All cyclists need to rest, but there are many who do not know clearly how much and how, depending on our objectives. Rest is important for progress and for the organism to assimilate the stress to which it is subjected in training, generating the necessary adaptations to be able to withstand a new load.
However, doubts arise when it comes to how much rest is adequate and where to place it within the training plan.
The body after the hard workouts to which it is subjected needs to rebuild, when we talk about rebuilding we are talking about the muscle fibers that are broken during training, as well as the replenishment of glycogen and carbohydrates to our muscles.
During this process a phenomenon known as super compensation occurs during which the body not only recovers but also produces various adaptations: increased muscle fibers, increased blood volume, more mitochondria in the cells, etc … that help you not only to withstand an effort like the previous one but anticipates a greater effort, ie, there is an improvement in physical fitness.
The correct scheduling of training loads and recoveries is the essence of the training that allows us to be in better and better shape.
As is often the case with everything related to training, there is no general answer as to when we should rest. There are many factors that influence how much rest is necessary. It all depends on the level of the cyclist, the age, the type of training done or the time of the season we are in.
As a general rule, the lower our level and the older our age, the more rest time we will need to establish within our plan, although a more or less standard figure would be two days a week.
Normally, the Monday after the weekend, where we usually ride a lot more or where the competitions take place, and Friday, precisely to arrive as fresh as possible to the weekend appointments. In addition, the mesocycles in which the training sessions are structured are traditionally structured in periods of 4 weeks or microcycles. 3 of them are usually of increasing load, either in intensity, volume or both, and 1 microcycle of recovery.
Before continuing, we should mention that, when we talk about rest, this can be total, i.e., not touching the bike or doing other activities; or active, which means going for a gentle ride or dedicating that day to alternative physical work such as stretching sessions, postural work, etc.
Again, this is usually linked to the level of the cyclist. The higher the level, the more difficult it is to find days of total rest, but these days are usually occupied by a short ride at low intensity or a visit to the gym.
Also, the more demanding the training, the more time is needed to recover and achieve the desired overcompensation. This is precisely where the coach’s hand comes in and it is what determines how we progress in our form.
If for example we have done one day very high intensity series, the next day we will most likely have to do a very soft recovery session, if not a total rest. But, if that quality work has been at medium intensity, for example, some tempo sessions, the next day it is very likely that we will not rest, but we will have to do a session of background, or even long series.
The combinations are endless and, as we say, it depends on the part of the season in which we find ourselves and the guidelines of our coach.
Fortunately, watts and the different current methodologies have been offering new tools to the trainer to know when to apply breaks and what type of breaks. For example, among the metrics offered by the different power training softwares we find data such as ATL, CTL or TSB that are reflected in a graph with which we can assess the evolution of the level of fitness and the state of “freshness” of the cyclist depending on the loads applied. In view of this data, the coach can decide when it is necessary to rest or when loads can continue to be applied.
On rest days, to maximize the effects of rest, it is advisable to place special emphasis on aspects such as nutrition and hydration so that the body is able to rebuild itself better in the time available without loads.
Details such as prioritizing protein intake over carbohydrates, but without neglecting these to arrive with loaded glycogen stores, can make us arrive much fresher and rested to the next training session which ultimately translates into better feelings and greater ability to achieve the goal we have programmed and thus follow the planned progression.
Sometimes our body asks us for that unplanned respite in the form of a rest day through different signals:
If you go out to train and you feel heavy, slow and you can’t complete the session, it’s a clear sign. Listen to your body, if you’re training six or seven days a week and that happens to you, you’re probably overtraining and need to rest.
Although power is the benchmark in training, heart rate is still a useful tool to know how the body responds to and assimilates training. If we seek to increase the intensity of power and we see that the heart rate does not rise, it may be a sign that we are not recovered from the previous session or we may even be incubating an illness.
In these cases it is advisable not to force and to rest. In recent times, cyclocomputers are also capable of measuring cardiac variability, which gives a measure of how recovered the body is and that these devices usually show us on the screen after checking this data during the first minutes of each workout. If the cyclocomputer detects in its heart rate measurement that we are fatigued, it is preferable to pay attention to the reward.
Besides, recovery involves not only the physical aspect but also the mental one. If we feel saturated with cycling, something that often happens because of the work and personal demands of everyday life and the difficulty that many find to fit training into daily life, it is preferable not to force the situation and attend to these other obligations. At the end of the day, none of us live off cycling no matter how much we like to be in the best shape and perform in competitions, marches or, simply, rides with the groupie.
Source: Sergio P. at www.brujulabike.com