I recently started using a PowerTap and find that when I try to keep my recovery ride days at the recommended wattage (less than 55% of threshold power per Coggan), it really feels like I'm not doing anything. Is that the point? If that's the point, then why not just take the day off? Thoughts?

I recently started using a PowerTap and find that when I try to keep my recovery ride days at the recommended wattage (less than 55% of threshold power per Coggan), it really feels like I'm not doing anything. Is that the point? If that's the point, then why not just take the day off? Thoughts?

the point of a recovery day is essnetially to not do anythimg. you dont want to stress your legs really. you want to spin them out, loosen them up, clear any lactic acid, tightness, etc from them after a hard workout (which you dont get by sitting on the couch) but at the same time you dont want to stress them, the goal is to have the legs recovered the next day, so why stress them alot?

there is a time and palce for both days off and recovery rides. someone smarter than i can explain that.

You're really just trying to speed recovery, as compared with doing nothing. Getting the legs moving and increasing circulation will hopefully speed up muscle repair.

But if you were short on training time, these would be the first rides off the schedule, IMO. If you have the time, you should do them.

Some people prefer to take the day entirely off which works for them. Agree with SilasCL also about limited time - these get the boot first. Personally I wake up at 5:00 am during the week to ride so I sure as hell don't do that on my recovery days. I'll take the extra sleep.

You're really just trying to speed recovery, as compared with doing nothing. Getting the legs moving and increasing circulation will hopefully speed up muscle repair.

But if you were short on training time, these would be the first rides off the schedule, IMO. If you have the time, you should do them.

Thanks. I'm wondering if there is any scientific evidence that supports this or if it is just conventional wisdom.

i'll echo the other responses. my (limited) understanding is that light exercise increases blood flow, which aides (speeds) recovery. like the others though, my recovery rides are the first to go. in reality, i rarely get to do a recovery ride. rather, i make sure to have a nice walk with the gf or run around with the kiddo...

Thanks. I'm wondering if there is any scientific evidence that supports this or if it is just conventional wisdom.

no, but anecdotal......you do a recovery ride of sorts the day before you race (well most people do anyways)....30min-1hr easy, a few spinups to help clear the legs/loosen them so they feel better the next day for the race. you do this vs. taking the day off since most of us feel our legs feel better the next day if we do our pre-race easy day. generally, we are recovering from anywhere from a day to a week of harder efforts preceeding the race (sometimes even just normal riding) and want to make sure the legs are fully recovered and ready to go for race day.....

Thanks. I'm wondering if there is any scientific evidence that supports this or if it is just conventional wisdom.
Can't point to any, but it's more than conventional wisdom. This is a pretty common suggestion in serious coaching manuals...Friel for one.

One of the biggest changes that has helped me this year has been to take my recovery days actually OFF. On the couch. Legs up.

Last year I would do a "recovery ride" of 30-60 minutes, but it would too often turn into 75-90 minutes at a "moderate" pace, and ruin the whole point of recovery.

So, at this point last year I was riding perhaps 12-15 hours / week, but 2 or 3 of those were "recovery rides." This year I am doing 18-22 hours but it feels like I'm riding twice as much because I'm really focusing on eliminating "garbage time" rides. I think it helps a lot.

If you CAN make yourself do a little 30-minute spin where you use less than 100 watts the whole time, and you have the time, and it's not cold and rainy where you are, I'm not gonna say DON'T, but, I don't think you need to do 'em.

If you find yourself crampy on your day off, or 'closed' the next workout day, then perhaps active recovery is needed.

Be strict on time and power, all Z1 stuff. It is better than laying around. If you are getting knocked out by recovery rides, you are doing something wrong.

Thanks. I'm wondering if there is any scientific evidence that supports this or if it is just conventional wisdom.

Yes, there have probably been hundreds of studies done. Type "active recovery" in google.

Yes, there have probably been hundreds of studies done. Type "active recovery" in google.

I try to keep an eye out for studies which would address an issue like this and I don't recall seeing anything, which doesn't mean it's not been done.

BTW, "active recovery" might not be the best term to search as when I've seen it used it refers to the period in between "sprints" or the hard efforts during "intervals". IOW, active recovery means recovering in between efforts by continueing to exercise at a low power output as opposed to just completely resting (no power output) between efforts.

Last year I would do a "recovery ride" of 30-60 minutes, but it would too often turn into 75-90 minutes at a "moderate" pace, and ruin the whole point of recovery.



What is the saying? Most people ride too hard on easy rides, and not hard enough on hard rides. Yeah, that's the saying. Going slow enough is tough, especially if someone tempting passes you. It is even harder if you are a ultra competative type person used to "pushing" yourself with the "no pain no gain" mentality. But given Lync has a power meter, and feels like he is going too slow, he is probably going at a good pace for recovering.

Still, and this cannot be said enough, while rules of thumb and scientific studies are good, everyone's body is different and everyone recovers/progresses at a different rate and in different ways.

I try to keep an eye out for studies which would address an issue like this and I don't recall seeing anything, which doesn't mean it's not been done.

BTW, "active recovery" might not be the best term to search as when I've seen it used it refers to the period in between "sprints" or the hard efforts during "intervals". IOW, active recovery means recovering in between efforts by continueing to exercise at a low power output as opposed to just completely resting (no power output) between efforts.


http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/activerecovery.htm

Here is a short article. Not a lot of info, but references a few studies that talk about active recovery. They define it in two ways, between efforts, and by the rest days following. They should come up with separate definitions to make it more clear.

Here is another with some references to some studies.
http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine03/activerecovery.htm

I find that it is sometimes best that I do recovery rides on the trainer. I've got the powermeter hooked up and it is easier to just pedal softly and listen to some music. Also, if I start the recovery ride and realize that I just don't have the energy to do the workout, I can stop immediately and and make it a rest day instead.

Yeah, I totally agree that in the best of worlds it might be a good thing for me / most people, but I have learned that I can't trust myself to go easy enough, reliably enough, to make it a productive idea to suit up to recover...

Now, I just go for a walk or something.

i've been told that one of the worst things for your legs is stasis. your legs are expecting to spin and it's more of a shock to them when they don't. therefore a recovery ride generally prevails. the guys i ride with call them real estate rides. they just look at the scenery and landscape and comment on what they usually miss.
i fall into the same boat....i find myself riding much too hard on a day where i should take it easy.

Yeah, I totally agree that in the best of worlds it might be a good thing for me / most people, but I have learned that I can't trust myself to go easy enough, reliably enough, to make it a productive idea to suit up to recover...

Just put it in a 42x21 and don't shift the entire ride. I don't think you can go too hard with that gearing.

hah, I suppose I could do that. That would be 39x23 for those of us who aren't old. ;)

One of the biggest changes that has helped me this year has been to take my recovery days actually OFF. On the couch. Legs up.

Last year I would do a "recovery ride" of 30-60 minutes, but it would too often turn into 75-90 minutes at a "moderate" pace, and ruin the whole point of recovery.

So, at this point last year I was riding perhaps 12-15 hours / week, but 2 or 3 of those were "recovery rides." This year I am doing 18-22 hours but it feels like I'm riding twice as much because I'm really focusing on eliminating "garbage time" rides. I think it helps a lot.

If you CAN make yourself do a little 30-minute spin where you use less than 100 watts the whole time, and you have the time, and it's not cold and rainy where you are, I'm not gonna say DON'T, but, I don't think you need to do 'em.

Argentius has it right in the first sentence. The best recovery to make GAINS is to take a day completely off. Off the bike and off the legs. The only problem is that life and work usually gets in the way unless one is full-time bikes or at least part-time working stiff. For me, I take days off of the bike, but I hardly call them recovery. They are usually just busy work days where I don't ride.

I agree 100% on the concept of going too hard on recovery rides. Especially novice riders, as they are usually just so keen that they have to push it a bit every ride. It can also be ruined by insecurity and ego. For example, a recovery ride with another rider or a group is not recovery because it is inevitable that someone will push the pace out of true recovery intensity. If a day is truly supposed to be recovery, it takes some major discipline not to ride just that little bit too hard to impede recovery.

I advocate recovery using rollers. There is little resistance, even in smaller drum versions one can ride 39x19 and not really have to use any strength. Plus, the sheer boredom guarantees that the ride will be 30-45 minutes which is all it likely needs to be.

I advocate recovery using rollers. There is little resistance, even in smaller drum versions one can ride 39x19 and not really have to use any strength. Plus, the sheer boredom guarantees that the ride will be 30-45 minutes which is all it likely needs to be.


For both of the reasons mentioned above, plus also a big mental rest for me, gets me off the road for a day, a little mental break...I also try to put my feet up on my desk at work as much as I can :)

2fat

Club Ride Mentality,

I have been mtb cycling for many years and recently have switched to road riding. I have been road riding for the past three years. What I have noticed is that riding the AA club rides always turn into a hard competition. No time for recovery rides. What I try to do is take days off. I guess a slow recovery ride on your own couldn’t hurt if you can do it.

On the positive end club rides have pushed my abilities but I feel rest is just as important.

hah, I suppose I could do that. That would be 39x23 for those of us who aren't old. ;)

Or for those of you that can't do math! :p

2:1, so 39x20 or 19. I don't think anyone would have the willpower to keep it in a 39x23 on the flats.

Hah, oh, okay. I just thought you meant the easiest gear you had... do you actually run a 42-tooth small ring?

Er, that was the "old school" gearing, right?

do you actually run a 42-tooth small ring?

No, I run a 42 middle ring. I am old, have bad knees, and climb like a slug. Actually, to be accurate, I climb like a slug in the mountains. Once in a blue moon we get to real mountains, and I need the granny to survive. Thus is the life of a flatlander clyde.

Argentius: This year I am doing 18-22 hours ...

How do you do as much as 22 hours per week without recovery rides.

My normal week has Monday's scheduled off. However, the last couple of weeks I have started my intervals and this week I did 2 hrs of intervals Tuesday and 1 hr of intervals on Wednesday. This morning I was planning a day of mostly Tempo with some sprints worked in. However, I really had problems getting my HR up to where it needed to be and my legs kind of felt heavy. So, my question is should I reschedule my recovery day for mid week or so, or should I just avoid doing intervals two days in a row. This was the first week I've tried it. So today ended up being more of a HARD recovery ride and I'm not sure really how beneficial it really was. But it was nothing compared to the last two days. Tomorrow is usually my easy day and I'm hoping to get around 1.5 hrs - 2 hrs tomorrow. Could I split the time and do an hour hard and an hour easy to make up for today? Any advice would be great.

*foreheadsmack* Oh yeah, right, they do make bikes with more than two chainrings.

A friend recently DID have old school stuff on his bike, I was wondering why he was suffering up this 12% section, but 42 / 21 really was his easiest gear...

Um, do you mean how time-wise, or how does it not suck to not have recovery rides on higher mileage?

During higher-volume base weeks when I did 20+ hours, it was usually 5 hours both Saturday and Sunday, off monday, 4 hours tuesday, 2-3 hours wednesday, 5-6 hours thursday, and friday off.

For me the "block" schedule just works. Now that it's racing time the volume has tapered off a bit, because the early-season races only last 3 hours or so. More intervals, less long slow stuff...

Thanks Argentius, that answers my question. Those are some mighty long rides, very impressive.

Bakstreet, did you just say 2 hours of intervals? I try to do 5-6 sets of 3 min hard, 3 min recovery and I am ready to pass out. If you do this stuff for 2 hours, your hard sections may not be hard enough.

If your races are 3-4 hours long, you'd better be prepared to do 3-4 hours of intervals. Not steady, but something like this (look at Van den Bosch's book)
30 minutes warmup
30 minutes sprints
1 hour hills
1.5 hour motorpacing for 'souplesse'.