detraining?

[leanman]

not sure if detraining is the correct word, but what i would like to hear comments on, is when i hear the commentators in stage races say on the off day, the riders still ride cause not only will you feel better, but your body is use to the 5-6-7 days racing, it dosent want to start going in a detraining mode..so the pros ride on their off day.. i totally understand riding ez and a few shorts sprints on the rest day, to keep the blood flowing. not doing too much, to rest but still ride ez. whats with this detraining talk. you take one day off riding and your body starts to go into detraining mode???? if thats the case, a older guy like me that rides religiously 6 days a week, and takes off every friday, am i detraining? am i detraining if for some wierd reason, i have to miss an extra day in the middle of the week, because of family?? i was told and read that masters my age need more recovery time than the younger guy, so you need to take a few days off in a weeks time.that means training 5, or 6 days. isnt that detraining then? how many days in a row do you have to miss to be actually detraining? thanks

 

[bgoetz]

I think you have to think of it in perspective, those guys are training 2x more than even most Cat 1/2 guys going into a grand tour, so a ride on a day off is still basically a day off. This is especially true for the GC guys heading into a big mountain stage, they have basically been sitting in for the past few days saving everything for a few key stages. I would say in a lot of instances they may need to actually open up for the upcoming mountain stage.

 

[vspa]

recovering would be the word and yes you can recover riding,

 

[leanman]

so with me being an older cat 2 racer, missing 1 or 2 days a week isnt bad then??

i take off every friday..... once or twice a year, i'll miss 2 times a week.

how many days in a row do you need to miss before your body starts the detraining mode?

thanks all

 

[vspa]

anything longer than 2 to 3 weeks off means losing your condition, days off are good, even completely away from training once or twice a week, but that is not an obligation, if you feel like riding then ride

 

[bgoetz]

I think it really depends on your physiology. Being that you are an older Cat 2 I would guess you have a pretty good handle on what it takes to perform. Dave really preaches consistent training, I think in part because he recognizes that unlike pros we are time constrained, so the only thing we really have is consistency. I myself do 6 day weeks with Mondays always being a day off, that day off helps me catch up on life and recover. Even during rest weeks I still do 6 days except a lighter load of both intensity and volume. I think I could do an extra day or even two off during my rest weeks, but it is important for my schedule to train. Now this is talking about the overall plan, of course there will likely be days that I planed to train and just can't. In these instances I keep right with my plan like it never happened and do not try to make it up, I have been there and making it up typically comes at a cost somewhere else. I don't think a few missed days will effect anything with regards to the overall plan. I race with some older 1s who raced professionally for some time who still dominate the regional pro/1/2 field. No doubt that there is some natural talent at hand, but the rumors I hear of just how little they train to do what they do makes me want to cry.

 

[bgoetz]

It really is a balancing act of what you can do physically and mentally (both in volume and intensity) and still maintain the drive to perform. Completing the best plan in the world won't mean anything if you are so mentally drained you don't have the drive to push through when it counts. I think sometimes a scrapped workout does more mentally than the gains ever could. For me personally this is especially true and important when I am racing a lot, the stress of just the added traveling and forgotten "real world" responsibilities can be a big drain. For this reason I find it best to have blocks with no races, where I can focus on training and rebuild.

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by leanman .

the commentators in stage races say on the off day, the riders still ride cause not only will you feel better, but your body is use to the 5-6-7 days racing, it dosent want to start going in a detraining mode..so the pros ride on their off day.

If you were a pro, you might regard most race days as easy training days. Most pros would regard your hard training days as easy days.

If you are only a Cat2, you will never notice taking a day or two a week off.

 

[vspa]

I race with some older 1s who raced professionally for some time who still dominate the regional pro/1/2 field. No doubt that there is some natural talent at hand, but the rumors I hear of just how little they train to do what they do makes me want to cry.

this guy in my area never really lost his condition after retiring, so he requires only a few days of training only to win every weekend event, so it is not how little he trains, he has kept his older self going and alive,