Cincinnati Fitting / First Run of the season!

I went to Cincinnati this weekend to visit my sister-in-law, Andrea, with my wife; while I was there, I decided to take advantage of cycling fitting technology that is not available in Evansville.  When I got back home, Monday, I decided to go for my first run for quite some time!

RETÜL Fit

I needed to have my bike fit so I can ride more comfortable for longer periods of time while maximizing my power.  I did some research and found a lot of great stores that offered a very compelling argument as to why they should fit me.  I ended up chosing Mitch, from BioWheels for several reasons:

• He has completed over 1,500 bike fits
• He uses state of the art technology to assist him with the fitting
• He offers a great fit even without the technology
• He was in Cincinnati, where I was heading

RETÜL Fitting Technology reminds me a lot like the Xbox Kinect camera with a lot of complex software to go with it.  Mitch started out by asking me about the type of goals I am attempting to obtain, previous injuries, and pain that I experience while on a ride.  He explained why he was asking the questions and then moved on to checking my flexibility and having me do a couple of balance/core strength exercises, i.e. push-ups, plank, one legged squatting.

After all of that, Mitch had me jump on my bike in the Computrainer and had me start pedaling at a lower power level to observe me; he instantly gave me feedback and had suggestions for things that I could do better.  One thing I liked about Mitch and the RETÜL fit, is that he did not just make a change after his initial observation; he would make a change after testing the same behavior multiple times.  He would have me maintain a certain power level, then stop, then do it again so he could get the best idea of how I needed to be fit.

After all said and done, I was able to see and feel huge improvements.  He took a before/after video of my riding style and we compared the two and the end - big difference!  Additionally, the report that is put together by the RETÜL software showed huge improvements as well.

All-in-all, I would recommend Mitch.  The RETÜL technology added a pretty cool spin to the process, especially for a geek like me; but Mitch's combined fitting experience makes in obvious that an experienced fitter is more important than the RETÜL technology.

Here is my after video if you want to have an idea of the fit session.  I had these velcro stickers stuck on me and an LED Sensor Strip was attached so the software could analyze my riding.

FIRST RUN OF THE SEASON


Went running today for the first time!  I only ran for 20 min because I did not want to over push myself.  I am a cold weather wimp, so I stayed inside for most of the winter!  I woke up this morning and watch the Prize is Right while eating a good breakfast, then I started foam rolling while watching other shows.  I foam rolled for 90 minutes and it felt great.  I have a lot riding on the line this year and I was to do everything I can to prevent injury, foam rolling is my best bet. 

Here is a link to my Garmin Activity so you can see the run that I completed.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/157398940