuel their bodies during training and competition. Kelli offers nutrition plans, consulting, and coaching services to various levels of athletes. As an experienced endurance athlete, she can bring a practical approach to you.

Got an Itch to Cook More? Why Not Skratch it?

Submitted by Cheri Felix on

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Author, Cheri Felix rides Fruita

I’ve been slightly obsessed lately. Nothing new really. But my new obsession is The Feed Zone Cookbook by locals Biju Thomas and Allen Lim. I’m notorious for buying cookbooks and then using them as paperweights. But this time things are going to be different. I’m going to be a better person. I’m going to actually try out the recipes. And you’re going to help.

Remember that movie about the girl who couldn’t find a job and so she thought she would make a different recipe every day from the Julia Child cookbook? And then she thought she would be very clever and write about it? Well, I guess I’m using that idea. Except this time, it’s me and not her and it’s The Feed Zone and it’s for my family (my mini-cycling team). And oh yeah, it won’t be a recipe a day because seriously I do have a life and laundry to do and a bike to ride. I figure I’m not in the minority. In fact I’d say the majority of people I know are NOT professional cyclists but the majority of us are looking for better ways to fuel ourselves and our families.

Know Your Knees

Submitted by Amy Thompson on

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Acupuncture & Common Knee Injuries

by Christina Roy L.Ac, MSOM

How many times have you heard: “I tore my meniscus...blew out my ACL...tore my MCL.” What exactly do these terms mean for our knee’s health & proper athletic functioning?

MCL / Medial Collateral Ligament
Located on medial side of the knee joint
Controls inner or medial movement of knee; keeps it from collapsing inwardly
Often injured by a hit on outer knee (soccer, football) or skiing

LCL / Lateral Collateral Ligament
On the lateral side of the knee joint
Stabilizes the lateral knee
Often injured by a hit to the inner knee (rugby, football, etc)

ACL / Anterior Collateral Ligament
Located deep within the knee joint
Stabilizes the lower leg by not allowing it to slide forward/anteriorly or to rotate in relation to the Femur
Commonly injured while changing direction or stopping quickly at a run; improper planting or landing of a jump; direct frontal hit to the knee, etc. These are found often in mogul skiing, snowboarding, basketball, tennis, soccer, football, & skateboarding.

Meniscus
The meniscus is a rubbery, C-shaped disc that cushions your knee & helps by distributing your weight across the knee.

Cycling with Pain? Improve your Flow

Submitted by Amy Thompson on

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by Christina Roy L.Ac, MSOM

“Where there is pain there is no free flow - where there is no free flow there is pain”

This quote was hammered into me during my Graduate Acupuncture education. It was typically used to describe physical pain & stagnation, but I’ve come to accept that it is true for almost all areas of life. Let me try to explain.

Boulder Cyclists unfortunately develop injuries fairly often. Physically when you have an acute injury such as a sprain, muscle tear, tendonitis, broken bone, etc, this injury physically causes local stagnation & impedes the free flow of blood, lymph, & Qi. This stagnation is painful. Even with chronic pain, due to chronically tight & tense muscles, again there is a block in the flow. This equates to a log jam in a river where there is a build up of pressure, Qi & blood & this strain is painful.

Now expand that out to everything from friendships, committed relationships, self-judgement, to job performance...the list is endless. But I find that if I am brave enough to be honest with myself when I am feeling pain or discomfort in one of these areas, I can usually identify one if not a multiple ways that I am “holding my ground; not budging; relating out of principle or old emotional wounds....”. All of these ways of relating is “blocking the flow” of what is happening in the moment or not allowing the other people involved to act genuinely to their own needs = pain.

While acupuncture & body work can help relieve the physical impediments, it takes more energy & diligence to stop & honestly examine the dynamics involved whenever we are feeling pain of any kind. If we can identify places & spaces where we are “stuck & not flowing” maybe we can be brave enough to nudge 1 or 2 of those logs loose & get that flow going again. We may be delightfully surprised to discover that the river takes us to beautiful unexpected places, free of pain, & worth every moment.

Inner thoughts from a Middle of the Road Acupuncturist ~ Christina Roy L.Ac, MSOM

Christina Roy is a licensed acupuncturist practicing in Boulder, Colorado. One of her specialties is treating sports injuries and performance enhancement. She has worked with multiple cycling & triathlon groups in Boulder to help with recovery treatments after races, as well as injury prevention & performance enhancement. She is also a cyclist & dreams to some day do the RAAM (Race Across America) solo! To learn more about the benefits of acupuncture to cyclists, visit her site at Premier Acupuncture Boulder

Christina Roy MSOM, L.Ac.
Premier Acupuncture of Boulder
720-938-9248

Interview at Zeal Optics in Boulder - Allen Lim

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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Listen to internet radio with overthetop on Blog Talk Radio

Over the Top Radio will be hosting a live interview with Allen Lim, see details below

This will be a free form podcast driven by your questions! You may contact us via Facebook (Skratch Labs or Over The Top Radio), email (ottpradio@gmail.com) or stop by the Zeal Optics offices in Boulder to join in the show. Guest is Dr. Allen Lim - expert on power meters, nutrition, training and co-author of "The Feedzone" cookbook.

Acupuncture Beats IT Band Syndrome Hands Down

Submitted by Amy Thompson on

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IT Band Syndrome, or “runner’s knee”, plagues runners, triathletes & cyclists alike. It is so common that many athletes believe it is something that just has to be endured, however Acupuncture has many ways to approach this issue with outstanding results.

IT Band Syndrome can occur for multiple reasons. One is that the TFL muscle, Tensor Fasciae Latae, gets overly tight or even spasms. This pulls on the IT Band (tendon) shortening it & causing irritation as it rubs over the lateral epicondyle of the femur (bony protrusion on the lower lateral end of the femur). This chronic rubbing causes irritation & damage to the tendon compounding the problem. The tendon itself then gets inundated with waste byproducts & inflammatory fluids & has difficulty dispersing them, as tendons notoriously have terrible blood flow innately.

As this progresses, it causes increasing pain as the muscle tightness increases & the inflammation worsens. The domino effect is then in full swing as the athlete (often unconsciously) changes their running gate or the cyclist’s hip & leg alignment in their pedal stroke. Now the problem escalates at it is being transferred along to the lumbar, QL, hamstrings, hip flexors, etc.

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