Is this called de-training?



sogood

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Aug 24, 2006
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Just got back from an O/S trip and have not cycled for two weeks. This morning took the bike out on my local training route and it turned out to be so much harder than before. Felt tired and omitted the bulk of those short hill repeats and turned home. Total distance was just 1/2 of usual.

Is this the result of so called "de-training"? Is it normal to have to work your way back up the intensity and volume after a short break? Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow morning.
 
sogood said:
Just got back from an O/S trip and have not cycled for two weeks. This morning took the bike out on my local training route and it turned out to be so much harder than before. Felt tired and omitted the bulk of those short hill repeats and turned home. Total distance was just 1/2 of usual.

Is this the result of so called "de-training"? Is it normal to have to work your way back up the intensity and volume after a short break? Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow morning.
Two weeks is enough to result in some detraining, but probably not too much especially if you were healthy during your travels. More likely you're probably experiencing what a lot of folks refer to as being "blocked up". It happens when you take more than a couple of days off and jump back on the bike. It's the main reason I never take the day before a race off and plan my rests two or even three days out with some work the day before.

Get out and ride and maybe substitute some easier sessions like SST/Tempo instead of pure L4 or shorter than usual L5 efforts and you should bounce back pretty fast. You might have lost some adaptations in two weeks of rest, but probably not nearly as much as it feels like right now.

-Dave
 
Thanks again Dave for your valuable insight.

The trip was uneventful from a health point of view but there were too much good food with few exercises in between. Well, sounds like I'll just have to work my way back. :)
 
daveryanwyoming said:
It's the main reason I never take the day before a race off and plan my rests two or even three days out with some work the day before.


-Dave
Interesting that Dave. With my 100 mile ride on Sunday, what would you recommend I do tomorrow? Or does it matter if I workout today and have tomorrow off? (either would be in the gym on the trainer.)

Tyson
 
Sillyoldtwit said:
Interesting that Dave. With my 100 mile ride on Sunday, what would you recommend I do tomorrow? Or does it matter if I workout today and have tomorrow off? (either would be in the gym on the trainer.)

Tyson
I have to scratch my head for a minute to figure out the whole international date line thing. Is tomorrow Friday for you? If it is and your ride is on Sunday I'd take tomorrow off and then get out(or in if you're going to work on the trainer) on Saturday for about an hour. Most of that hour should be pretty easy (think very very soft rose petals) but you should include perhaps 5 minutes at your estimated FTP and then cruise for a bit more before doing a real hard minute, cruise a bit more and then do another minute that hurts. Cool down and you're done. It isn't intended to build fitness, so don't sweat the overall easy nature of this ride. It's purpose is to wake up your muscles and get them ready for Sunday without tiring yourself out in the process. Realistically you can't add much if anything to your fitness the day before an event so don't try, it'll just cost you on Sunday.

If tomorrow is Saturday on your side of the globe then I'd still get out but I'd make it a bit easier with maybe one short FTP effort and one hard minute. I had that very situation last week. I rode a normal T-W-Th training block expecting to just ride over the weekend. At the last minute I opted for a race on Saturday and hadn't rested Thursday as I would normally have done. I still did a wake up/shake out ride on Friday but limited it to one hour with just a couple of short efforts and a single sprint. I had a pretty good race on Saturday and my legs felt good, but I do have to wonder what I would have felt like if I'd rested Thursday.......

For the length of your ride I'd also be sure to eat well including some complex carbs today through Saturday night and have a good breakfast but one that doesn't leave you bloated on Sunday morning. Make sure you stay well hydrated for the next couple of days as well. In the last couple of days before an event it's really too late to do much besides making sure you start with your muscles well fueled, well rested, well hydrated and woken up and ready for action.

I know you balked a while back on all the TSS/CTL/ATL stuff, but that's where you can really see the peaking process and how you can figure out what your body needs to get ready for an event like this. I think of CTL and low body weight as investments sort of like your fitness saving account. You build both of them in the months prior to your key events and then you spend a bit of each in the final days before your ride. I tend to lose a few CTL points and often gain a half pound to pound before an event but at least I know I'm rested and my muscles are well fueled and well hydrated as I line up for the ride.

Have a great ride on Sunday and don't forget to feed yourself all day if you want to be strong at the end. Hope to hear the Sly report on Monday......

-Dave
 
daveryanwyoming said:
I have to scratch my head for a minute to figure out the whole international date line thing. Is tomorrow Friday for you? If it is and your ride is on Sunday I'd take tomorrow off and then get out(or in if you're going to work on the trainer) on Saturday for about an hour. Most of that hour should be pretty easy (think very very soft rose petals) but you should include perhaps 5 minutes at your estimated FTP and then cruise for a bit more before doing a real hard minute, cruise a bit more and then do another minute that hurts. Cool down and you're done. It isn't intended to build fitness, so don't sweat the overall easy nature of this ride. It's purpose is to wake up your muscles and get them ready for Sunday without tiring yourself out in the process. Realistically you can't add much if anything to your fitness the day before an event so don't try, it'll just cost you on Sunday.

If tomorrow is Saturday on your side of the globe then I'd still get out but I'd make it a bit easier with maybe one short FTP effort and one hard minute. I had that very situation last week. I rode a normal T-W-Th training block expecting to just ride over the weekend. At the last minute I opted for a race on Saturday and hadn't rested Thursday as I would normally have done. I still did a wake up/shake out ride on Friday but limited it to one hour with just a couple of short efforts and a single sprint. I had a pretty good race on Saturday and my legs felt good, but I do have to wonder what I would have felt like if I'd rested Thursday.......

For the length of your ride I'd also be sure to eat well including some complex carbs today through Saturday night and have a good breakfast but one that doesn't leave you bloated on Sunday morning. Make sure you stay well hydrated for the next couple of days as well. In the last couple of days before an event it's really too late to do much besides making sure you start with your muscles well fueled, well rested, well hydrated and woken up and ready for action.

I know you balked a while back on all the TSS/CTL/ATL stuff, but that's where you can really see the peaking process and how you can figure out what your body needs to get ready for an event like this. I think of CTL and low body weight as investments sort of like your fitness saving account. You build both of them in the months prior to your key events and then you spend a bit of each in the final days before your ride. I tend to lose a few CTL points and often gain a half pound to pound before an event but at least I know I'm rested and my muscles are well fueled and well hydrated as I line up for the ride.

Have a great ride on Sunday and don't forget to feed yourself all day if you want to be strong at the end. Hope to hear the Sly report on Monday......

-Dave
Geez Dave, that's a very comprehensive answer. Thanks for taking the time out to write it. I'm sure others out there will also take note and benefit from your advice.

FYI it's Friday 2pm here in Japan. As I feel somewhat sluggish today, I'm going to take your advice and do a final workout tomorrow.(Sat) I think 170 Watts would be very,very,very soft rose petals for me. So I shall do about 40 mins at 170W interspersed with your other suggestions. If I fail on Sunday, I'll be back to you.:D TYSON
 

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