When I was in my twenties & thirties we could work out, or I would 3 on 1 off. That clearly isn't working out for me anymore. But when I do train i train as hard as i can, as I always have. But I have noticed that the soreness doesn't seem to go away after a few days. Am I just not giving my old body enough time to recover? But at the same time if I take 2-3 days off & wait for the soreness (lactic acid)to go away, it's like I took 6 months off.

I'd suggest not training so hard all the time; do your hard training on day 1 and take a leisurely ride on day 2. I think you'll find that you'll actually recover quicker than taking a day off.

Welcome to old age or whatever you choose to call it. And it gets worse.

Working out at as little as 60% of your threshold can still give excellent results pertaining to blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Occasionally; I still bust my balls when I work out, but on ordinary days I keep it way under the radar. Nutrition becomes more important at our age also. Low carb diet and exercise will keep you heart healthy.

Young people and professionals would probably call that over training, if you get sore and it doesn't go away by the next day, then cut your workout back a little. What I do, is 4 days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday the Weekday workouts are fairly short, around an hour or so. The Saturday workouts are planned to be a little longer, right now they are shorter as well, only because when I switch from outdoor to trainer mode, usually around (My) Thanksgiving, I find that the switch is tougher then I thought it would be, so I scale back a bit. I will do the same thing at May two four weekend, when I officially switch back to summer riding mode.

The the older you get the longer the the recovery period. I try and work different muscles via different kinds of exercise. I try and keep the soreness moving around my body. Resting takes too long.

I have the exact same issue/question and haven't quite officially even met the threshold for this sub-forum. My legs never seem to shake their fatigue. I want to add weight-lifting in to the mix but haven't really figured out how to add it as I'm never actually recovered. Been riding almost every day for 1-2 hours, sometimes road, sometimes dirt. And skip 1-2 days a week. It's hard to do a 'recovery' ride here because everything is hills. But it's frustrating because sometimes I feel too weak to push harder, but also don't want to take any steps back in terms of fitness and weight-loss progress.

I pay far more attention to what my body tells me now than I did 30 yrs ago when I raced. About every two months I take a full week off from riding. I have started using a full leg compression sock after hard rides. I had these left over after a surgery this past year. They feel very good after the ride. Does it help recovery? I'm not sure, but they were free

I also almost never do back to back really hard days anymore.

Training for what? How about just an hour a day of having fun on a bicycle? Tell me I'm wrong.

You're wrong.

(only cuz you asked)

I'll have to differ on this. I train really hard a LOT. Why? Because I like to, and I enjoy keeping up with the youngsters around here. I generally end up taking one day a week off, and occasionally two days but this is because life intrudes on my riding. My legs are sore all the time but it's a sort of pleasant soreness which reminds me of the work I've been doing. I've been carrying this load for years BTW. I don't really think our bodies in general are that much different than they were long ago. It's just that many of us choose not to work that hard. No problem there, but some of us do. It hasn't hurt me yet

so related question and hopefully not a threadjack...when do you factor in weights (if any)?? same day as riding, on a day off from riding, other, etc..?

Sgt Mac, these things can make a big difference:



My legs were sore all the time, until I:

A. Hired a coach who insisted I put recovery days in the mix (I now ride 5 days per week, with the recovery days after the really hard/long workouts)
B. Started using a Stick

Recovery is a big part of training, as it is only during the rest period that you increase strength. So, as I'm sitting on the couch with my legs up, I tell my wife that I'm training and can't work on my honey-do list. Soreness/fatigue may require more diligent management at our ages, but we don't have to back off.

You are definitely wrong for people who want a greater level of fitness than you want. We all have different goals, and have fun doing different things.

Sure, recovery takes longer but I do everything I can to minimize the impact. This includes recovery rides, one or two days per week off the bike, after ride recovery drinks, after ride Advil and weekly massage. My days off the bike always include some form of cross training or resistance training. I never stay off the bike because of muscle soreness. It is gone within the first 15 minutes of the next ride anyways. I am only 52 though..

2003 and I was going to do a hard ride in June. Started training in january and from quite a low base. For June I had to be A.1. fit.

started 2 days a week at the gym aswell as Sunday rides. By End of Feb was up to 1 hours hard Cardio workout and the sunday rides were up to 40 miles. March started a further two rides of 30 miles twice a week in the evenings. April and the Gym work on Tuesdays and Thursdays was getting intensive- sunday rides were up to 60 miles and the speed on the midweek 30 milers on wed and Friday was getting higher. May was hectic with The gym work being till I collapsed on Tuesdays- Wed was 30 miles at average of 12 mph off road with 2,500 ft of steep climbing- Thursday was Gym with a 45 minute spin class- 1 hour cardio and then weights room to loosen up Friday was the offroad 30 miles again and Sundays we were just finding offroad hills as steep as possible and getting 60 miles in.

In 5 months I had to the fittest I had been in 30 years but all that training had a good variety within it. Endurance with the Sunday rides-speed with the evening rides-Gym work and the cardio gradually became harder and then got varied--And just as important- 2 days off a week. There was bike riding but the Gym Work was where it payed off.

So look at your training programme. Too much of one type of exercise is not good- Vary it a bit- ---and take time off to recuperate.

DUDE!! Yer not 20 or 30 anymore so chill back to a slow but steady regimen to keep from hurting yourself.

The days of pounding hard for max gain are gone. Now the game is good body tone with good overall health.

Slow but steady......always.

!

Probably a dumb question, but what do you use the stick for? Just getting the spouse to back off??

Sleep is important also. I'll budget 9 or more ours of sleep for several days after any hard ride, including century rides or fast rides of 3 hours or more. And eat well before, during and after.

She'd just get a bigger stick. Nah, it's used to roll the muscles, help get the toxins out, and the fascia whatever they're called broken up. Similar to a foam roller, but easier to use. LOTS of cyclists keep them handy, and use them regularly. It makes a big difference.

Just Google "The Stick"

Cool. Thanks for the explanation. My wife uses a foam roller for her IT band issues but I didn't make the connection. I will definitely try this out I could really see this helping but will report back with results.

Remember that, to avoid causing varicosity, you should roll towards the heart.

Oh..I meant to only pull it out when necessary to avoid the honey-do list

I'm 66 years old and training for the 2012 racing season. At the present time I'm training 7 days a week. Mon and Friday are gym days for core work (no legs), Tue, Thurs and Sat are base building (zone 3-4) days Wed is a short easy (zone 1) day and Sun is a longer endurance (zone 2-3) day. As the season progress my workouts will change and as racing starts it will change again. As my workouts get harder I will have a hard day followed by and easy day for recovery. Every third week all days are easy days so that my body gets a nice recovery period. Remember increased performance and strength happens during the recovery period not during the hard work when your tearing the muscles down.

This is a great starting point for me. Exactly the kind of thing I was thinking about. Thanks for sharing!