Originally Posted by jean-michel
Over the past 3 months I have been riding a lot more than than i normally do. My program has consisted of intense XC mountain bike rides of 1.5 - 2 hour durations at least every second day. On the alternate days I do approximately 55 minutes of (mainly upper-body) weights and about 50 minutes of walking as well as an easier road ride for approximately 50 minutes.
I virtually never have complete rest days.
you should always have a complete rest day. don't feel like you're missing out on a chance to make your body better. look what you got yourself into. past the point of diminishing returns
Over the past 6 or 7 weeks i have been having what i now realise are classic symptoms of overtraining.
i never would have thunk that!!!
These include extreme lethargy/tiredness (particularly of the leg muscles), loss of interests, mood changes and weight loss among other things.
In order to recover as quickly as possible, would it be effective to simply reduce the intensity and volume of riding that i do and include at least 1 rest day in every week?
definitely, yes.
Or will recovery require many days of complete rest (eg no physical activity)?
like the other poster said, i don't think this is necessary. however, since you jacked up your body, i would certainly take a week or more off and use the time you would have been exercising to plan out your new routine.
Is it a bad idea to continue the upper-body workouts while i'm waiting for my legs to recover?
with a proper diet, more or less...no. go ahead and do upper body.
Also, how long can I expect recovery to take? When can I start strenuous riding again?
i think you should seriously consider some active recovery days thrown into your week in ADDITION to the one day off
And is it possible to make a full recovery without losing any fitness?
of course...or else people would be taking one step forward and one step back only to find they never went anywhere!