Training & Nutrition - Recovery ride disipline?

How do you keep a recovery ride from becoming "hammer fest 2003" every time you ride?

It seems every time I get on my bike I think, I'll slow down, spinn and not work hard. Then before I am home I'm hammering the bike for all I'm worth! Am I just addicted or something?

I want to hear the answer to this too! lol I ended up having to go slow on a ride recently and it drove me NUTS!! I felt like a kid in a back car seat going AREWETHEREYETAREWETHEREYET?? Maybe I should just go ahead and over do it on a recovery ride..that'll teach me :D

1. Use a heart rate monitor. If you know your recovery zone (zone 1) is under 130 bpm, then stay there.

2. Limit yourself to the little ring(s). No big ring riding allowed.

3. Pick a loop with the fewest hills.

4. Make sure your cassette is geared low enough. If your 11-21t, or 11-23t make you work too hard on inclines, get a 12-25 or 12-27, or something comparable.

5. Ride your MTB on the road. MTB gearing is ideal for recovery rides. The 22t and 32t small chainrings and 32t or 34t out back assure you don't have to work very hard on the hardest hills.

6. Ride with your kids, significant other or novice rider. Their slow pace will keep you in control.

7. Don't ride a loop that you frequently hammer. You'll be checking time splits and average speed. Try something new and leave the computer alone.

8. Watch the time, not the miles. 30-75 minutes is plenty, depending on your conditioning. Recovery rides should not be measured in miles.

9. Make recovery a joy ride. Have fun. Relax. Look for things you miss on your hammer rides.

yes this one used to be really tough for me but i think i've got it figured out.

definitely stuff like riding with friends who aren't as fast or a leisure group can help (for example i lead MTB tours and these are rarely strenuous like i would ride by myself)

but riding by yourself can be done --- just tell yourself how important your training is and that you MUST not overstress your body. i have done this a lot this year commuting on days after big races... and i sometimes do stuff like don't allow myself out of the middle ring... it can be REALLY hard when someone passes me and i have the urge to sprint b/c i know i can drop him... but wait i'm on recovery - oh! maybe even harder is when old ladies or overweight people on junkers go cruising by - me with clipless pedals and a jersey, etc... but my pride is not injured.

i think the HARDEST is to go ride with a group of strong riders and not overdo it. i have a friend with whom we love to sprint and we constantly challenge each other with constant "hill sprints" or whatever... i was really proud of myself a few months ago as i stayed out of EVERY sprint on a 2-hour "easy" ride where i had decided i would not sprint or go aneorobic! wow was i proud!

but it's all mental. the competitive nature in you is good most of the time and helps you train and ride hard ---- but you have to keep it under control when YOU decide you need a rest. the mind rules the beast!

I think the best answer here is to listen to your body. I know that on my recovery rides my muscles often feel a little sore from the previous escapade, so I generally take it easy on those occasions. If I don't have that pain, my body is telling me that it's fine and it's already recovered. Let your body be the best judge of how you ride.

Another idea is to turn off your cycle-computer so that you don't have as much motivation to hammer along.

Learn disipline.

I used to do that sort of thing early in my training career, but the more you understand the importance of recovery, the more you want to respect the recovery time and take it. Without recovery, you do your body a lot of disservice. A recovery is necessary to rebuild the muscles so that you can become stronger and perform better.

Understand the principles of the recovery, and you'll never want to abuse the recovery training.

7. Don't ride a loop that you frequently hammer. You'll be checking time splits and average speed. Try something new and leave the computer alone.

I think this is one of my worst "sins" on the ride. Thank's for the replies.
About recovery and rebuilding, Koffee how long does it take for muscles to rebound and rebuild after a hard ride?

I think I'm getting it...I was going to go on a group ride this morning, but I slept instead. I'm going to try to map out/ride a route to the rehearsal space instead since I won't know when I can ride again once they start on Monday. I'll be forced to take it easy or get lost or squashed :D I don't actually feel the need to take it easy today, but tomorrow I'm planning on doing 50 miles or more. I've really only done lots of 30 milers, so before I go to the HH100 in Texas I think it MIGHT be a good idea to try it first ;) This is killin me man :( There IS no recovery time in what I'm used to doing!

Uciflylow-

There's no set time limit for how long it takes to recover- you just need to monitor yourself as much as possible. Generally, if you're on a training schedule, you should be able to look at what you're doing and gauge your recovery around that. For me, I start the week easy with less mileage, then as the week progresses, the intensity and time I spend in the saddle builds. I take off at least one day a week, and if I do a ride that's 70 miles or more, I also take an additional day off. If I feel crappy one day and I'm supposed to ride, I take the day off. If I have a deep ache in my legs or I have a headache, I take the day off. It's all about planning your schedule and then inserting your rest days within your training schedule. It's also about listening to your body too- if you're feeling fatigued or achy or whatever, take the day off.

If you notice you're not making improvements, or that you've hit a plateau, it's time to change up your schedule and see what you can do to jump start everything- more rest may be needed, or just more variety in your training. Consider cross training so you can give your cycling specific muscles a break but still get the cardiovascular training, or consider taking a full week off- sometimes it's just a longer break that's needed in order to heal the body so that it starts being efficient again and you can get over that hump.

Good luck. PM me if you want some imput in your training schedule.

The HRM and cycle computer are great tools for recovery rides.
At the end of almost every ride, I'll do a 1-3 mile cool down ride.
My recovery ride is just an extension of my cool down kicked up just a notch.
Instead of riding major roads I do a lot of neighborhood roads, check out homes.
I've no discipline to take the MTB on a recovery ride...that always turns into a hammer fest.

Most definitely, Trouble! At the very least, a heart rate monitor. I will pick a heart rate to ride at for my cooldown, and when it has dropped to 65% max heart rate and hold it for at least a couple of minutes easily, I can consider myself sufficiently recovered from a workout.

But I always have recovery days with no riding time. Period.

Learning to spell [disipline] would be a good start in learning "recovery training". I disagree with most of the posts above. I suggest you ALWAYS use a computer and learn to ride known "hammer routes" with sub-maximum efforts.

Stress the discipline of bicycling "form". Stess smooth pedal strokes, low-down flat-back posture and control of the upper body above the top tube. As you near the end of the workout verify that you are at 70-80% of your "hammer-speed" workout.
Use your computer to come up to "hammer speeds" for just a very few minutes before ending your workout. of course allow for several minutes of "cool down" work....don't be a "junkmile" junky, like some people......


dis•ci•pline Pronunciation: (dis'u-plin), [key] —n., v., -plined, -plin•ing. —n.
1. training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.
2.activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.
3. punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.
4. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.: the harsh discipline of poverty.
5. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control: good discipline in an army.

Sorry about the spelling! It was never one of my strong points.

Junkmile junkie? How is this defined?

Form is one thing I do strive for, especially in the wind. I find I often push too big of gears in the wind. Thanks all.

Hmm use the computer and the HR monitor. I usually just slow down and look at the surroundings, smile at people I'm passing and just having a nice time hehe :) It will come to you I promise :)

For recovery ride discipline I find it helpful to wear very casual clothing, no biking shorts or jerseys, just regular cotton clothes. Dunno why but it works for me.

Exhaust yourself the day before. On your recovery ride cover up your bike computer.
If you are training hard enough you should enjoy your recovery day. They used to drive me batty but now I rather enjoy them.

I never do recovery rides except on my rollers. So I just use a HRM and keep it where it's supposed to be. It's very easy. I suppose it has to do with what one calls recovery rides. For me, that's zone 1. I can't even go out the door and stay in zone 1. Zone 2 is automatically an easy endurance ride, not recovery proper. Different purpose, different timing. If one is training, every ride has a different purpose. One can't do the ride unless one understands the purpose.

I have trouble with recovery too....I ride solo so the only thing to do is challenge myself.

Exhaust yourself the day before. On your recovery ride cover up your bike computer.
If you are training hard enough you should enjoy your recovery day. They used to drive me batty but now I rather enjoy them.This. If you find yourself going too hard on a recovery day perhaps you need to question whether you actually need the recovery.

do the recovery ride alone. I always make it a point to keep it under 20 mph on recovery rides no matter what. I do cheat when I get a down hill but other than that I try to keep it slow.

Do a different activity. I do hiking and that works fine because its a different set of muscles and I get the outdoors and the hiking trails are good. It could even be a more social activity than riding.

Recognizing that this is an old thread, and I'd already responded to the OP, I'll still respond because it never hurts to hear this again and again:

Here's how you do it- GET OFF YOUR EGO and start riding humbly.

Seriously, I see guys (and to some extent, the ladies too) passing other guys, and as soon as a guy gets passed, they start playing the cat and mouse game. The recovery ride is destroyed, and what did they gain out of that? Absolutely nothing.

Ride with humility, ride with concern, ride with an agenda- use your heart rate monitor, and don't let others sway you from doing what you need to do to allow your body to heal and recoup from the stress of the hard rides. Then, when you do ride hard, you'll ride harder and better than those ego-driven cyclists with nothing to prove, and therefore, nothing gained.

koffee

It's the value of a power meter. Once you know your LT, you just keep it below 50%, whatever speed that is. Personally, I don't do recovery rides. Usually if you're tired, rest will do you more good than a recovery ride, because if you're that tired, that's how it is. Listen to your body. If you do a recovery ride, not longer than an hour, half-hour or 40 minutes if you can manage. Nice, light gear, 90 rpm max, speed is immaterial. But if you're going much faster than 14-15 mph, you're going too hard.