Tips for planning 'recovery' time?

[TBLS]

Looking at my '10 workout calendar....plenty of hard and moderate workouts, no significant 'recovery/active recovery' time spent absent a day off here and there. Time spent off the bike running, XC ski, etc but no true recovery.

Any tips, absent a coach, that you use to plan and actually enforce recovery time?

[HenryA]

Your questions begs the obvious.

Take one day off every week.
Read a book instead of going for a run that day.
And get plenty of sleep every night.

But you'll get better faster if you organize your training with build and rest cycles. Six weeks of gradually increasing load with a weekly day off then a week of much reduced load. Then start another six week build with a following week of reduced load.

Its called periodization:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_periodization

[Bob Loblaw]

I plan a short flat route and stop for a bite at a favorite deli or coffee shop. Makes for an excellent recovery ride.

BL

[tribuddha]

I also have 1 day off a week.. if can be "active recovery" stretching etc..
every 3 weeks I cut back 15% and have a week of recovery.. I add no more then 10% a week..
recovery is as important as build weeks and without them there is a risk of injury or plateau.. plan recovery it really helps..

[vpierce1]

If you're riding as hard as you should be on your hard days a recovery day shouldn't be too hard to "enforce." Also if you're racing on the weekends do openers the day before and a light spin the day after and bam, two recovery days that week.

Plan on at least one or two active recovery days per week depending on your schedule and also listen to your body. That should keep burnout at bay.

EDIT: After rereading the second post I believe six weeks is a very long block before a recovery week. I do four week blocks during base and build phases. Then once racing begins I cut back on the hours and up the intensity usually with two recovery days per week and plan easy weeks according to the race schedule.

Remember recovery is how you get stronger! Experiment! Don't stick to a plan if it isn't working for you.

[HenryA]

Lots of other things factor into how much to work and how much to rest. Age, overall life stress, time in training (i.e. did you start last year or 5 years ago), type of event are you training for (one century this summer or crits every weekend), natural ability to adapt to hard effort and more.

My mentioned six week blocks aren't for every person or situation nor are three week blocks. Some people need more rest to thrive, some can take a hammering and bounce back every time.

For sure, getting enough rest is key. You only get stronger and faster when you rest. Also, quality of work is important, not just quantity.

Riding hard by yourself is one thing but a race that has you barely hanging on the whole time is a much different level of "hard". Puking up chunks of lung hard. And racing every weekend for four or five months really defines what you can do the rest of the week. Doing three centuries and two triathlons a season would call for something entirely different in your training plan.

Absent a coach you might want to read one of the cycling training books for tips on how to plan your schedule.

[Ray]

I call it winter.

Lots and lots of walking. Yoga and weights a few times per week. :cool:

-Ray

[jlwdm]

Age and condition are big factors in setting up your plan. Not much information to advise but here are some ideas.

Need rest and recovery to get stronger.

If older (I am 63) probably three hard days a week is the limit. Ride hard on Tuesday, Thursday and a weekend day. For regular hour workers it is hard not to ride hard some on both weekend days. I am doing LBS rides on Sat and Sunday.

Easy way to try starting out is a recovery week every 4 weeks. As start season increase riding a little for 3 weeks, then back off for a week then increase a little more than the first cycle.

Vary your recovery days also.

Let your body tell you what is working. Since rest should make you stronger something is wrong if you are not feeling rested and stronger.

Jeff

[John H.]

Questions:
1.) How old are you? at 35-42 I could to about 5 reasonable days per week. 1 day off and one day super easy were enough. If I overdid it I could usually tough it through.
At 46 I find that I can only do 3-4 reasonable days per week. If I overdo it spanks me and puts me in a hole. FWIW I have been racing bikes for 20 years and involved in aerobic sports since I was a teenager.
2.) what phase of training is it for you? If it is true off-season cross training it is ok to mix it up and do a lot of other things. If you are trying to build bike fitness (doing specific power work). The running and other stuff quickly gets in the way.

[Ti Designs]

I plan a short flat route and stop for a bite at a favorite deli or coffee shop. Makes for an excellent recovery ride.

+1

Put together what I call the recovery route, a mostly flat ride on roads you don't use for training, and NEVER go fast on that route. Active rest is often the best recovery from hard efforts, but so few people know how to go slow enough. We're talking about a walking level of effort here. This probably also means it's a solo ride 'cause chances are someone in any group is going to want to go faster, and most of the others follow as a knee jerk reaction. One of my riders would do her own recovery at about 12 mph very early in the morning. She's a cat 1. I asked why she got up so early, she said she didn't want any of her sponsors to see her riding that slowly...

[GuyGadois]

I ride one of my steel bikes, leave the computer and ipod at home and look around at all the scerery I miss during the season. I also tell December Champions "I'm busy" :rolleyes:

Guy