Is light spinning really 'active recovery'?

[MattTuck]

Curious what people's thoughts are on a light spin as a rest day/recovery day?

Is it really that much better for fitness/training than just not riding and hitting the gym or doing yoga or lounging in front of the TV?

I'm dubious of claims about it 'flushing' lactic acid out of the muscles...

[sandyrs]

Curious what people's thoughts are on a light spin as a rest day/recovery day?

Is it really that much better for fitness/training than just not riding and hitting the gym or doing yoga or lounging in front of the TV?

I'm dubious of claims about it 'flushing' lactic acid out of the muscles...

I should make the disclaimer that I'm both very inexperienced and very slow ;)

That said, I've done both things after race weekends, and have found that I have a lot less residual soreness in my legs on Tuesday when I do a recovery ride.

[MattTuck]

well, I listened to you, and went for a ride. Hope it worked ;)

[SoCalSteve]

Did I ever tell you the story about when I rode with Tyler Hamilton?

Well, here it goes...

Ran into him on a bike path at the beach a few years back (when he was racing with Rock Racing). He was riding so slowly even I could keep up with him. We chatted a bit and I asked him why he was riding so slowly...He said he had just gotten done with 4 days of really hard riding and he was just "spinning" after all that hard effort.

Not sure if you are a Tyler fan, I sure was (before all the ***** hit the fan). But, if an Olympic Gold Medal winner and Stage winner of the TDF says spinning on a recovery day is good for you, then I bet it is.

[fatallightning]

I "feel" better. My legs feels wooden if I just sit around after a block. I will say, that when they say easy spin, they mean EASY. Like no hills, no jumps. 150 watts max.

[MattTuck]

OK, I'm not debating the benefits if you're a professional cyclist. I guess my question was, given an hour of time, when your legs are tired from a few days of harder riding, is more cycling the best use of that time?

[fatallightning]

OK, I'm not debating the benefits if you're a professional cyclist. I guess my question was, given an hour of time, when your legs are tired from a few days of harder riding, is more cycling the best use of that time?

Best use? Nah. Go for a walk or something. But better then sitting in bed.

[Bob Loblaw]

It works. But it has to be short and EASY, 10 flat miles turning over a 39 x 19 or such.

BL

[bcm119]

I think it depends on your fitness level. The higher your fitness level, the more advantageous a recovery ride will be. At some point below a certain level of fitness, there is no such thing as a recovery ride. I wouldn't know how to define that level, but I've been on both sides of it. I tend towards a light spin on the trainer rather than going out, because I find it very hard to truly ride easy on the road.

[flydhest]

Best use? Nah. Go for a walk or something. But better then sitting in bed.

Can you elaborate?

[Joel]

I do find that after a hard weekend of riding Monday can bring a case of crunchy legs.

If I can get out of work early enough on a Monday and do an easy 15-20 miles on the fixed gear all those leftover aches and pains that I've had all day are gone by the time the ride is over.

Could also just be a function of getting old. Whatever. It works!

[Bruce K]

According to the coach of our local Masters Team a light spin on Monday abodlutely is light recovery snd beneficial.

BK

[William]

Monday was always a light recovery day after a weekend of racing. Being able to go out onto the totally flat Willamette Valley floor made for an easy spin. We were strict about taking it easy.:) It always helped my legs get the kinks out.






William

[rugbysecondrow]

It is analagous to a light jog, a recovery effort. I think it is important and seems to work the kinks out a little, get the blood flowing to get oxygen to the sore muscles...I think thats how it works.

[Liv2RideHard]

I ride recovery on Mondays and Thursdays. No more than 1 hour and very easy spinning. Monday is recovery for weekend and Thursday is recovery for Wednesday night worlds. Slow and easy and it does help the legs out.

[RacerJRP]

As has been stated it is true. There are many research studies to prove this as well.

For me its 45min in the granny gear with the g/f or 45 on the trainer turning the legs so slow its mind numbing.

[FlashUNC]

totally works. When I raced, team would ride on Mondays, as a group, in the granny gear, with everyone trying to keep their HR under 100. Really was a race to see who could spin things the easiest. Definitely helped our recoveries.

[Fixed]

Trust the ancients on this one
Sometimes we believe in things we don't understand ....
Cheers :) IMHO

[Joachim]

Yes, an easy ride will help your recovery. The purpose is not to "flush" lactic acid out of your muscles (lactic acid does not stay in your muscles for that long after a hard effort). Unless you are really overtrained, as in proper overtrain syndrome, a short recovery ride is always better than no ride. Often the problem is that the recovery ride turns into a "medium" ride or just that ONE sprint to the top of the hill.

[67-59]

OK, I'm not debating the benefits if you're a professional cyclist. I guess my question was, given an hour of time, when your legs are tired from a few days of harder riding, is more cycling the best use of that time?

"Best" use? I guess it depends. If you like being on your bike more than you like going the gym, yoga, TV or whatever, then an easy spin is definitely better. But if you prefer the others, then that's probably the "best" use of your time.

[earlfoss]

These days when I need time off, I take time off of the bike to recover. If I'm feeling really torqued from a block of hard training, I'm dealing with inflammation in my muscles and cell damage that has to have time to repair itself. This is also the time when the body makes the physiological adaptations to the training you have been doing. I have noticed that since I skipped the <1hr recovery rides and just take the day off instead I am fresher for when the workout cycles begin and I see my power numbers continue to improve but that's just my experience.