Recovery for dummies

[ashes_mtb]

Are there any rules of thumb for next day/s after a significant ride. Killed myself last night and was wondering if I’m better off going for an easy walk or turning my legs over on the bike.

Coming from zero base fitness I’m a bit worried about burning myself out; is there a rule of thumb about how much effort you put in the following day and how to judge when you’re ready to go again? Have a hr watch so can use metrics from that if that’s the way to go.

 

[The Reverend]

Get some magnesium in your diet, apparently helps with muscle recovery.

 

[Tubbsy]

Hydration, low-impact recovery ride and definitely avoid ibuprofen.

 

[Halo1]

Get an e bike

 

[dazz]

What is Recovery?

 

[rockmoose]

Easy spin. It might feel ridiculous, but spinning in an easy gear, and keeping your hr in zn1 or 2 will do wonders.

Hydration and Magnesium as mentioned ^^^^^^^. Easily digestible protein post ride helps with recovery too.

 

[HamboCairns]

Banana smoothie and foam roller for me. I didn't know about high spinning so I might give that a go tomorrow.

How long is recommended for a high spin ride?

 

[leitch]

How long is recommended for a high spin ride?

Doesn't have to be high cadence, just go out and turn the legs over at a comfortable cadence without too much effort and keeping the intensity (and HR) low for an hour. Get the blood moving and loosen up the muscles. Hell, riding to the shops and cruising home the long way is enough.

 

[HamboCairns]

Doesn't have to be high cadence, just go out and turn the legs over at a comfortable cadence without too much effort and keeping the intensity (and HR) low for an hour. Get the blood moving and loosen up the muscles. Hell, riding to the shops and cruising home the long way is enough.

Is this recommended for later in the day or the next day?

 

[leitch]

Is this recommended for later in the day or the next day?

Whenever you feel like it really, it'll still have benefit. Listen to your legs and your body. How many days/week are you going to try to ride for your October challenge thing? If you're riding 5 days for example, maybe make the middle ride a cruisy recovery one and then go for a walk with the kids and dog on one of the other off days.

 

[moorey]

I need to work on recovery times. Took only one day off after the Arseclown 100, then 42km and 30km the following 2 days. It left me a bit spent. I’m having a quieter one this week. 100km tops.

 

[Plankosaurus]

Burning yourself out is definitely a thing, and more so when you're not young anymore (since you're on Rotorburn, that's a safe assumption )

Like mooreys just discovered, you can push yourself through a bit when you've got some fitness, but you'll decline and it won't come back till you've had a rest. I'm mostly stubborn and pig headed about it and wait till my body gives me a big old no before submitting to a rest. It's not optimal but I'm an idiot

As above, spinning easy helps recover faster than just rest. Sounds counter intuitive but it works. At least as long as you don't let yourself get sucked into riding harder than you should.

Sent from my H8324 using Tapatalk

 

[beeb]

At least as long as you don't let yourself get sucked into riding harder than you should.

Only every time...

 

[HamboCairns]

Isn't it called periodisation?

Anyhoo, I'll do a quick 20 minute spin tonight and another one tomorrow morning.

 

[rockmoose]

Since getting into this zwift malarkey, I want benefits. I don't care for the ego stuff that sees lots of people doing hard training rides every day, then on their weekly 'recovery' ride, pushing up into the red zone anyway.

I have been alternating 1 structured workout day, with a zone 2 recovery day. It has been working well, but I still overdid it last month

I am getting fitter and stronger, so as long as I take heed of my body, and put in extra recovery ride days whenever I feel they are needed, I am getting benefits.

 

[rockmoose]

Even pro cyclists do the bulk of their massive weekly km as zone 2. That is where a lot of the benefits of their structured workouts are bedded in.

It is just through years of effort that their zone 2 power happens to be above my vo2 max

 

[moorey]

Isn't it called periodisation?

A

 

[Cardy George]

@rockmoose, @leitch and @Plankosaurus are on to it. The "mad gainz-bro" come from your body adapting to the load you've put on it. So if you keep piling load on, eventually you'll fall over.

So the way I play it is similar Rockmoose, but I'm on my bike (outside ) 5-6 days per week. I don't put any effort into the morning ride to work, about 45 minutes at 120bpm. Tuesday afternoons are strength/power, Wednesday arvos are just a solid unstructured ride, and Thursday arvos are VO². Any riding on anyn other day is just cruising around enjoying the scenery.

@ashes_mtb basically you're just looking to get things moving again, get the blood moving so the good stuff gets to the muscles, and be ready to go again the next day.

Since getting into this zwift malarkey, I want benefits. I don't care for the ego stuff that sees lots of people doing hard training rides every day, then on their weekly 'recovery' ride, pushing up into the red zone anyway.

Those guys are knobs. They're doing more harm than good and will be saying Zwift is shit cos they're not seeing any mad-gainz any more.

 

[Daniel Hale]

yes it is

What does periodized training look like in practice?

When you first begin structured or periodized training, the first thing you may notice is that your hard training days become harder and your easy days become easier. Most people who train without structure will run or ride at a medium-hard pace most of the time. They might ride a little easier if they don’t feel great or push a little harder to chase a fast group of friends, but for the most part, they’re riding in the middle. You can get fast this way, but the ceiling is lower than with a structured, periodized program. Riding medium-hard all the time means you will never get the big stimulus of completing a super hard workout with fresh legs, or the adaptation that comes with subsequent recovery.
When you begin a periodized training program you will notice many rides include ‘intervals,’ or periods of work followed by recovery. These might best be done lapping a climb or finding a steady, uninterrupted flat section. In other words, they might not be as exciting as our preconceived idea of a “bike ride.” Try not to panic; you should still have plenty of opportunities to get out and explore or check off a big adventure ride. Those rides will simply become your big volume days, and your shorter, more time-compressed rides will be dedicated to intervals, which make better use of limited time.

Isn't it called periodisation?

Anyhoo, I'll do a quick 20 minute spin tonight and another one tomorrow morning.

 

[moorey]

yes it is

What does periodized training look like in practice?

When you first begin structured or periodized training, the first thing you may notice is that your hard training days become harder and your easy days become easier. Most people who train without structure will run or ride at a medium-hard pace most of the time. They might ride a little easier if they don’t feel great or push a little harder to chase a fast group of friends, but for the most part, they’re riding in the middle. You can get fast this way, but the ceiling is lower than with a structured, periodized program. Riding medium-hard all the time means you will never get the big stimulus of completing a super hard workout with fresh legs, or the adaptation that comes with subsequent recovery.
When you begin a periodized training program you will notice many rides include ‘intervals,’ or periods of work followed by recovery. These might best be done lapping a climb or finding a steady, uninterrupted flat section. In other words, they might not be as exciting as our preconceived idea of a “bike ride.” Try not to panic; you should still have plenty of opportunities to get out and explore or check off a big adventure ride. Those rides will simply become your big volume days, and your shorter, more time-compressed rides will be dedicated to intervals, which make better use of limited time.

Lol. You can tell you just cut and pasted, because it’s legible, has punctuation, and capital letters