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Recovery Rides
Why? What? And How?
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#2
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Recovery Rides
Simonb wrote:
Why? What? And How? Um, taking a stab at this one.. Why: it helps the body recover from a hard ride (or two) faster than not cycling at all. What: a very easy ride, slow, no hills, short duration (but of course, how easy/slow etc varies depending on how fit you are and just how hard you've been pushing it) How: by not riding outside, I find, but just gently spinning along on my turbo - I just *can't* ride slow or gently enough when I'm out on the roads, or for a short enough time :-) -- Velvet |
#3
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Recovery Rides
Simonb wrote:
Why? What? And How? Quite. Don't these people ride to work? Apathetic bloody planet... Guy -- May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk |
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Recovery Rides
Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
Simonb wrote: Why? What? And How? Quite. Don't these people ride to work? Apathetic bloody planet... Guy Feh ;-) I *couldn't* ride to work, unfortunatley! -- Velvet |
#5
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Recovery Rides
Guy:
Quite. Don't these people ride to work? Apathetic bloody planet... Yes, OK then, I'll start riding my bike up the spiral staircase to my office in the loft. Actually, come October I'm starting a six-month temporary contract which means commuting to London. It's a bit far to ride all the way there and back every day - about 70 miles (I'd happily do it but I just wouldn't have time) - but I shall be eschewing public transport and riding between mainline station and workplace. I also intend to ride to the next station down the line in the morning, rather than my home station, and/or get off one or two stops early on the way home. It should add up to about 20 miles a day, and I'm very much looking forward to it. To answer Simonb's question: it's a ride at very low intensity for a short duration. It helps you recover after an arduous training session/race quicker than just passive resting - by using your muscles, even lightly, you'll get the blood flowing to them. In terms of training zones (if you use a heart rate monitor), a recovery ride will be off the bottom of the scale. d. |
#6
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Recovery Rides
James Hodson wrote:
On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 10:55:22 GMT, Velvet wrote: How: by not riding outside, I find, but just gently spinning along on my turbo - I just *can't* ride slow or gently enough when I'm out on the roads, or for a short enough time :-) Hi Velvet I rarely ride hard enough to warrant any sort of recovery but when I do I force myself to remain in low gear. At other times, when I'm actually try to do some work, I usually end up riding in on of those lower gears anyway. It's called lack of fitness, I believe. :-( James You might be surprised :-) I'm following a vague (ok, not that vague) plan at the moment for training for the London to Camby bike ride this sunday. While a lot of it feels very hard (given most of it is done on a turbo trainer), much of that is actually no harder than what I do when out cycling - but without the distraction of fields/trees/tarmac to look at etc, it's a lot more noticeable. I definitely feel it though - whereas I used to ride that hard maybe once a fortnight, doing it 3-4 days of the week to that same (or close to) intensity has been taking a toll and I definitely see a downhill starting if I don't then take it easy occasionally (as said plan prescribes) on a 'recovery' ride. No, none of it is training like you'd be doing for a good performance in a TT etc, but it seems that for proper performance cyclists they spend a lot more time than I have working on just the basic stuff - whereas I don't ride at all in the winters LOL - so they are a lot further along into the pushing it REALLY hard stage than I am. I just can't resist ramping up the gears and speed when I'm out on a nice stretch of road. My bike's so nice to whoosh along on fast, I just can't help it for the grin factor :-) Hills see me back in bottom gear pretty much at the limit of my capabilities - hardly a recovery ride - and there's no way of avoiding hills from anywhere starting at my front door, hence doing much of it on the turbo ;-) Keep at it, it really does improve, and I've seen VAST improvements in a much shorter time since a) doing a long ride every fortnight and every week if I can, b) getting stuck into cycling 4-5 days a week on top of that, c) using those additional 4-5 days to work on both strength and cadence improvement as well as just time in saddle work. I think I started cycling again this year around the end of april, and did a 10 mile and a 25 mile-ish, but didn't really do much till I had a car again (bizarre but true) at the end of may, at which point the fortnightly rides started. I think it was mid-june that I decided I was really going to do the Lon2camby ride and started on a structured training plan for it, took a week, week and a half to actually get into the habit of getting on the bike nearly every day, but now it's habit it's easy to stick to. I used to manage about 10-11mph on the flattish stretches (not average over the whole ride) when I first started in apr. That rose to managing about 12mph on the flattish stuff (again, not average over the ride) once I'd done a one of the sunday afternoon rides with the local CTC club - they ride MUCH faster than me, but were slow to help me stay with them, but it meant I was pushing myself a lot harder/faster than I'd normally manage to. Couple more of those and I was up to 14-15mph, and having to be told to slow the pace so I had stuff left to cope with the hills on a 45-miler ;-) Sunday just gone, we spent quite a bit of the time on the flatter bits doing 16-17mph - really quite amazing. Hills are still slow, painful, long, and often involve walking. But the improvements on the flat - WOW! I'm relishing pushing much bigger gears in my middle chainring - if I can keep this improvement up, I may yet find a use for the big ring on the flat! And I was convinced I'd never manage more than about 11mph on the bike unless a downhill was involved... little did I know what even this overweight unfit body was capable of with a little work! -- Velvet |
#7
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Recovery Rides
On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 10:55:22 GMT, Velvet
wrote: How: by not riding outside, I find, but just gently spinning along on my turbo - I just *can't* ride slow or gently enough when I'm out on the roads, or for a short enough time :-) Hi Velvet I rarely ride hard enough to warrant any sort of recovery but when I do I force myself to remain in low gear. At other times, when I'm actually try to do some work, I usually end up riding in on of those lower gears anyway. It's called lack of fitness, I believe. :-( James |
#8
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Recovery Rides
James Hodson wrote:
On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 11:02:08 GMT, Velvet wrote: You might be surprised :-) [SNIP] I wouldn't be that surprised, Velvet. Sadly, as far as cycling fitness goes - or any other form of fitness, come to think of it - your're preaching to the converted but since lapsed - a cycling agnostic, I guess. Like you (I think), I regularly used to ride somewhere between ten and 30+ miles several times each week, and I felt a darn sight better for it. In those days a ride of 70-100 miles, ridden reasonably slowly, wasn't too much of a problem. I appreciate that weight isn't the be all and end all of fitness but at that time I weighed between 11.25 and 11.75 stones. I am now over a stone heavier. And, Velvet, I can assure it ain't all muscle! I tend to do things to extremes whether it be fitness kicks or gluttony. FWIW, I bought a new stem this morning. Although I cannot tell for sure that a reduction in reach of 20mm will make a difference I can say that my bike feels more comfortable, which is nice. (I re-trashed my back some time ago and my road bike's stem felt too long. So, here's wishing myself good luck.) I did do a pleasant 30 miler across the south downs yesterday and the only damage I did was to my head. Lack of hair etc.... A helmet might have etc .... James Yeah... but you're not as bad as me... my weight should be around 8 and a half stone (both for my height and my build). I currently weigh somewhere in the same range as you used to weigh, and precious little of it is muscle! I'm looking at a lot of weight that needs losing, that I'm currently hefting up hills, in comparison to a bloke the same weight, but taller, and with more muscle mass than me, even at the same fitness level... I changed my bars and stem several times in the quest to get a better fit. Much nicer now. 2cm is quite a bit in my books - I think I reduced mine by a couple of inches, maybe more, but in stages, and each time there was a noticeable difference in feel and handling. g surely with a helmet you'd just have been running the risk of a peculiar tan pattern? ;-) -- Velvet |
#9
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Recovery Rides
Velvet:
I definitely feel it though - whereas I used to ride that hard maybe once a fortnight, doing it 3-4 days of the week to that same (or close to) intensity has been taking a toll and I definitely see a downhill starting if I don't then take it easy occasionally (as said plan prescribes) on a 'recovery' ride. You also need to vary your training over longer periods, eg have a few weeks of intense training 3-4 days a week as you are doing, but then have a whole week of low-intensity rides. It's also a good idea to reduce the intensity of your rides in the week before the event you're training for so that you aren't too tired when the big day comes. No, none of it is training like you'd be doing for a good performance in a TT etc, but it seems that for proper performance cyclists they spend a lot more time than I have working on just the basic stuff You shouldn't think of training as just hard, intense riding such as racing cyclists do. Any training regime will be adapted to the individual's goal - if your goal is, eg, to ride a 100 mile randonnee in 8 hours, your training obviously won't be as intense or spread over as long a period as a pro training for the TdF, but your schedule might follow a similar basic shape, with periods of Preparation (gradually building up time spent in the saddle), Recovery and Overload (high intensity training to build up strength and stamina). Even what you call working on the 'basic stuff' needs to be approached sensibly so you don't wear yourself out with too much 'Overload' training. - whereas I don't ride at all in the winters LOL - so they are a lot further along into the pushing it REALLY hard stage than I am. Except for Jan Ullrich, who spends his winters eating pies and vegging out in front of the telly. d. |
#10
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Recovery Rides
On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 11:02:08 GMT, Velvet
wrote: You might be surprised :-) [SNIP] I wouldn't be that surprised, Velvet. Sadly, as far as cycling fitness goes - or any other form of fitness, come to think of it - your're preaching to the converted but since lapsed - a cycling agnostic, I guess. Like you (I think), I regularly used to ride somewhere between ten and 30+ miles several times each week, and I felt a darn sight better for it. In those days a ride of 70-100 miles, ridden reasonably slowly, wasn't too much of a problem. I appreciate that weight isn't the be all and end all of fitness but at that time I weighed between 11.25 and 11.75 stones. I am now over a stone heavier. And, Velvet, I can assure it ain't all muscle! I tend to do things to extremes whether it be fitness kicks or gluttony. FWIW, I bought a new stem this morning. Although I cannot tell for sure that a reduction in reach of 20mm will make a difference I can say that my bike feels more comfortable, which is nice. (I re-trashed my back some time ago and my road bike's stem felt too long. So, here's wishing myself good luck.) I did do a pleasant 30 miler across the south downs yesterday and the only damage I did was to my head. Lack of hair etc.... A helmet might have etc .... James |
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