Training & Nutrition - Sleeping....

Here is an interesting question. I need 8 hours of sleep minimum now to function as a cyclist. Anyless and I am in trouble...

Well last night I got stuck at work and I got 2 hours of sleep, combine work and my last ever set of finals and watch out. Not only was there at most 2 hours of sleep but I went very hard yesterday on my ride. Today not only am I exhausted (took 2 naps already) but I have no power in my legs and my legs hurt at anything over 10 MPH on the bike. Like I am sore and it will not go away...

What are your guys experiences with this? Can you body only truly rebuild when you are sleeping? If I get a good 8 - 10 hours tonight will I be back to normal?

I would vote for your normal eight hours and then just a nice 60% recovery ride. You need to give your body time to recover mentally and physically. Especially during finals week it's easy to beat the heal out of yourself. There's still plenty of time left in the season and if you keep going steady on the bike you won't lose any fitness. There's a difference between your legs not spinning because your being lazy and just being worn out. It's important to know the difference and listen to your body. Now go take another nap.

Let me put it this way. I went hard Tuesday night and last night was supposed to be my recovery ride. (I also did dumbbell squats Monday and yesterday.) I had that exact soreness, it felt OK at about 13 mph but I couldn't push or get my HR above 150 without pain. With some riding though I loosened up a little, then caught up with my hubby, who doubles as my coach. This was his recovery ride too but his recovery pace is a BIT faster than mine, plus he wanted to gauge my performance in situations like short uphills and other places where I need to pour on a little acceleration to keep my momentum up. So he pushed me pretty hard, and getting frustrated, I started gritting my teeth and letting a little of the pain from my sore muscles show.

"I haven't seen you hurt this bad in a long time," he told me. "You need a night off." I said, "I TOOK a night off Monday!" Without hesitating he said, "Take another. Riding doesn't make you faster. The rest BETWEEN riding is what's important."

So I pass this advice on to you. Now is as good a time as any to rest well. When's the last time you took a day totally off the bike? Because you're due for one.

We all know you train hard. If you're exhausted, rest. Like Treespeed said, you're not being lazy, you're just frickin' drained.

Finals create a lot of stress. I would not expect to do a full training load in addition to finishing finals. Your body can only take a certain amount of stress, from all sources combined. If you add stress from one source (school), you need to reduce stress from another source (training).

So, go hit the couch and watch movies for the rest of the day. Have a beer or three. You can ride tomorrow.

it's important not to forget that mental work can by physically exhausting as well. i have a job where i'm solving problems and troubleshooting all day long (when i'm not posting here) and at the end of the day i'm about ready to pass out. often times i fall asleep on the train home i'm so drained.

Congratulations on your last ever set of finals!

Other then the physical aspect of exercise, the stress from it is the same as any other stress. Stress = stress. Coupled with the requirement of additional sleep, athletes have a fine balancing act. (some body builders sleep 12-14 hours a day). This has nothing to do with lazy and everything to do with rest!

There is a physiological correlation between exercise and increased sleep requirements. (Go run a marathon...would you be surprised to find that you sleep longer then usual?)
There are volumes of information on this just waiting to be googled…

I can hardly remember the last time I got 8 hours of sleep per night! I usually get between 4 and 6 a night, and when I'm Randonneuring, even less. A good 10-14 hours of sleep on a night now and then (every couple weeks or so) seems to get me all caught up.

6 hrs is good, 7 max. 5 is cutting it kinda short.