What happened to hard/easy training?

[Floyd Dakil]

Lance is apparently getting stronger by riding in the giro. But I thought the body can benefit from hard training only if followed by a recovery day or two. If you constantly tear down, you never rebuild. Or so the theory goes.

Are the laws of endurance training suspended during a professional race? Or do the pros have different recovery mechanisms than us mortals? How can Lance be getting more fit?

[Avispa]

Dear Floyd,

I am not certain if your question is of innocent nature or just plain silly...
But, regardless, have you heard any news lately about a product called CERA?

..A..

[johnnymossville]

sitting in the pack is recovering for some guys.

[benb]

All the rules of training are changed if you're on drugs.

Not on drugs = Ride hard, then ride easy/rest to recover and get stronger

On Drugs = Ride Hard all the time, don't rest, just keep getting stronger

Same thing with the retarded weight lifting recommendations in fitness magazines.. the guy giving you the recommendations is juiced to the gills, if you follow his advice you will be overtrained in no time.

[false_Aest]

The first two weeks I worked a construction job I fell asleep at lunch and passed out at 8pm every night. For a 19 year old kid, just out of HS, the load was really hard. After a while, the load became normal.

Drugs or not, I'm thinking that these guys do something like the Giro to "normalize" the type of load they'll be carrying during the TdF (or whatever race).

I can only imagine that they have enough help (cynics can use the term "help" however they wish) post stage and post race to get them to the next stage or race.

----

Oooh, I also remember reading about a study where a cycling team (Festina IIRC) was split in 2. One group extended their hard training to 18 days in a row, the other kept doing "normal" training (let's say 6 days on 1 day off). When the results were quantified group 1 had "significant*" gains over group 2. But who knows how that study would work if you did it with a larger group.

*What significant means, I dunno. I guess it could be 2% or 10%.
----

But I can only speculate about this stuff.

[zap]

Lance is in the ramping up part of the cycle.

[djg]

Dear Floyd,

I am not certain if your question is of innocent nature or just plain silly...
But, regardless, have you heard any news lately about a product called CERA?

..A..

Honestly . . . I don't know what he may or may not be taking, but do you really think it could be CERA? He knows that they are looking for indicators; he knows that riders were surprised to find out last year that they could be nailed for CERA by testing; and he knows that he was tested numerous times in the spring and will be throughout the summer, supposing he keeps riding. And whatever else he is, he is systematic and careful. I don't find it plausible that he's touched the stuff.

[johnnymossville]

Even if he did in the past, I think there's just about a zero chance Lance is taking anything right now. It would completely destroy his own reputation and the Livestrong brand. He has FAR more to lose than to gain by taking CERA or anything else at this point.

[peanutgallery]

Even if he did in the past, I think there's just about a zero chance Lance is taking anything right now. It would completely destroy his own reputation and the Livestrong brand. He has FAR more to lose than to gain by taking CERA or anything else at this point.

Resisting - the - urge - to - say - something