Road Cycling - Recovery Ride, or just take the day off

I have a hard time making myself ride at a pace where I’m not working at least a little. So I’m wondering if just taking a day or two off the bike in-between hard rides is as beneficial as a recovery ride?

Do you have a HRM? if so you can use it to help you guage your easy rides. I am certainly no expert but I believe recovery riding is the prefered technique.

Whats a hard ride?

I just recently bought a HRM and I find it's great in the situations you're describing. I know I don't need one but it's cool to have. I find that my normal 2-3 hour rides consist of me being in the 80-90% of my max heart rate most of the time with brief 5 minute spikes up to 90-100%. On a light day, I'll try to keep it at 60-70% to recover. The same is true for jogging, I try to keep myself between 70-90% so I don't burn out and so far it's been working great.

I've also heard that out of resting, massage, and riding, riding provided the best recovery. So get out there and just cruise around the block, get the blood flowing and some fresh air. As a general rule of thumb, if you can read a paragraph from a book in normal sentences, you're good. If you're studdering to breathe, you're working too hard for a recovery ride. Though I wouldn't recommend actually reading while on the bike...

I have the same problem so I guess I'd pose the same question (I'll be watching this thread for suggestions)

so far I bet I'm doing the wrong thing;
I do an 'easy' distance ride (20-25 miles), but fast, to 'recover'
as opposed to a longer distance 35+ etc. (still usually on a fast (for me) pace)

I prolly need help...and I have an HRM, I'm usually just trying to keep it from exploding :D
it's hard to not just pour it on all the time, what do you do?

I prolly need help...and I have an HRM, I'm usually just trying to keep it from exploding :D
it's hard to not just pour it on all the time, what do you do?

Can't you set up certain zones in your HRM?

yes and I hate that beeping when you cross the line
there's something downright unsatisfying when riding low HR for me
seems like I start out okay then lose track, if I have the HRM on silence with just the arrows designating the zone (in or out of it) I tend to disregard it. my problem, any other solutions than to pay more attention to the HRM?
(not to hijack the thread.....)

I have the same problem so I guess I'd pose the same question (I'll be watching this thread for suggestions)

so far I bet I'm doing the wrong thing;
I do an 'easy' distance ride (20-25 miles), but fast, to 'recover'
as opposed to a longer distance 35+ etc. (still usually on a fast (for me) pace)

I prolly need help...and I have an HRM, I'm usually just trying to keep it from exploding :D
it's hard to not just pour it on all the time, what do you do?

A recovery ride should by no means hard, or fast. i keep my hrt rate below 125 on recovery rides but avg around 116 bpm. when i was not as fit it was almost impossible to keep my hrt below 125 so i just didn't ride recovery.you will find once you are pretty fit it will be alot harder to get your hrt up, and remember you only benifit from your efforts when the body is resting.

A recovery ride should by no means hard, or fast. i keep my hrt rate below 125 on recovery rides but avg around 116 bpm. when i was not as fit it was almost impossible to keep my hrt below 125 so i just didn't ride recovery.you will find once you are pretty fit it will be alot harder to get your hrt up, and remember you only benifit from your efforts when the body is resting.

I don't think it's a fitness issue, I teach cardio kickboxing 3 nights a week
it's kind of more of a holding back issue
I need to learn how to go slow, that's where I could use some tips
(ummmm still hijacking I guess :))

I have a hard time making myself ride at a pace where I’m not working at least a little. So I’m wondering if just taking a day or two off the bike in-between hard rides is as beneficial as a recovery ride?


if you can't ride easy take a day or 2 off, that will be more benificial than riding to hard of a recovery ride.

Why don't you read lance armstrongs performance program,the guy's won the tour de France five years in a row,he must be doing something right? :beer:

I don't think it's a fitness issue, I teach cardio kickboxing 3 nights a week
it's kind of more of a holding back issue
I need to learn how to go slow, that's where I could use some tips
(ummmm still hijacking I guess :))


First sentence in that post was NOT HARD or fast, and if someone who is unfit trying to use there hrt monitor and stay in zone1 will most likely have a frustrating time if that's what they rely on rather than feal of a ver easy effort.

This is the theory I go by. Let it be known that for reasonably short exertions (maybe time < 1hr) heart rate monitors are good for RECOVERY/SLOW_SPEEDS ONLY!!. If you just did something hard and need to put in more distance, keeping your heart below 140 does this well. This is said on the grounds that you reach your max heart rate much before your max physical output. In workouts that are supposed to be all out, I"ve slacked off before while keeping max heart rate.

-Panoram Jazzman aka Panoramic
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Hey Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says "OOOOO"
Peter, those are Cherios

First sentence in that post was NOT HARD or fast, and if someone who is unfit trying to use there hrt monitor and stay in zone1 will most likely have a frustrating time if that's what they rely on rather than feal of a ver easy effort.

absolutely true
particularly if you're doing caffeine before a morning ride or caffeinated gel during the ride

so knowing there are factors that alter the hrm report,
(or if you don't have an hrm)
do you tend to spin only on the recovery ride?
coast the hills or choose a route with no hills?
is it best to keep it under a certain amount of mileage or time?

i don't get this..all you have to do is cut your ride short. a hard-working 30-45 min ride is enough for recovery. recovery rides are there just to keep the muscles going.

sd

absolutely true
particularly if you're doing caffeine before a morning ride or caffeinated gel during the ride

so knowing there are factors that alter the hrm report,
(or if you don't have an hrm)
do you tend to spin only on the recovery ride?
coast the hills or choose a route with no hills?
is it best to keep it under a certain amount of mileage or time?


I spin on endurance rides also being mine are 4-6 hours. i avoid hills at as much as i can on recovery days
and if i do have a hill to climb i spin up it as easy as i can. it is best to keep recovery rides 30-90 minutes.

i don't get this..all you have to do is cut your ride short. a hard-working 30-45 min ride is enough for recovery. recovery rides are there just to keep the muscles going.

sd


Your right you don't get it, a hard working 30 -45 minute ride is a work out!!! just because you cut time does not cut intensity! if you don't care to improve your performance on the bike and over all health ride hard all the time be counter productive, weaken your immune system don't give your mucsles time to repair, ect ect ect.

i don't get this..all you have to do is cut your ride short. a hard-working 30-45 min ride is enough for recovery. recovery rides are there just to keep the muscles going.

sd

A hard ride, no matter how short, rips apart muscle. A recovery ride is low enough in intensity not to destroy muscle, all it does is gets the blood moving.

so i guess our advice to this guy is just to learn how to control himself and ride a nice relaxed recovery ride?

sd

Hehe, pretty much yeah, patience hehe. I know how hard that is when he's on a slow recovery ride and someone zips by and he gets the urge to just crank it.

When I raced (this was before HRM's), I never took a day off just did an easy day and didn't let anyone control my tempo. I would ride about 10 to 12 miles at a leasurely 10 to 12 mph. If I was racing a long event I would ride about 5 miles the day before at a 10 to 12 mph pace. I would also park about 5 miles from the race site on race day and ride slowly in to warm up a bit.

I should get huge kudos for this. This is a training tip from the 11/28/01 newsletter on Sally Edwards heartzones.com site. I think you can find this in the Cyclist Training Bible by J. Friel too (but I'm not sure). Anyway, every competitive athlete and enthusiast (not matter what your sport) should perform a delta test in the morning to gauge what intensity you should work at for that day. After you establish your pattern, this simple test will tell you whether you should doa recovery ride or take the day off.

I swear by this - it works well for me. Like to see your feedback on this. Enjoy.


Delta Heart Rate: Another way to measure your fitness. A reader recently contacted Heart Zones inquiring about the difference they were seeing in their resting heart rate and ambient heart rates both while sitting and laying down. This is a very good and common question. Here are the specifics: This athlete notices an ambient heart rate of 90 when sitting up and 62 when lying down. Resting heart rate is measured at 44. The question is whether it is ok for such a difference between sitting up and lying down. In the Heart Rate Monitor Book for Cyclists (page 84 and 85), Delta heart rate is the difference in your heart rate at different positions, for example, lying down and standing up. Do this test. Take your heart rate after lying down for two minutes. Stand up and your heart rate will "spike" but will settle after an additional two minutes. The difference is your "delta heart rate". If the difference is greater than 30, take a day off. This is not a good number. If the difference is 20-30, it is cautionary - take a day off or train in a zone lower. If the difference is 10-20, this is normal. If the difference is 0-10, this is excellent.
This is a valuable test, especially if you retest yourself daily and watch for specific trends (upward trends may indicate too much stress or over-training and downward trends may indicate you're right on track).

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Whats a hard ride?


Lets say a 20 miler at my best pace, or a group ride where I’m at the front for a long time trying to pop somebody. I guess what I’m asking is…Even after a day or two off of the bike after one of these rides, my legs sometimes feel sore or just plane weak. Would a slow ride say in zone 2 help repair the muscles faster than just doing nothing?

Lets say a 20 miler at my best pace, or a group ride where I’m at the front for a long time trying to pop somebody. I guess what I’m asking is…Even after a day or two off of the bike after one of these rides, my legs sometimes feel sore or just plane weak. Would a slow ride say in zone 2 help repair the muscles faster than just doing nothing?

Everything from what I've read has shown that short leisure rides are much better than say, taking a nap. I'm currently on my break from work and am doing 50-60 miles a day in zone 4-5. I just keep going until I notice my average speed drop significantly then I will take a recovery ride in zone 2, just take it real slow.

I should get huge kudos for this. This is a training tip from the 11/28/01 newsletter on Sally Edwards heartzones.com site. I think you can find this in the Cyclist Training Bible by J. Friel too (but I'm not sure). Anyway, every competitive athlete and enthusiast (not matter what your sport) should perform a delta test in the morning to gauge what intensity you should work at for that day. After you establish your pattern, this simple test will tell you whether you should doa recovery ride or take the day off.

I swear by this - it works well for me. Like to see your feedback on this. Enjoy.


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Ok let me see if I understand this correctly:
You lay down for 2 minutes then measure your HR, I usually do this by measuring pulse count over one minute. Then stand up, wait for two minutes then begin another HR measurement. Subtract the two. I am confused b/c it reads sort of like you lay down for 2 minutes then take the HR count then stand up and immediatly take the HR count or do you stand up wait 2 minutes then take the count. Make sense? Thanks

Lets say a 20 miler at my best pace, or a group ride where I’m at the front for a long time trying to pop somebody. I guess what I’m asking is…Even after a day or two off of the bike after one of these rides, my legs sometimes feel sore or just plane weak. Would a slow ride say in zone 2 help repair the muscles faster than just doing nothing?

I dont know anything about zones or care about HR or any of that crap because i just ride. After a 50 miler i took a day off and the next day did an easy 20 miler and after that my normal riding. After i do more then 25 miles,i go get a drink,jamba juice with a protien boost within 30 min. of getting off my bike and my legs dont get sore. That all might be crap to but it works for me.

Ok let me see if I understand this correctly:
You lay down for 2 minutes then measure your HR, I usually do this by measuring pulse count over one minute. Then stand up, wait for two minutes then begin another HR measurement. Subtract the two. I am confused b/c it reads sort of like you lay down for 2 minutes then take the HR count then stand up and immediatly take the HR count or do you stand up wait 2 minutes then take the count. Make sense? Thanks

I think it's a trick. Most avid cyclists have such low resting heart rates and low blood pressure that getting up immediately after laying down would like, knock us out cold.

Everything from what I've read has shown that short leisure rides are much better than say, taking a nap. I'm currently on my break from work and am doing 50-60 miles a day in zone 4-5. I just keep going until I notice my average speed drop significantly then I will take a recovery ride in zone 2, just take it real slow.

Avg speed is not a good measurement, wind, terrain ect affect this. ill put it to you this way if you had a race horse that was a strong winner would you run that horse hard everday in zone- 4-5?? do you think lance trains most times in 4-5?? riding in zone 2 is not recovery either, i know guys who go hard all the time and finish races very poor. you can only get good work outs in zone 4-5 when you are recovered and fresh other wise your suffering is for nothing and counter productive, my coach has proved this to me easy days in my training plan has made me stronger, and i can do more quality intervals ect.

Avg speed is not a good measurement, wind, terrain ect affect this. ill put it to you this way if you had a race horse that was a strong winner would you run that horse hard everday in zone- 4-5?? do you think lance trains most times in 4-5?? riding in zone 2 is not recovery either, i know guys who go hard all the time and finish races very poor. you can only get good work outs in zone 4-5 when you are recovered and fresh other wise your suffering is for nothing and counter productive, my coach has proved this to me easy days in my training plan has made me stronger, and i can do more quality intervals ect.

Fortunately I'm not a race horse and I don't race, so I'm just in it for the hell of it until I drop. If I ride in the same fairly enclosed loop over and over and my average speed drops, it usually means I'm tired out. +-5 mph winds don't really affect me that much. I hate to tell you, but zone 2 is NOT going hard all the time. What your coach has proved is pretty much what I said unless you happen to be misunderstanding what exactly a hard and easy day is.

Got kids? Ride around the block and few times with them. That works the best for me.