Book Review – Andy Pruitt’s Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists

This is a follow-up to Pruitt’s terrific book, Andy Pruitt’s Medical Guide for Cyclists.  It’s actually a superset of the original, so there’s no need to read both.  Pruitt is the Director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and is recognized by most of the world’s cycling community as the go-to guy for cycling injuries and bike fitting (often very closely related topics).

Pruitt’s earlier book saved a summer of riding for me two years ago as boomeritis began to show it’s ugly head with an iliotibial band (IT Band – that really tight sheath of tissue that extends from the hip to slightly below the knee on the outside of the thigh) injury that was mis-diagnosed by two orthopedic surgeons.  The book outlined how to do the appropriate stretches to work through it and explained to me what to expect with the injury.  As a result, I missed very little riding time.

The current book is arranged much better and spends more time on bike fit, nutrition and the mental aspects of training.  As cyclists know, bike fit may be the single most important factor in riding fast and pain free.  Even with its recognized importance, it is often ignored or done poorly.  Pruitt’s guide outlines a process that makes checking on one’s bike fit a fairly simple process and, at the very least, shows how to get close to the optimum settings.

If you want the perfect one-stop reference for training, pain relief, fit and nutrition, this is your book.  Highly recommended for any relatively serious cyclist.

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