They kept using the word  “on”.  ” Shortly after going on XYZ supplement… I won XYZ race”    ” When going on one  XYZ company’s supplements,  you are guaranteed….”

I’ve received other emails from this company, and they always use the same “on”  language.     Regardless of whether the stuff  improves performance (and I’m skeptial of that), the language is similar  to what is used when talking about drugs.  My grandmother is ” on”  anti-inflammatories and pain meds for her arthritis.  My uncle is “on” beta blockers for his high blood pressure.    Riccardo Rico was ” on” CERA.

I think this habituates  athletes to being “on” something, and it can be a slippery slope.

My guess is that it is a marketing thing that they use, because if it sounds  kind of like you are using a  drug, than it must work like a drug, only this “drug” isn’t  banned.  ( never mind the fact that if their products had the drastic effects they claim, they  would be banned from sport anyway)

The whole email kind of reminds me of  one of my favorite SNL clips.  The All Drug Olympics.

For a copy of that supplement email I received today, go HERE.

What do you think?

Here it goes:

USAC Insurance fees: $2000

USAC Permit fee: $100

USAC Officials Fees: $1900

Prize Money $1750

SDPD Traffic Control at the Corners: $1300

Ambulance: $1300

Race announcer $750

City Permit Fee: $ 100

Race Numbers and Photocopies of waivers: $350

Safety Equpment( barricades, cones, signs) $450

Toilets and handsinks: $300

Garbage and Recycling bins: $300

Pizza, Coffee, and drinks for Volunteers and Officials: $125

The biggest expenses are: Prize money, Ambulance,  SDPD Taffic control, USAC Fees, Officials Fees, and Announcer fees.

Our Mens Pro 1,2 race has decent prize money, but the prize money for our other categories is admittedly small.  The ambulance is required by the city of San Diego.  In some municipalities you might save ~$700 by having an EMT but no ambulance.   But you have to have the Ambulance in San Diego, and its probably a good  idea anyway.  The SDPD traffic control is required by the city.  It  would be nice to be able to use volunteers, but the city wants to send out their own people.   To be honest, its probably better that way anyway.  I think you get less BS from drivers when the traffic controlers are wearing a uniform that says “SDPD” on it.   the USAC insurance fees  are charged per rider.  They’ve gone up by 50% over last year.  Officials fees are  the single biggest expense.  It seems like alot, but you have 8 people working almost a 12 hour day.  Some of them are coming from LA,  so  that may include hotel and/or mileage.    All of them are pocketing less than $200 for the day before hotel expenses, so it’s not like they are getting rich.  Ralph Elliot does and AMAZING job as race announcer and he is well worth it.  He actually gives us a deal on the annoucing because he has a soft spot in his heart for the SDSU team.    All of the  volunteers  working at registration  are SDSU kids, or riders that have volunteered   for a few hours in exchange for a few entries.  I also typically trade a few entries for people that bring good primes.  We have a few other little things that people do  for free that really help, Like Andrew Lee from Adama Ave Bikes working in the wheel pit.

People always say stuff like ” Hey, Why don’t you get a corprate sponsor or something?”  Well that’s far easier said than done.  Espcecially when we are in recession.  

The fact is that we made a little money this year ( split between the SDSU team and myself), but there is always the possibility of losing money.     As of wednesday, the prergistration  was only at $6,000 dollars.  If the weather report had not improved, we may have lost money.     A few years ago when it did rain, we only had $500 in  day of registration. The SDSU team made a few hundred dollars that year, and I personally  walked away empty handed. ( after countless hours of prep work and a 13 hour day in the rain!) It would be a bit easier to make a few bucks, or at least ensure you aren’t going to lose money if we  only had USCF races.  But we do collegiate races all morning, and the collegiate racers only pay $15 each.  Most of your costs are fixed costs, so we are essentially losing money all morning long, and trying to make it up in the afternoon.   In fact it is always a stressful coming into the race and being concerned that we are going to lose money  on the thing, but thanks to the rain staying away for the day, it all worked out.

  Many people walked up to me yesterday and told me they thought it was a great race.  That is rewarding  for sure.   Thanks to everyone for coming out, I hope to see you out there again next year.

Sean

It’s a good, short read, and we embrace most of the principles that Carmichael talks about.

So last time we talked about how  indirect calorimetry is the gold standard, and  why equipment such as heart rate monitors and GPS units are inaccurate.    The next topic to examine is typical gym equipment such as stair climbers,  and treadmills.    These machines suffer from the same inadequacies as the heart rate monitors, in that they rely on equations and guesstimations to measure your energy expenditure.    Just hop on any gym treadmill, and it will ask you your body weight so that it can calculate your energy expenditure as your exercise.   The problem here is that there are many assumptions, and that the work you are doing is being calculated rather than truly measured.    Something else you should know about the calories as given by these machines, is that they include your energy expenditure due to your basal metabolic rate.  Most people burn  between 50 and  80 calories an hour even if they are just sitting on the couch watching TV.   So the calorie count given by these machines is inaccurate to start with, and then  you add  an additional  50+ calories that doesn’t really count towards your energy expenditure from exercise, because you would be burning those calories even if you were sitting on your butt!

So the most accurate method of measuring energy expenditure  is definitely indirect calorimetry (measurement of  expired O2 and Co2), but it isn’t practical because of these expense involved, and because you have to breath into a mouthpiece containing Oxygen and CO2 sensors.   The next best way of measuring energy expenditure is going to be through the use of power meters.  Power meters such as Power Tap and SRM, use strain gauges to measure force. The strain guages are little strips of metal at  hub or crank, and the amount of deflection is measured.   Power is force X distance/time.  If you measure force with the strain gauges, you can  measure distance with the rotation of the hub or cranks, and then time is measured with a simple clock.    So power meters accurately measure power.  From power  and time you can easily calculate work, and work is measured in Joules.   It’s an easy calculation, 1 watt for 1 second = 1 Joule.    Think of it  like this:   If watts were miles per hour, Joules would be total miles.   So if you measure power, you can quite readily get Joules.  At the end of the workout, you can look at your powermeter and and it will give the total joules.  One joules is actually a tiny amount of work, so this measurement is typically expressed as Kilojoules, or thousands of Joules, also known as KJ.

Now we can calculate how many calories you burned during your workout.  We know how many KJ you did, as it was calculated from watts and time.   For demonstration purposes,  let’s just say it was 1000KJ.  Calories and Kilojoules are both measurements of energy.    There are 4.18 KJ in every Kilojoule , so you actually did only 239 Calories worth of work.   However, the human body  about 24% efficient at turning food energy into mechanical energy and pedal power, while the other 76% is lost as heat.   So it actually took you about 4.16  times as many Calories to produce that 239 Calories of work.   239 times 4.16 = 996…basically  the number of Kiojoules you did.  This is why we typically tell riders that the number of KJ they do during their workout  is the same as the number of calories burned.   Riders frequently ask me if their body weight makes a difference, and the answer is no.    A larger rider can typically put out more watts, and therefore  do more kilojoules in a given amount of time.    But is still takes a 100lb rider just as many calories to do 150 watts for an hour,as it takes a 200lb rider to do 150 watts for an hour.  The only difference is that the larger rider will burn more calories as part of his basal metabolic rate, but he would burn those even if he were sitting at his desk typing on his keyboard, so that doesn’t really count towards his energy expenditure from exercise.

So…. indirect calorimetry is still the most accurate way to measure energy expenditure on the bike, but power meters are definitely the next best thing, and are much more practical for every day use.

All of our bikes at Crank Indoor Cycling are equipped with powertap power meters.  At the end of every ride, you can use your console to examine your data and a d find out your energy expenditure.  This has obvious implications for weight management, but it  is also one of many indicators of fitness.  If you are able to do more KJ of work, and  burn more calories in a similar workout, you know that your fitness level has increased.

Have any more questions about power measurement or measuring energy expenditure?  Feel free to ask questions in the comment section or come to class and ask me afterward!

Karl Came in under  just under11 hours and Matt Came in around 11:20.  A good bike leg contributed to the success of  both of  them.   They each took 25 minutes off of their PRs for their bike legs, and are convinced that their indoor training  at the studio helped them achieve that goal.   Good Job guys, we know we’ll see you back in class after you’ve indulged in a little post event R&R!

For starters…. it was friggen hot in there! The instructor actually turned the fans OFF when she came in. I thought to myself: “Why would anyone do that?” I asked a few people, and from what I hear, the instructor likes to keep it hot so that “people sweat and feel like they are working harder” I have to say that is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. At Crank Cycling Studio, we get the AC pumping and have all 6 fans going at full blast. That way you are less likely to overheat and can ACTUALLY work harder, not just feel like you are working hard. Not that you won’t work up a sweat…. you will. But in fact you’ll be able to work HARDER, get a better workout and burn more calories

Second… our equipment is sooooo much better. Besides the fact that our bikes all measure your power output, which allows you to dial in your workout and get the maximum training benefit…are bikes are also infinitely adjustable. You can adjust the saddle down to the millimeter, allowing you to match the bike fit of a real bike. The typical gym bikes have an inch or more between the seat height settings, so you can seldom get your seat in the optimal position. Better position means a better workout.

The workout…. was more like an aerobics class on bikes than an actual training ride. She had us doing all sorts of silly up and down stuff that you would never do on a real bike, standing pedaling and ridiculous pedal RPM, and all sorts of silliness. We do indoor cycling classes rather than spinning classes. Our workouts are similar to a workout I would give to a competitive athlete, and we don’t do anything you wouldn’t do on a real bike. These workouts are designed for maximum training benefit and calorie expenditure.

After the workout, I was thinking about all of it… the hot room, the equipment, the instructor, and I asked a friend of mine ” Is that what people want, or is it just a case of that’s all there is?”

I truly believe that, until now, it has just been a case of that’s all there is. And that I am truly offering something new and better here in San Diego. If you’ve been going to Spinning classes somewhere else, you’ve gotta try us out. You’ll get a great workout, burn tons of calories, and I can just about promise you you’ll want to come back for more.

For starters, “Spinning” is a registered trademark.   Think of it like “Kleenex”, or” Bandaid.”    Most people I know don’t ask for a “facial tissue” or an “adhesive first aid  bandage”    But the fact is that those are registered trademarks, so someone  who makes adhesive bandages or facial tissues cannot call them Kleenex  or Bandaids…….no matter what the rest of  us call them.  So, I can’t call my facility a ” Spin” studio, or  say that we do “Spinning” …but that’s fine by me.  What we do is better.   The Saris PT 300 power tap equipped bike is far superior to those  “Spinner” bkes.  And all of my  instructors\coaches  are real road riders, that help you get a workout that mimics  real ride and  gives you a great workout.    If you want more info on  spin, spinning, or spinner bikes, all ya have to do is do a google ( also a trademark!) search  for those terms… and maybe Madd Dog Athletics….’cause that’s who owns the trademarks.