weekly break

[leanman]

cant find too much info on this subject . trainings going great. been feeling good so i'm going 4-5 weeks on 1 week off instead of my usually 3 week on 1 week off plan i do year round.. i'm always in the dark on what to do during my recovery/down week. usually i will take off sunday, ride 30 minutes mon, off tuesday, 30 min wednesday off thursday and 30 minutes friday. then start up another 3 weeks..or more, depending how i feel..whats most of your down weeks like? workouts been going great.. intervals 2 times a week. long rides.. training is going great.. just wanna rest up a bit too. getting older so rest is important..thanks

 

[maxroadrash]

I don't take planned days off. You get too many off just due to life getting in the way. To paraphrase Kevin Metcalfe, "planned days off are the Devil's work."
You for sure don't need days off from 30 minute rides.

 

[RonSwanson]

I think planned time off is okay. Depends on the person's age and how often they cycle. Maybe you could try for more than 30 minute rides?

 

[danfoz]

Also how long you've been at it and the intensity of the ride can matter. 30-40 minutes at tempo pace (around 75-80% of maxHR) is quite different than a few 5 minute intervals at L5 (90%+ maxHR). After any significant time off the bike it takes a few weeks for my legs and glutes to get back in the swing of things.

When training 2 days off a week is enough for me (typically Mon and Fri), and don't really like doing any real intensity (L5/L6) more than twice a week. During the season, one of those days may be replaced with a race. Maybe I'll take a day off after a 3+ hour ride, but I typically err on the side of caution (aka laziness) and could probably easily do with a little more load.

A down week for me isn't a week off the bike, it's probably just a week of rides all shorter than 2 hours and no intervals or high intensity riding.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Originally Posted by maxroadrash
I don't take planned days off. You get too many off just due to life getting in the way. To paraphrase Kevin Metcalfe, "planned days off are the Devil's work."
You for sure don't need days off from 30 minute rides.

I saw that quote elsewhere and he went on to say that in his schedule he will at least do active recovery at a minimum rather than just take the day off. Which following Kevin on Strava seems like he is officially training 7 days a week and I rarely see an easy day. His SST rides are in the low 300 watt range. I think he says those are at ~85% of FTP.

I am not near his level with handling that much stress load, but I hope to get there some day. I also feel much better doing active recovery rather than just sitting on the couch. I will say that I do take Friday completely off the bike but for the sake of marriage more than anything else. Since I train 7 days a week (between lifting and cycling) I feel like it is good to just spend some time with my wife on one night sitting on the couch. I know it is important to her and she has mentioned that she appreciates me not getting on the bike every night during the work week. I certainly have it in me to train Friday evening and would if I were single.

Another pithy phrase that I like is, "Train more so you can train more."
RDO mentioned on a different thread that he works his way up to training 7 days a week for many weeks as well.

 

[maxroadrash]

Felt-
My previous post was a bit more "pithy" than it should or needed to be. I think winter has finally gotten to me a bit. The OP and I have exchanged PM's and I think it's been straightened out.
However, I will say that as I've aged I've found days off to be extremely debilitating in terms of my training. The day after (and sometimes 2) my legs are useless so in effect, it's as if I've taken 2-3 days off. The other point is that for most of us, when you start counting up the days you HAVE to take off because
of life issues, the last thing you need is to schedule even more time off.
Best,
Max

 

[Felt_Rider]

That's been my thought as well. Life throws in more obstacles and interferences to a point that I don't need to schedule time off. I am very time crunched in training as it is.

 

[leanman]

thanks for the replies. i'm gonna keep doing what i been doing all these years. when i have done a block of 3-4 weeks hard training, i will take off and rest up a day or two, with the remaining 5 days just 30- 45 minute rides..ez. legs feel a bit funny after a day off or after going 2 days with ez riding for 30 only minutes, but after the second day into another 3-4 week block, i'm so fresh, ready to go hard another month..personally, i dont peak this way, seems like i stay in very good shape almost year round this way.. come spring and summer, the racing 1 day a week, or super hard group ride 1 day a week will make me even fitter..always wondering what others do..cant go by the articles in the mags on the pros, as they take more drugs than the junkie on the corner..thanks