Decreased Preformance



Daniel Lomartra

New Member
Jul 12, 2011
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I have been biking a lot recently, and lately every day i go to get back on my bike i notice that i can pedal less and less before my legs are on fire; whats the reason for this? I am hardly sore, but for some reason i can now barely pedal before my legs are on fire. Is this perhaps some strange build up of lactic acid? Thanks to anyone who responds.
 
It just happens, it sounds to me like you are not allowing your legs to recover. Since you are really just getting started a recovery is going to mean some time off of the bike (and off of the legs) or really, really, really easy pace rides. I go through this feeling on pretty much a weekly basis, the legs just feel dead at the end of my training block about 3 days out from a race. The difference is my fitness base is much higher than yours, so for me I take a day off of the bike, spin easy for an hour or two the next day, and am ready to race by the third day. I continue my training right after my racing, until I am back to that "3 day out period" when I do the above all over again. At a couple of points throughout the year, I end up in a "deeper hole" than the above routine can remedy and I have to take more drastic measures to get some "freshness" back in my legs, I try to time this to proceed key events so I end up at a different level of over all form (fitness+freshness). You will just have to figure out what works for you, but it will likely require more time off of the bike than I need.
 
Oh and make sure you are stretching, I am guilty of not doing this enough. A foam roller helps me out too.
 
Your leg soreness is due to muscle damage, not lactic acid. When you get back on your bike and feel the pain early, your body is telling you to back off and not continue to put more injury into your muscles. At that point, best thing to do is slow way down, use an easy gear and spin gently. After a few days, maybe up to a week if you've really put the hurt on yourself, your legs will recover.

Recovery is just as important as training load. You'll need good nutrition and lots of rest for optimum recovery. Not just days off the bike, but real rest with your legs up as well as lots of sleep. The TdF pro's maximize their recovery with a massage and nutrition at the end of the day's race, followed by as much rest and sleep as they can get.

In my opinion, to many self-coached cyclists train too hard, too often, thinking that "more is better". If you're relatively new to cycling, suggest you should restrict your harder rides to just once or twice a week, and only when you feel good enough to put in quality efforts. After many thousand of miles/hours on the bike, you'll be able to tolerate and progress on more hard training, but until then, learn to take it easy on your rides. You don't have to endure the pain of overtraining to make progress, and you'll enjoy the miles a lot more.

Real progress in cycling takes time. Despite popular training books like "Seven weeks to your Perfect Ride", there are no real "magic bullets" to overnight success. Enjoy your riding, and let progress come to you over months and seasons of riding.
 
I agree with dhk2.

I ride every day. Some days harder some easier. After a hard day, I am a bit sluggish, it hurts a bit to ride, but I have enough base and riding time to know what to do. Sometimes that means go slow and go home early.
 
What would you suggest as far as nutirition to maximize recovery (have yet to find exact macro ratios). Thank you for the post.
 
I am of the school that you eat what you like to eat and your body will adapt.

It is really hard to avoid vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes.
 
Originally Posted by Daniel Lomartra .

What would you suggest as far as nutirition to maximize recovery (have yet to find exact macro ratios). Thank you for the post.

carbohydrates and protein according to my personal dietician post ride