How much do you exercise on "rest" days?
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 5,694
Bikes: 2022 Salsa Beargrease Carbon Deore 11, 2020 Salsa Warbird GRX 600, 2020 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX disc 9.0 Di2, 2020 Catrike Eola, 2016 Masi cxgr, 2011, Felt F3 Ltd, 2010 Trek 2.1, 2009 KHS Flite 220
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4231 Post(s)
Liked 2,910 Times
in
1,794 Posts
How much do you exercise on "rest" days?
apart from a very short bicycle commute, in typical weeks I ride about 5 days and rest for two. Prior to the pandemic, when I started working from home, I didn't give my exercise on "rest" days much thought, but once the pandemic hit, those days could be truly sedentary - sitting at a desk or on a couch. In contrast, going to work involves either a few miles of cycling or 20 minutes of walking, plus a bunch of stair climbing as I go to different floors in my work building and never take the elevator. Nothing strenuous, but sufficient to get the blood flowing a little.
Post-pandemic (are we post pandemic?), I still work from home several days/week, and those could be rest days, so without conscious effort, I can spend my rest days doing literally no exercise. So I try to go out for a 30 minute walk or do something similar to keep the day from being 100% inactive.
In warmer months, I'm likely to go for a ~20 minute walk after dinner with my wife, so that helps.
I'm not talking about sneaking in a bunch of aerobic exercise on days I know I should be resting, but I'm wondering how much exercise people get on their rest days and whether there are opinions on "the right amount"?
Post-pandemic (are we post pandemic?), I still work from home several days/week, and those could be rest days, so without conscious effort, I can spend my rest days doing literally no exercise. So I try to go out for a 30 minute walk or do something similar to keep the day from being 100% inactive.
In warmer months, I'm likely to go for a ~20 minute walk after dinner with my wife, so that helps.
I'm not talking about sneaking in a bunch of aerobic exercise on days I know I should be resting, but I'm wondering how much exercise people get on their rest days and whether there are opinions on "the right amount"?
Likes For MinnMan:
#2
Banned.
I still do a bit of leg exercises on rest or recovery days. If don't do anything, I'll get DOMs (delayed muscle soreness) and I'll be slower the next time I ride and would require longer warm up.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 4,083
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2332 Post(s)
Liked 2,094 Times
in
1,311 Posts
If I am fit, my typical rest day would be a 40-60 minute easy ride in a small gear on easy terrain. I am not very fit now, so, my rest day is rest as in no exercise. I try to ride at least 5 days per week and never take two days off in a row unless I overdid it on a ride and need more recovery.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,826
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2568 Post(s)
Liked 1,889 Times
in
1,185 Posts
For this experiment of one:
When I was riding to the office, a rest day might mean taking it easy on the day after an after-work ride. The 41 minute commute would then take 45 minutes (it's amazing how little difference in ride time a huge difference in effort made!). Or taking a day off after a century ride or longer.
WFH, I've found it increasingly hard to get motivated to ride when it's raining. The next rains-all-day that hits on a weekend will probably be spent doing income taxes. Of course that involves a lot of standing, walking, squatting, and walking some more trying to find that silly scrap of paper that didn't get filed correctly. I've been known to go the the mall or a big box store and try to walk it for 20-30 minutes.
If I prop my feet up all day and watch the world go by for two days in a row, I'm probably sick.
When I was riding to the office, a rest day might mean taking it easy on the day after an after-work ride. The 41 minute commute would then take 45 minutes (it's amazing how little difference in ride time a huge difference in effort made!). Or taking a day off after a century ride or longer.
WFH, I've found it increasingly hard to get motivated to ride when it's raining. The next rains-all-day that hits on a weekend will probably be spent doing income taxes. Of course that involves a lot of standing, walking, squatting, and walking some more trying to find that silly scrap of paper that didn't get filed correctly. I've been known to go the the mall or a big box store and try to walk it for 20-30 minutes.
If I prop my feet up all day and watch the world go by for two days in a row, I'm probably sick.
#6
just another gosling
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 19,486
Bikes: CoMo Speedster 2003, Trek 5200, CAAD 9, Fred 2004
Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3866 Post(s)
Liked 1,911 Times
in
1,362 Posts
This is interesting. I think the first thing we have to do, freshman dorm style, is define our terms: rest and exercise. I'll start by asserting that these are antonyms: if you're resting you're not exercising. So what's exercise? I'd say anything that raises your HR for a substantial length of time or can cause muscle damage. Rest then is not exercising. It could be weeding your garden, vacuuming the floor, that sort of thing, but not climbing 10 flights of stairs in your office building. That's still a little fuzzy, but maybe that will do. That done, I would say that we should differentiate easy days from rest days. On rest days, we do nothing. On easy days we might go for a long brisk walk or spend some zone 1 time on our bikes, and that's still exercise.
If we can agree on the above, then obviously we do not exercise on rest days. My usual practice is to exercise every day for 5 days, gradually getting more tired, then take two days completely off and start over. The reason for resting is that the 5 days start with an all-out group ride for which I have to be rested.
3 days off in a row is my absolute upper limit. If I go over that, it'll take a week or two to get back to where I was. As one of those 5 exercise days, I might have an easy day, depending on how much I'd hurt myself the day before.
If we can agree on the above, then obviously we do not exercise on rest days. My usual practice is to exercise every day for 5 days, gradually getting more tired, then take two days completely off and start over. The reason for resting is that the 5 days start with an all-out group ride for which I have to be rested.
3 days off in a row is my absolute upper limit. If I go over that, it'll take a week or two to get back to where I was. As one of those 5 exercise days, I might have an easy day, depending on how much I'd hurt myself the day before.
__________________
Results matter
Results matter
Likes For Carbonfiberboy:
#7
Not actually Tmonk
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 13,875
Bikes: road, track, mtb
Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2477 Post(s)
Liked 2,899 Times
in
1,541 Posts
I do strength work on my off days. Fairly light stuff, but I try to hit upper, abs and legs a bit, between the two sessions.
__________________
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
Likes For TMonk:
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
Same. My rest days include an easy commute (20 min each way) or a super easy spin with my wife. Like TMonk, I try to do strength work on those days.
Likes For caloso:
#9
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 5,694
Bikes: 2022 Salsa Beargrease Carbon Deore 11, 2020 Salsa Warbird GRX 600, 2020 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX disc 9.0 Di2, 2020 Catrike Eola, 2016 Masi cxgr, 2011, Felt F3 Ltd, 2010 Trek 2.1, 2009 KHS Flite 220
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4231 Post(s)
Liked 2,910 Times
in
1,794 Posts
I would think that doing strength work on the legs would negate the point of having rest days, which is in part to allow muscle repair and growth, but maybe it is a matter of the extent of effort.
Likes For MinnMan:
#10
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 5,694
Bikes: 2022 Salsa Beargrease Carbon Deore 11, 2020 Salsa Warbird GRX 600, 2020 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX disc 9.0 Di2, 2020 Catrike Eola, 2016 Masi cxgr, 2011, Felt F3 Ltd, 2010 Trek 2.1, 2009 KHS Flite 220
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4231 Post(s)
Liked 2,910 Times
in
1,794 Posts
This is interesting. I think the first thing we have to do, freshman dorm style, is define our terms: rest and exercise. I'll start by asserting that these are antonyms: if you're resting you're not exercising. So what's exercise? I'd say anything that raises your HR for a substantial length of time or can cause muscle damage. Rest then is not exercising. It could be weeding your garden, vacuuming the floor, that sort of thing, but not climbing 10 flights of stairs in your office building. That's still a little fuzzy, but maybe that will do. That done, I would say that we should differentiate easy days from rest days. On rest days, we do nothing. On easy days we might go for a long brisk walk or spend some zone 1 time on our bikes, and that's still exercise.
If we can agree on the above, then obviously we do not exercise on rest days. .
If we can agree on the above, then obviously we do not exercise on rest days. .
#11
Senior Member
I either run a slow mile or put the bike in a low gear on the rollers for 15 minutes. I don't lift on what I call recovery days.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,501
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5216 Post(s)
Liked 3,555 Times
in
2,325 Posts
fwiw - I go the the gym every weekday at lunchtime. sometimes I'll go after work as well. what I do there varies with weight training or treadmill. I hardly ever ride my bike. lucky if I get 1 ride a week, usually on a Saturday. Sundays are spent at my very physical 2nd job. I guess I have no rest days
#13
Not actually Tmonk
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 13,875
Bikes: road, track, mtb
Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2477 Post(s)
Liked 2,899 Times
in
1,541 Posts
I think the extent of effort is a big part of it. I "lift" (mostly, but not completely body weight exercises) to be more healthy, well rounded, and for overuse injury prevention (muscle imbalances etc). My routines take 20-30 minutes tops and don't leave me feeling very tired, nor do they take much recovery. On my rest weeks (every third week) - I go a little bigger on the strength stuff since I'm generating about half the normal bike fatigue.
__________________
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
#14
just another gosling
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 19,486
Bikes: CoMo Speedster 2003, Trek 5200, CAAD 9, Fred 2004
Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3866 Post(s)
Liked 1,911 Times
in
1,362 Posts
Quite so. IME if I'm not tired and a little sore the day after a gym workout, I made mistakes in loading. Doing something that stresses you but doesn't result in progress is not a good idea.
__________________
Results matter
Results matter
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,020
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4192 Post(s)
Liked 4,616 Times
in
2,852 Posts
I find it takes some discipline to take a proper rest day. I've just been reading Geraint T's book and he talks about the psychological issues with taking rest days. But sometimes that's what your body needs to properly recover from a hard training block or race.
#16
Senior Member
Nowadays I take two rest days before going back to the gym. On one of those rest days I go for a bike ride at least one hour long. Yesterday, I went three hours.
#17
Version 7.0
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 13,080
Bikes: Too Many
Mentioned: 297 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1319 Post(s)
Liked 2,411 Times
in
1,405 Posts
I have found what I do on rest days to be all about context. This week, I am doing hard structured workouts with my coach at the LA Velodrome. I am staying off my legs and stretching and foam rolling between sessions. If my training is is more relaxed, I will do strength on rest days similar to TMonk . If I have to perform and recover, I do nothing on rest days.
#18
In Real Life
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152
Bikes: Lots
Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 595 Times
in
329 Posts
Today was a rest day.
Most of the day was spent in bed asleep or in my chair in the living room.
I did manage a few walks to the kitchen, bathroom and front door to look outside.
Most of the day was spent in bed asleep or in my chair in the living room.
I did manage a few walks to the kitchen, bathroom and front door to look outside.
__________________
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
Rowan
My fave photo threads on BF
Century A Month Facebook Group
Machka's Website
Photo Gallery
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: SE Wyoming
Posts: 607
Bikes: 1995 Specialized Rockhopper,1989 Specialized Rock Combo, 2013 Specialized Tarmac Elite
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 213 Post(s)
Liked 588 Times
in
278 Posts
I alternate weights/resistance training with riding although weather often interferes. Rest day is yoga and stretching.
#20
Newbie
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: Australia
Posts: 15
Bikes: Triban RC120 Disc
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times
in
3 Posts
I can't say that I have rest days, because I go jogging outside every day, if the weather is bad I use my treadmill, #2 from this list, very satisfied. Also, I can cycle with my family or go swimming in the pool if the weather is nice. It's not a gym, BUT still kind of training
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,501
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5216 Post(s)
Liked 3,555 Times
in
2,325 Posts
I guess today is a rest day. I feel pretty pooped. was thinking of a ride after work. here's wishing ...
#23
Meet me at spin class!!!!
I am supposed to take 2 rest days per week. I do take one with minimal exertion. I don't really take the other; I don't consider spin class or barre class a "rest".
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Sunny so. cal.
Posts: 904
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 136 Post(s)
Liked 57 Times
in
31 Posts
I’m 61 and a Cat 1 mtb racer. I’m doing what you’re doing on rest days—“active recovery” which to me is light walks or hikes with my wife, something to stay active. I like walks or hikes as they are weight bearing and good for promoting bone density and coordination (the latter if on irregular ground). As for recovery rides after races or bigger training rides, they are under an hour, flat, and super easy.
#25
...
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: Whitestone and Rensselaerville, New York
Posts: 1,441
Bikes: Bicycles? Yup.
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 454 Post(s)
Liked 1,416 Times
in
690 Posts
Yesterday was a full rest day. Went to the Mets day game then walked a few miles into Corona, Queens.
Today is FTP test day and IDONTWANNA! Maybe I can spend the whole day cleaning the garage. Plus the dog needs a walk. Food shopping. Busy, busy, busy.
Today is FTP test day and IDONTWANNA! Maybe I can spend the whole day cleaning the garage. Plus the dog needs a walk. Food shopping. Busy, busy, busy.
Last edited by BTinNYC; 06-02-22 at 06:45 AM.