Recovery rides, do you do them?
- Thread starter wyllisx2
- Start date
wyllisx2 said:
Absolutely! You have discovered one of the secrets to cycling and to improving your performance. Those recovery rides will do more for your progress than day-after-day agony. It seems like everyone has to learn this the hard way. After all, we have been taught the no-pain no-gain method. But an occasional (at least once per week) nice easy ride is the real secret to success in this sport.
I have 2-3 days off per week, 1 recovery ride then 1-2 days off completly. since i got a coach this is the way it's been and i have improved my performance.my coach said a day or 2 off is better then recovery spin in some cases, simply because your not doing the excersise that caused need for recovery in the 1st place. somtimes a walk and extra sleep may work better.
Easier easy days and harder hard days worked hugely for me this season - from Joe Friel's book. As he and many others say it's not the exercise that makes you stronger, it's the rest and recovery afterwards. I also enjoyed my training much more than before because I had more variety and got less bored.
I've gotta admit that I think I recover better if I have a day off, but maybe I'm doing it all wrong. 
I struggle to keep my heart rate under 60%. It hurts your bum, too; when you apply less pressure to the pedals, it seems as though there's more pressure on the crotch.
I struggle to keep my heart rate under 60%. It hurts your bum, too; when you apply less pressure to the pedals, it seems as though there's more pressure on the crotch.
Well I went out today. The recovery ride was Monady & I took Tuesday off due to extreme time constraints. I have to say that without question today was the best training ride I ever had. It was incredible how much better I rode & felt during the ride.
Plus my legs feel great now too. Perhaps I didn't push hard enough today but it sure felt like I did. I was able to keep my bpm on the high side for much longer periods. My average cadence went 5 rpm's too. It was great.
Plus my legs feel great now too. Perhaps I didn't push hard enough today but it sure felt like I did. I was able to keep my bpm on the high side for much longer periods. My average cadence went 5 rpm's too. It was great.
This time of the year the ground is dry and it makes for great mountain biking. I try to get at least two days of mountain biking per week. I'm older(56) so I just cannot do three hard rides per week anymore. If I get one or two really good rides in a week, I'm happy to just noodle around on my mountain bike.
I didn't go to school or work this summer so I did some recovery rides. Man, they helped a lot.
However, I have a hard time motivating myself to go out for such a short and easy ride and end up taking the day off the bike instead. It's unfortunate that recovery rides are a waste of time since I have so much other stuff to do during the school year... Maybe when I turn pro (not) I can devote my time to doing recovery rides when necessary.
However, I have a hard time motivating myself to go out for such a short and easy ride and end up taking the day off the bike instead. It's unfortunate that recovery rides are a waste of time since I have so much other stuff to do during the school year... Maybe when I turn pro
(not) I can devote my time to doing recovery rides when necessary.
