Certifications mean that you took a class and passed a test. That’s it.
The problem with bike fitting is that there is very little science behind it. Bike fitting a craft that is more art than science.
A few years ago I spent some time with a good fitter who was using the Retul system. After we dialed my fit I downloaded one of the iPhone apps that uses video analysis and found it was a pretty good match and would be a good tool for folks learning to fit themselves or just wanting to record position data for future reference.
Have lost track of the apps available so curious if any of our more technical folks in the forum have experience and recommendations?
On EDIT: The app I checked out was Bike Fast Fit: http://bikefastfit.com (no association, just found it useful)
Also on Edit: Turned my wife onto the Foundation workout and she loves it. Now I need to convince myself to get on it.
It’s not bike-specific, but in high school, we used the Vernier Video Physics app for easily working with angles, levels, etc via iPhone videos. It costs $5 but was super useful then and I imagine it could/would be particularly useful if you’re looking to analyze the angles and such throughout your pedaling.
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But to piggyback (pun intended?) on the back pain topic… I was having a bit of lower back soreness which seems to have escalated into some extreme tightness up the right side of the spin, largely around the scapula. A bit below it as well. I had moved the seat on the indoor trainer around a bit to try and find an ideal spot and it seemed to be going okay but somehow the back got extremely tight. What’s weird is I’ve been indoors for months now (Minnesota has a lot of snow) but it’s warmed up enough where I went out for 4 hours on Saturday and all things felt great. Back to the trainer on Sunday and sore again after.
I plan to go get massage/acupuncture as it feels like it’s just a bunch of tight muscles, but I’m curious if anyone has dealt with similar. The soreness isn’t actually in the low back anymore but rather starts about where the ribs connect to the spine and is up the spine to the medial scapula, as well as a bit across the back of the ribs below the scapula (latissimus dorsi area)
I’m unclear, are you using the same exact bike inside and out, or different bikes?
I have a bit of a theory that riding largely/exclusively on the trainer tends to demand a bit less of the postural muscles (as well as the majority of trainer sessions being shorter), so people often decondition these muscles slightly over long periods of largely indoor training. Don’t know how true that is.
I’ve just booked in for a bike fit this weekend, actually, and was asking around for recommendations. Anyway, a riding buddy of mine said (unhelpfully, in the context) that best bike fit he ever had was in a bike shop in Italy about 3-4 years back. He went in to buy a tube and the young lad in the shop (who spoke some English) was marvelling over his (then brand new) Canyon Ultimate with Di2 (shop was proper old school, apparently - 100% steel and Campag).
Mike (my buddy) said to the young lad that it was indeed ‘bellisima’ but he couldn’t get comfortable on it. The youngster, without saying a word, goes into the back of the shop, there’s a shouted conversation in Italian, and he emerges with what looks like his very grumpy grandad in an oil-stained vest. Anyway, Gramps - who speaks no English and does not smile once in the next 30 minutes - tells Mike via the youngster that he needs to see him ride up and down the road.
So Mike pedals in slow 50 yard loops in front of the shop for a couple of minutes until the gets told to stop. The old bloke then tweaks the seatpost height, gets him back on, and repeats the process. He then says something to the young lad in Italian who hops back into the shop, comes out with a new stem, fits it and adds a spacer, gets him back on. Process repeated again. Old boy shifts the saddle back in the clamp a bit, and voila! It’s perfect. Took 20 minutes, the guy didn’t speak a word of English, cost Mike 30 Euros for a stem, and he’s not touched it since. 
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I’ve just tried this. Fried, 5 minutes in 
This needs work - good resource!
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So true,
It’s a very simple metric. If you can’t do it, your lower back strength is low. I struggled with it when I started and I thought I was strong in the lower back. I’d done life long resistance training etc.
This simple routine really targets the lower back. It really is a must for any masters cyclist.
Most (this is obviously a huge generalization) lower back pain in cyclists is from muscle weakness. We simply need to be stronger to endure the prolonged unnatural position we force ourselves into day after day. Sadly just riding alone is not enough strengthening in the long-term.
Sorry, yeah same bike. It might just be more natural side-side, fore-aft movement allowed outside