i got dropped

[fordguru]

why did my legs go weak without even so much as a slight burn? in the past for max speed i have a routine of sitting and standing to fight off the burn. i took 8 days off the bike after doing alot of miles the previous month. this is what happened first ride back. i am a newbie racer.

why did i not get a burn? legs just shut down

 

[daveryanwyoming]

why did my legs go weak without even so much as a slight burn? in the past for max speed i have a routine of sitting and standing to fight off the burn. i took 8 days off the bike after doing alot of miles the previous month. this is what happened first ride back. i am a newbie racer.

why did i not get a burn? legs just shut down

It's called 'blocked up legs' and is what happens to most folks, even very fit racers, after taking a big rest break. Your fitness hasn't evaporated, you just need to get out and open up your legs a bit with some moderate riding before getting back into a full training routine. Don't worry it happens to most of us after a break from training but you'll bounce back faster than you probably think.

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[Chapeau!]

8 days. Thats too long.

 

[fordguru]

ok thanks i was hoping it was something of this sort. getting back at it now

any more opinions?

 

[alienator]

ok thanks i was hoping it was something of this sort. getting back at it now

any more opinions?

Just follow daveryanwyoming's advice. Everyone needs a break now and again, and there's certainly nothing wrong with taking a break as long as you did. I mean taking a break isn't life threatening in any way, and it can recharge you mentally.

 

[tonyzackery]

It's called 'blocked up legs' and is what happens to most folks, even very fit racers, after taking a big rest break. Your fitness hasn't evaporated, you just need to get out and open up your legs a bit with some moderate riding before getting back into a full training routine. Don't worry it happens to most of us after a break from training but you'll bounce back faster than you probably think.

Good luck,
-Dave

Not taking a run at you Dave, but I've seen this term used several other times on this and other forums and I've always wondered from where the term originated and what actual physical condition is it meant to describe. Vascular and arterial circulation being what it is, what actually is "blocking" or being "blocked" in the legs?

For one thing, I've never taken more than a couple consecutive days off the bike but even after that short time I don't recall experiencing the sensations the OP felt after their return.

Regardless, sounds like something that a little longer than normal warm-up with a few short, hard efforts could eliminate pretty effectively...

 

[dhk2]

I usually get the leg-burn sensation on the first hard effort or hill climb of the day, even if I've been riding regularly. After that, the legs will feel fine (at least for a while). Don't know about the science here, but we used to consider a couple of "leg openers" part of the warmup for club crits years ago.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Not taking a run at you Dave...

Good thing, 'cause if I see an ex NFL linebacker taking a run at me I'm outta here...

.... I've always wondered from where the term originated and what actual physical condition is it meant to describe. Vascular and arterial circulation being what it is, what actually is "blocking" or being "blocked" in the legs? ...

I don't know the origins of the term and I've never seen any published studies or even a theory as to why it happens but it does seem to happen to a lot of us. I can take up to four, maybe five days away from training without problems but more than that and I usually feel terrible when I get back on the bike for the first couple of rides. I know I'm not alone in that and have had a number of friends and team mates share similar stories when returning from a family vacation or business travel.

Maybe a longer warmup would help, but for me I usually feel really slow and get fatigued easily on those days so more time on the bike isn't too appealing. A few days later I'm usually right back to normal training levels and normal power for sustained efforts.

I don't know the origins or whether there's good theories to explain it, I just know I feel it after substantial training breaks but have been through it enough times to know the fitness hasn't really disappeared and it's easy to get back on track with some patience.

-Dave

 

[Felt_Rider]

I was looking around at this subject the other day and came up on Ryan's discussion as well. Link

I used Dave's advice about this at the first of the year after returning from an illness. It seemed to work after having several weeks off the bike.

 

[tonyzackery]

Thanks for the info, gents.
Yeah, everybody's different.
On the 'leg opener' thing, I prefer to do mine during my warm-up an hour or so prior to the event. I'll do some short, hard efforts to get the typeII muscles primed and ready...
I've read studies that support lifting a heavy weight or some other intense activity just prior (mintues) to conducting a steady-state time trial. I don't recall seeing anything that studied the effects of 'leg openers' the day before the event - I'm not saying that they (leg openers) don't work as intended...different strokes, for different folks...