A question for any experienced coach's about days off?
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3,755 Posts
The longer you take without riding, the longer it will take to get "back to speed".
Riding at a slow pace is most effective for recovery & maitaining fitness.
You can take the whole week off if you like, but chances are you'll lose 2-3 days getting back on track afterwards.
Riding at a slow pace is most effective for recovery & maitaining fitness.
You can take the whole week off if you like, but chances are you'll lose 2-3 days getting back on track afterwards.
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1,985 Posts
it all depends on you as an athlete and how your body responds. nobody can help much without following your numbers for a while.
personally, i am trying to incorporate swimming into my training. my off days are now lap swimming instead of off. good cardio work, little stress on my legs, and it has the bonus that i can hop in the hot tub afterwards!
basically experiment and see what works for you.
personally, i am trying to incorporate swimming into my training. my off days are now lap swimming instead of off. good cardio work, little stress on my legs, and it has the bonus that i can hop in the hot tub afterwards!
basically experiment and see what works for you.
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2,659 Posts
1 or 2 days off is more standard. 3-4 seems like too much.
When looking at the Friel book, at 350 annual hours, R&R weeks will be 4 days of riding. Once you jump to 450 annual hours, then it's 5 days of riding. I believe most Expert racers train around and over 500 hours.
I've had a couple of coaches in the past give me either 5 or 6 days of riding on the R&R week. And it depends on the training cycle (3-1 vs. 2-1) and some of their personal philosphy. Depends on the training load of the build week. I think it also depended on Masters racer vs. non-Masters. It also depended on available time and doing the things off the bike that gave the capability to handle the load.
So the answer is........"it depends."
BTW, I'm not a coach. But I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. ;-).
When looking at the Friel book, at 350 annual hours, R&R weeks will be 4 days of riding. Once you jump to 450 annual hours, then it's 5 days of riding. I believe most Expert racers train around and over 500 hours.
I've had a couple of coaches in the past give me either 5 or 6 days of riding on the R&R week. And it depends on the training cycle (3-1 vs. 2-1) and some of their personal philosphy. Depends on the training load of the build week. I think it also depended on Masters racer vs. non-Masters. It also depended on available time and doing the things off the bike that gave the capability to handle the load.
So the answer is........"it depends."
BTW, I'm not a coach. But I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. ;-).
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1,226 Posts
Well it all depends... The purpose of a rest week or regeneration week is to dump fatigue from previous training and set you up for upcoming training.
I almost always start a rest week with 2 days completely off the bike, then a short day with a little intensity, active recovery or zone 2 (depending on how much truly need to rest) another off day and then head into the weekend.
You have to rest harder than you train in order for the body to adapt to the stresses you've placed upon it. Half-ass your rest weeks and you'll won't be fresh enough to really train your hardest when it is required.
I almost always start a rest week with 2 days completely off the bike, then a short day with a little intensity, active recovery or zone 2 (depending on how much truly need to rest) another off day and then head into the weekend.
You have to rest harder than you train in order for the body to adapt to the stresses you've placed upon it. Half-ass your rest weeks and you'll won't be fresh enough to really train your hardest when it is required.
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