Friday, May 6, 2011

First Bike Fit


Bike Fitting Assessment                       Date: 10th April 2011






Name:
Joel Labelle                                      



Riding Experience: Regular cyclist.



Goals:

1.
Ironman. June-France,
Aug-1/2 Philippines, WA full ironman



Height:                         Weight:



Type of Riding:
Comfort                               Sport                      Competition          UCI
legal required?



Current injuries /
complaints:

1.
Tightness into
quadriceps

2.     Stiffness/ache into back muscles during long
rides.





Bike:

Manufacturer:   Cervelo             Model:  P3        Size: 48 cm      Year:

2009


Bicycle Geometry
Chart

Size mm:


Seat Tube Angle
(degrees)

Initial 78° / Post fit
75°


Head Tube Angle
(degrees)

72°


Top Tube Length
(effective)

Initial 490 / Post fit
514


Seat Tube Length
(effective)

480


Chainstay Length

368


Fork Rake

*


Trail

*


Head-tube Length –
Integrated

110


Bottom Bracket Drop

73


Saddle Length / Model

265


Crank Length

170


Handlebar Width / Model

Aero bar c-c pad
initial 175mm/post 200










Bike Set Up

Initial mm

Recommended mm


Final for
current set-up

Seat tube angle
recommendation


78°

75°

75°

Head tube length
recommendation


                                             Approx
 130-150mm


Top Tube length
recommendation

Approx  495 mm

Headstem Length / Angle°

80 / - 17°




80 / + 17°


Seat height

650



660

Crank Length

170

170

170


Tip of Seat to Handlebar

490




444

Tip of Seat behind BB

+50




10

Observations on bike before adjustment:


From Behind:

Lateral Tilting Ilia                                    L.         R.
        Comment: PSIS drop. Decreased left gluteal
activation. Increased gluteus medius to compensate.

Rotating Ilia (Ant./Post.)                         L.         R.

        Comment:

Lateral Flexion of Lumbar Spine             L.         R.         Comment:

Rotation of Lumbar Spine                      L.         R.         Comment

Thoracic Spine Rotation                         L.
        R.         Comment:

Elevated Shoulder                                 L.         R.         Comment:

Scapula Protraction                               L.         R.         Comment:

Toeing of the feet                                  L.         R.         Comment:

Heel Dropping                                       L.         R.         Comment:



From the Front:

Shoulder Position                                  L.         R.         Comment: Protracted and elevated due to excessive low
position of handlebar.

Head position                                       L.         R.         Comment:

Knee position. Frontal plane deviation      L.         R.         Comment:
very slight outward deviation.

From the Side:

Foot position in relation to pedal:           Normal    Foot
too backward
L         Foot too
forward

Knee position in relation to pedal:          Normal    Knee too backward           Knee too forward+++

Saddle Height appears:                         Normal    Too High slight                   Too Low

Handle Bar Height appears                    Normal    Too High                             Too Low+++

Thoracic spine curvature                        Normal    Excessive
Kyphosis
          Other

Neck                                                     Normal    Hyperextended                  Other

Lumbar spine                                        Normal    Hyperlordosis                     Hypolordosis

Musculoskeletal Assessment Outcomes:


  1. Flexibility:

a.
Hamstring:            Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile:.

b.
Calves:                  Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile:

c.
Hip Flexors:          Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile: Iliacus+, psoas++

d.
Gluteal:                  Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile:slight

e.
ITB:                         Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile:

f.
Thoracic Spine     Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile

g.
Cervical Spine:    Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile

h.
Lumbar Spine      Normal                  Tight                       Hypermobile:L3 T12-L1

  1. Neural
    Tension:

a.
Upper Body                          Normal                  Excessive
tension
:  Tenderness at
right infraspinatus tendon.

b.
Lower Body:                         Normal                  Excessive Tension: positive in hamstring. Possible adhesions to
sciatic nerve at hamstring.

  1. Muscular
    Control:

a.
Multifidus Control                                Normal                  Requires re-education Some excessive use of paraspinal muscles.

b.
Core stabilization:                               Normal                  Requires re-education Abdominal control is quite good, but need to
focus on gluteal control and activation
.

c.
VMO control:                         Normal

                 Requires re-education
. Initaites with lateral quadriceps muscles,
needs some vmo exercises to assist.

d.
Active Hip Extension:          Normal                  Requires re-education Decreased gluteal activation on and off the
bike. Excessive paraspinal & hamstring muscle activation to compensate.

e.
Single leg squats:                                Normal                  Requires re-education Ankle ok, hip drop and medial knee deviation
left<R. Less stable in cycling than running position.

4.     Knee:               Normal                  Tight lateral structures      Tenderness




Photographs:







·
Your torso is too arched, with
excessive kyphosis in the thoracic spine which would make it more difficult
to optimize your diaphragmatic breathing.
·
Inadequate pelvic tilt leading
to an arched back.
·
Shoulders are dropped downwards
from the upper back.
·   Shrugging of the shoulders compressing neck tissue.
·   Knees too close to upper chest, and too far over
bottom bracket increasing quadriceps contribution and not allowing adequate
gluteal activation.
·   Wrists deviated, increasing tendon strain.

 
Before:




















 After:               



Improved torso
lengthening over the top tube which reduces back muscle strain, improved
breathing and allows the body to be more stable on the bike

Better pelvic tilt
allowing the torso to reach forward and assists in improved gluteal
function.

Knees with less shearing
through the knee joint and a more muscle balanced position to allow all the
hip and leg muscles to activate correctly.
 









 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Physical Assessment Summary



Riding
position directly influences the power that can be produced by the athlete,
physiological efficiency and resistance caused by wind drag.

Pedal
technique + riding position = optimal cycling biomechanics.



Changes made:

1. Moved cleat on shoe forward

2. Moved saddle backward approx
60mm

3. Raised seatpost 10mm

4. Flipped over headstem to +17deg
to raise handlebar height.

5. Re-angled aero bar to approx 7-8
deg. Made aero pad wider to 200mm c-c



I moved your cleats on the left
side to a more stable position under the ‘ball of foot’. The ball of foot is a
more stable and rigid part of the foot to transfer power to the pedal.

Your position was much too far
forward over the bottom bracket. The forward position encourages you to utilize
more quadriceps and tensor fascia lata contribution to the pedal stroke, and
decreases your gluteal function. We have moved the saddle rearward to balance
the contribution of all cycling muscles throughout the pedal stroke, and to
discourage excessive hip flexor and psoas involvement. This forward position
but increasing tensor fascial lata contribution also increased the tension of
the ITB which you have an underlying problem.

Your gluteal muscles were in a
shortened position, which does not encourage the optimal length-tension
relationship of the muscle to produce optimal force. This is not only due to
the forward seat position, but also due to your inability to sit with enough
anterior pelvic tilt. This position also encourages you to overuse your hamstring
muscles. I would like for you to focus on not initiating the hip extension with
the hamstring and paraspinal muscles, but rather the gluteus maximus muscle.

In order to help you to better use
the right gluteal muscle, it is important to keep the muscles at the front of
the hip relaxed.

I have already provided some
gluteal activation exercises. It is very important to ‘activate’ the muscles
correctly before undertaking a strengthening program.

Your forward position and probably
habit is to over-activate the long back muscles called the paraspinals. These
overwork and become tired. By stretching your position over the bottom bracket
and encouraging better gluteal function you should find you can relax these
muscle better.

Please look at improving the vmo muscle
which is on the inside of the knee. This will help to stabilize the knee and
assist the gluteus maximus to activate.

Your left gluteus medius was quite
weak. This links into why your knee moves during single leg squats and
contributes to the tight ITB which is likely to become a problem in the future
if left unresolved.

Please also note that we found a
tender tendon on the infraspinatus at the back of the shoulder. This is likely
to be from your swimming and can cause shoulder injury. This was on the right
side.



Finally:

Bike position is an ongoing
process, as your core stabilization and muscle flexibility and function improve
we can further fine-tune your position.

Please keep in contact about your
new position, any aches or concerns. We may need to make adjustments. Your new
position puts you into a ‘neutral’ position within the limits of your body. Any
change to seat, handlebar, or feet will effect every other part of your body,
so take care if you change anything yourself.







Happy cycling!

                                                            

Elissa Whittington
SKY BLUE BIKES
No 4 Bonham Strand West
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
+852 9669 5037
elissawh@yahoo.co.uk