If you want style you buy Italian, if you want quality you buy German and if you want advice on bike fitting you go to Steve Hogg. His name is synonymous with being comfortable and efficient on the bike, but what I didn’t know was how knowledgeable Steve was about the holistic side to well-being on and off the bike.
That was until I sent a desperate email into the Cyclingnews experts when Steve was answering Fitness questions there. I’d reached rock bottom after my Glandular Fever had become CFS. I’d been ill for over 18 months and at my worst I couldn’t even walk 20 meters without feeling totally exhausted. I’d managed to get back on the bike sporadically but I wasn’t getting better, I was making all the same mistakes – trying to get back to racing fitness and pushing myself only to be side-lined with fatigue for weeks – I was in a constant circle of decline.
Then I got the email that changed my life. It may sound dramatic but if you’ve ever suffered from CFS, that’s how it is – you’ll pay ANYTHING to get better and get out of that horrible cloudy feeling and total fatigue.
Steve took the time to explain to me where I was going wrong. What I needed to do to get right and what I should be eating. He recommended that I buy a book by Dr Phil Maffetone – The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing . I read the book cover to cover and the penny finally dropped. 20 years of mistakes all beautifully explained in this book. I followed the advice of Steve and this book. It’s important to explain here that it was combination of the two sources of advice – low intensity riding, diet and sleep. The key is to still ride for serotonin and health benefits but strictly at low intensity.
I started out with short rides at no more than 130 hr. My diet ditched the cheap carbs and instead I started eating more salads, fruit, nuts and good fats. I was eating 4500 calories a day yet my body fat and weight dropped like a stone. I felt great!!
I continued at this HR for several months, building up my stamina and getting stronger. My distance increased and so did my speed, yet all at low heart rates. The best thing was I no longer felt ill. I felt absolutely fantastic. I had energy in abundance. No more waking up feeling like I hadn’t slept. Instead I was waking up feeling positive and energised about the day.
The key to this, as Steve and the book explained is to dumb things down in the evening – no sitting in front of the computer and then going to bed, but to ‘prepare’ your body for sleep by doing relaxing, non-stimulating things an hour before bed. Going to bed soon became associated with relaxation and therefore great nights sleep. This was also helped by the huge drop in stress hormones as a result of the low intensity training.
The best thing about the training was that I also noticed that I was now faster than I ever was a lower heart rates.
This year I resumed racing. I am free of all my old symptoms and feel healthier than ever. I don’t eat junk anymore, I eat good quality foods (Nuts, good meats, raw veg and fruit, olive oils and plenty of eggs). Today I weighed myself. I am 66kg with a body fat of 6.5%. I am 5’9. The last time I got ill was nearly 2 years ago – compare this to previous when I got ill every couple of months with sinus infections and chest infections.
It’s rare these days to find someone who cares about what they do and have a desire to help others first and foremost. But that’s how I would summarise Steve. I wanted to pay him for his help but he wouldn’t take a penny from me. All I can say is I’m eternally grateful and can’t recommend Steve enough. Anyone who knows a bit about cycling knows that Steve is the man to go to for bike fitting – what he knows about physiology on the bike is incredible, but there is so much more to Steve than this. His knowledge on holistic well-being on and off the bike is equally amazing.
My advice – if you are looking to be the best you can be on the bike, go and see Steve, it will be the best money you’ll ever spend! Period!
Cheers
Andrew Hill
G’day Andrew,
I’m really happy for you but you give me too much credit. I only pointed you in a direction. I do the same with many people in many other matters. Everyone listens; maybe 10 – 20% act. You were one of that 10 -20 %, so thank you for acting. The real credit goes to Phil Maffetone for the detailed and sensible advice and the philosophy of training that he propounds. As you say, the book is the best book of it’s kind. High levels of fitness and high levels of good health are not necessarily the same thing. The Maffetone books explains how to make sure that they are the same thing.
Best wishes for your cycling future.
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