How much time off of the bike will cause a serious loss in fitness?

Strumpetto

Hey guys,

Recently I haven't been riding much at all. Mostly because I am bored. I am on my university cycling team, but none of them ride mtb, and I don't have a road bike. So, I really can't ride with them. So, I'm pretty much only riding 2-3 times a week from my usualy 5-6 days a week.

I fear losing my fitness, because I feel that I am pretty strong. Prior to this I didn't ride for four years while I was in college, and getting fit again was absolute hell for me. I didn't put on much weight, but it was still terribly difficult to get fairly fast. So much pain. If I stop riding now, I fear that I will be starting all over again in the spring. Will this be the case, or will I have some jump start compared to when I didn't ride for four years?

So, my question is this. I realize that even taking a few days off effects your ftp. But generally, how many times a week will I have to ride to stay fairly fit so that I don't have to start all over again next spring?

Thanks for your time!

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3rensho

Aerobic fitness doesn't drop of until after about 1 week of inactivity and then declines at about 10% per week. so if you are mentally burnt out, take a few days and get back on the bike when you want to.

JTE83

I workout in the fat burning zone, and in the peak of my season my workouts avg 18 to 19 mph. If I go 2 to 3 months no biking / no trainer for winter then at the start of my season I'm a 14.5 mph avg workout biker! The speed avg dramatically goes up after 200 miles of training so for me why bother training in winter when I can get decent speed after 200 to 500 miles in my season!