Originally Posted by
chasm54
You might be right. But I think the theory is that the recovery spin actually helps speed the process by getting more oxygenated blood to the muscles to both speed repair and help flush out the fatigue products. Those may be even more important for the less fit, whose recovery may be slower than that of the conditioned athlete.
But I'm guessing. As I say, in terms of recovering from intense sessions I haven't been able to tell much difference.
I'm venturing a wild guess that your fitness level is higher than many your age. My experience has been that those with little fitness need a different kind of recovery. But, I know I'm also being swayed by the strength conditioning advice I've heard over the decades, "Always take a day off between working different parts of the body." The theory being that each muscle group needs time to rest and repair itself. For many of us with considerable miles in our legs, we're probably more focused on cardio issues than muscle repair. But for a very out of shape rider or a new rider they may be building cycling specific muscles.
__________________
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking. - S. Wright
Favorite rides in the stable: Indy Fab CJ Ti - Colnago MXL - S-Works Roubaix - Habanero Team Issue - Jamis Eclipse carbon/831