FLC Students Need 10 Cyclists for 6 Week Research Study

This email is being sent in an effort to reach cyclists in the Durango community. We are students at Fort Lewis College working on a senior research project involving experienced cyclists, riding more than 10 hours a week for the past three years. This study will look at the body’s adaptation to fat, and changes in body composition and performance. Each participant will be needed for 3 visits. The first visit will be only about 15 minutes in the early morning. This test will be used to collect height, weight, age and Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA), as well as, sign consent forms. The second visit will be a preliminary 20-km time trial performance test at subjects own pace. This will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. After the first performance test there will be implementation of a high-fat diet for 6 weeks. This diet will only be implemented for a randomly selected group of volunteers and will be specifically based off the body composition measurements we collected at the first meeting. We ask that participants use the diet and training logs, that we will provide, throughout the entirety of the six weeks. We will be collecting these logs and checking in with participants at the end of weeks two and four. At the end of the 6 week mark there will be another performance test that will mimic the same procedure as the initial 20-km time trial test. During these time trial tests, we will then be collecting heartrate, rate of perceived exhaustion (RPE), cadence, time, speed, power-output and gas exchange. At the completion of these test we will analyze the data and results will be given to each participant for their own use.

Prior to participation in the study, a health risk questionnaire will need to be completed. People with any lingering musculo-skeletal injuries or cardiac risk factors will not be able to participate in the study. We also ask that participants are between the ages 18-45. All information and data collected will be kept confidential throughout the study.

Please forward this information on to cyclists in the Durango area. Have interested participants contact one of the following emails for more information on the project.

Thank you for your help,

Willy Zellmer – [email protected]

Logan Loven – [email protected]