A member at our club asked me this morning asked me for a recommendation on a last minute Christmas present for her husband. She wanted to buy him some Indoor Cycling shoes, who she described as having “very wide feet”.
I know all about the challenges of finding comfortable shoes (of any type) that fit my very wide and flat feet 🙁 My kids have forever kidded me about how my two smallest toes don't lay flat – the Podiatrist called them Hammer Toesfor the way they fold back like the hammer on a gun. I'm convinced that I wasn't born with them. They got that way after being stuffed into narrow shoes for decades.
I've owned a bunch of shoes over the years, but none have been as comfortable as my old pair of Sidi Mega Road Cycling Shoes. Mega = mega wide and they saved cycling for me when they first came out. My pair has to be at least 10 year's old and I must have replaced the Look cleats on the bottom a dozen or more times.
But road bike shoes with flat bottoms and exposed cleats are far from optimal for indoor use. Her husband didn't ride outdoors, so what she was really looking for was a wide shoe with a recessed SPD cleat. My only suggestion to her was for the Sidi Dominator MTB Shoe which is their mountain bike shoe in a Mega width version.
Beyond that, I'm not aware of a wide shoe I could recommend to her. I spent some time searching online and wasn't able to find anything. There are lots of results for wide indoor cycling shoes, but everyone ended up being medium width.
Beyond listening to our discussion below, you can get a Cliffsnotes understanding by reading Chris' original article, Cycling To Extremes, that was developed into his book.
Are endurance athletes hurting their hearts by repeatedly pushing beyond what is normal?
The sun was bright upon the upturned redrock Flatirons above Boulder, Colorado. It was a beautiful July morning in 2013. Lennard Zinn, a world-renowned technical cycling guru, founder of Zinn Cycles, longtime member of the VeloNews staff, lover of long rides, and a former member of the U.S. national cycling team, was riding hard up his beloved Flagstaff Mountain, a ride he had done a thousand times before. But this time, it was different.
His life was about to change forever.
When his heart began to flop like a fish in his chest, and his heart rate jumped from 155 to 218 beats per minute and stayed pegged there, his first reaction was simple: “I went into denial.”
He arrived to the ER that afternoon and was later brought via ambulance to the main cardiac unit for an overnight stay. Though he trusted the cardiologists and the ER doctor, he doubted their warnings. His denial was strong.
After following their recommendations for rest, he returned to training; the electrodes glued to his chest and the telemetric EKG unit dangling around his neck didn’t disrupt his routine. But the annoying episodes happening with increasing frequency during his more intense rides did. The flopping fish would return as his heart rate spiked. More upsetting was the phone call in the middle of the night from a faraway nurse who had been watching his EKG readings and had some shocking news: His heart had stopped for a few seconds.
Listen to the Podcast here – and then be sure to order and read this book. Then share what you've learned with your classes. You just might save someone's life!
Many myths about food and nutrition exist, but the 3 below keep coming up among prospective clients over and over. Let’s take a look.
1. Nutrition is only important for weight loss.
Yes, weight loss is the main reason people modify their nutrition. And yes, tons of weight-loss information is available online — and much of it contradicts other info you’ll find.
But good nutrition can help with many issues. For example:
– Do you have trouble recovering quickly after workouts?
The right food plan can reverse that completely.
– Do you have high blood pressure, diabetes, pre-diabetes, or other health problem? The right food plan can reverse those problems completely, as well.
– Do you experience mood swings? Do you feel as if you need more energy?
Once again, the right food plan can help you manage and reverse either (or both) of those issues.
2. Weight loss is just calories in/calories out. I can do it on my own.
You can do many things on your own, including decreasing calories. But be aware that foods are much more than the calories they contain. The hormones they trigger may be much more significant.
It’s not true that all calories are equal. Often, changing what you eat can make a bigger difference than decreasing how much.
3. Uh-oh: Major changes required. It’s too complicated and too hard.
It really doesn’t have to be hard. It’s absolutely possible to make small — and easy — changes that produce big results. But there’s a catch — you have to do it. And sometimes a good coach can help you make those small changes and get the results you want.
If you’d like help with your food in a way that’s easy, just click here and request your free Eating Empowerment Consult. Find out just how easy it can be to make small changes, step by step, that help you feel fantastic.
Do you have a persistent health issue that hasn’t responded to your nutrition efforts? More and more people are using nutrition and fitness to help them overcome problems that used to send them to doctors and pharmacies.
If you’ve been working on the problem for a while — weight loss, high glucose, headaches — you probably have tried many strategies. But others may exist. Don’t assume you’ve tried everything.
Here are 3 tips to help you get the most from your nutrition appointments — and your nutritionist’s suggestions.
– Don’t improvise.
Instead: Follow instructions to the extent you can.
A recent client had been to doctors, but now wanted to treat her diabetes without meds. She was taking 31 (really!) different supplements, and some of the supplements were for health issues she didn’t even have, like liver and thyroid.
She had poor results — her fasting glucose was not dropping any lower — but she kept taking every supplement.
Among other things, I suggested she lighten the stress on her liver and kidneys by eliminating any supplements that were not designed to lower glucose. We met a week later, and she told me her glucose had gone up, not down.
It turned out she had eliminated ALL the supplements, including the glucose-lowering ones.
– Don’t reject an idea for a ridiculous reason.
Instead: Be willing to try something new. Your health comes first.
The same client above was in terrible shape physically. Her workouts were barely getting her heart rate to 95 — and she was exercising only 3 times a week. She needed to work out with some serious intent.
She couldn’t exercise more frequently because it caused pain in her legs. I suggested she buy a Krankcycle — an absolutely brilliant piece of exercise equipment. I even found a certified, refurbished one for her at a terrific price. It would have enabled her to work out additional days each week by using her upper body instead of her legs.
Alternating the 2 types of cardio could (and would) have sensitized both upper- and lower-body muscle to insulin and produced solid results.
Why did she reject it? She said they didn’t have room. Her beautiful home is huge, so that made no sense. She wouldn’t consider putting the Krankcycle in any room but one — and wouldn’t consider putting it in the large garage. Who knows? Maybe 8 cars lived in it — or perhaps a family of 6.
Either way, the answer was “NO,” and the reason seemed ridiculous. The result? Again, her glucose didn’t move.
– Get out of your comfort zone.
Self-honesty is key here. Discomfort can be part of one’s comfort zone. Some people even cling to it, possibly thinking that the devil they know is better than the devil they don’t know.
Instead: Decide to do what it takes to move forward. And do that.
A former client had a sleep issue that was medically diagnosed as a deficit of serotonin, a brain chemical that can promote relaxation and is the direct precursor of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
This client rejected every suggestion I made to increase her bedtime serotonin levels — and, by the way, that’s an easy thing to do. My suggestions even made her angry, and they simply involved food.
The behavioral psychologist on our team informed me that this client seemed to feel “special” because of her sleep problem.
A comfort zone isn’t always the best place to be. For your health, do what it takes to move forward, even if it causes temporary discomfort.
Think of starting to exercise — it’s uncomfortable at first because it’s new. As we continue, we adapt to it, and that’s when the magic happens. Food is the same way.
If you’d like help with nutrition to improve your health and energy, perfect. That’s what I do. Just visit www.FoodAddictionSolutions.com/Coaching and request your FREE Eating Empowerment Consult. Find out how easy it can be to move forward and enjoy great health.
Do Indoor Cycling Classes really need to be 45-60 minutes – to provide the health and fitness benefits expected by our participants?
Asked another way: If your studio offered classes that were shorter (say 30 minutes), while still just as effective as 3/4 or a full hour, could an “express class” attract people who feel time strapped?
Of course anytime you use the words “just as effective” smart Instructors are going to ask; “show me the research”!
Martin Gibala, Ph.D. is my guest, for this episode of the Podcast. Dr. Gibala has done the research (and I'm quoting from the back cover of his new book – The One Minute Workout) “As the world's foremost expert in high-intensity interval training, Martin Gibala has pioneered the study of new and remarkably time-efficient type of workout, making available the benefits of exercise in a fraction of the time.
Listen to our conversation in the Podcast below to learn more about the science of HIIT and how you could use this information to improve your classes and attract more participants.
Here's a short video featuring Martin Gibala, Ph. D.
These days, everyone seems to know that sugar is bad news and should be avoided.
Sometimes I feel as if I’ve heard every possible question about it, but a few sugar questions pop up over and over again. Here are 3 of them.
– If I quit sugar, will I have to do it forever?
No nutrition question is ever wrong or out of bounds. But this one is asked from the person’s current sugar mindset.
For someone who’s hooked on sugar, just thinking about giving it up is scary. That’s probably because any sugar addict knows that cravings and symptoms are likely to occur if and when they try to do without it.
The idea of going without sugar forever seems even worse — not only scary, but also impossible and dismal. How can life be worth living without sugar?
Here’s the good news. What’s true about giving up sugar is things change. Often a lot.
Once you’re past the addiction, for example, other foods start to taste different — better. Really. It is possible to enjoy the delicious flavors of foods that aren’t sweet when you’re no longer hooked on wanting everything to taste sweet.
Here’s another change. After going without sugar for a while (think several months, rather than just a few days) you may be able to taste a little bit without experiencing any relapse.
The bad news might be that it won’t be possible to go back to eating the “bad old way” without rekindling the sugar addiction. But since that ‘bad old way’ may have caused the health, mood or focus problems that made you decide to quit sugar, how bad is it really to let it go?
– Aren’t all foods okay in moderation?
Not everyone can achieve moderation around certain foods.
In the same way that some people can drink alcohol in moderation while others can’t, some people can open a candy bar, take a bite, and leave the rest on the desk for days — till they decide to take a second bite. Obviously, that’s moderation.
Not everyone can do that. For a sugar addict, a bite of a candy bar is all too likely to lead to repetition — another bite, then another, then another. It’s also likely to lead to another candy bar — or some other sugary food, such as the cookies in the office break room that day.
– Can I still have agave, maple syrup, honey, or dark chocolate?
I call this the “loophole” question.
It takes other forms, too. Some clients have asked me if it’s okay to take weekends off from their food program.
Clever (sneakier?) clients have asked if it’s okay to take weekends off from logging their food intake. I guess they think I won’t realize they’re trying to give themselves room to eat whatever junk strikes their fancy, while keeping no record of any of it for me to review.
If you’re looking for loopholes, you’re probably still in the powerful grip of sugar.
I recommend making a commitment to yourself — dull, unsexy and arduous as that may sound — to quit and stick with it.
What’s great is how you’ll feel once you’ve taken the plunge. Once your health improves — along with your medical tests, your skin, your mental clarity, and your moods — the junk will seem less important.
In fact, you may wonder how you ever let sugar take control of your appetite, your moods and your life in the first place.
Or why you ever resisted getting rid of it!
Are you thinking about quitting sugar but feeling a bit scared? Do you think you might need help? Perfect, because that’s what I do. Just visit www.FoodAddictionSolutions.com/Coaching and request your free Food Breakthrough session. Find out how easy it can be to make a few changes that get you on the right path — and how easy it is to stay on it!
