time off training

neeb
neeb Posts: 4,467
edited April 2008 in Training, fitness and health
What is the expected effect of taking 3-4 weeks off training on cycling fitness, and how long should it take to get back to one's previous level?

I've just returned from a trip abroad during which I did no cycling at all (although a little bit of walking / hiking). My average wattage on my favourite climb on the indoor trainer seems to have fallen by about 20W. I guess jetlag could also have something to do with it. :wink:

It would be a little depressing if all the benefits gained from months of effort disappeared as soon as you stopped training for a few weeks. But I'm guessing that much of the underlying conditioning is still there and that maybe it will just take a few sessions to get the muscles working again?

Comments

  • Mike Willcox
    Mike Willcox Posts: 1,770
    I've always used the theory that you lose your fitness at the same rate as you gain it when in full training.So if you have missed 4 weeks then that puts your fitness levels back to that of 8 weeks ago.

    If you missed one week then you've not lost too much at all. It's after more than 1 week then that 's when you start to notice it.
  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    b!gger, that puts me back into November then :cry:
    http://www.pontypoolrcc.co.uk/
    www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44397853765
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Might depend a bit on whether you've been off due to illness or just not cycling. if the latter you might find you 'catch up' a bit quicker than Mike suggests but take it gently at first so you don't totally overdo things!
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    I think it was a combination of not cycling and tiredness / jetlag. Maybe not such a good idea to hop on the trainer the morning after 10+13+3 hours of flying... :wink:
  • Ric_Stern/RST
    Ric_Stern/RST Posts: 267
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1096 ... d_RVDocSum

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1099 ... d_RVDocSum

    Ric
    Professional cycle coaching for cyclists of all levels
    www.cyclecoach.com
  • bahzob
    bahzob Posts: 2,195
    Mike Willcox wrote:
    I've always used the theory that you lose your fitness at the same rate as you gain it when in full training.So if you have missed 4 weeks then that puts your fitness levels back to that of 8 weeks ago.

    If you missed one week then you've not lost too much at all. It's after more than 1 week then that 's when you start to notice it.
    Ric_Stern/RST wrote:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10966148?ordinalpos=4&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1099 ... d_RVDocSum
    Ric

    Think the two views above come to similar conclusion?
    Martin S. Newbury RC
  • Jonathan15
    Jonathan15 Posts: 10
    well I have only been traing for just over a week after a 4 month lay off (cos my head went and I couldn't be bothered) after training 6 days a week throughout last year and the main thing to suffer is endurance . Other than that I'm not feeling too bad which I am very suprised at!
  • Jeff Jones
    Jeff Jones Posts: 1,865
    Four weeks... it depends on what level you were at before you took that time off. If you were in top condition, it might take two months to get back to that level, as Mike suggested. But if you were in average early season shape then it might be a lot quicker, especially as you weren't sick.

    I had a couple of one week to 10 day periods off last year, due to sickness/crashes. It took me about two weeks to come back from them. My end of season break lasted about 6 weeks, with bits of riding in between. I was rubbish in January and it took two months of solid work to get into some sort of racing condition.

    So the 2:1 rule of thumb applied in my case, but it was always from a high peak.

    See how you go and don't expect miracles in two weeks.
    Jeff Jones

    Product manager, Sports
  • Mike Willcox
    Mike Willcox Posts: 1,770
    Whatever. It is what it is.

    Knowing how much fitness you've lost can lead to panic and doing too much too soon. I've fallen into that trap myself where you are in denial. You've suffered a crash or illness and start a race that you've previously entered because you now feel sufficiently OK after say a 3/4 week lay off and all you do is turn in a lousy performance which hits morale.

    The sensible thing to do is to spend a couple of weeks re-developing your aerobic engine before you race and then enter a race only when you know you've got some form back.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    If you were in top condition, it might take two months to get back to that level, as Mike suggested. But if you were in average early season shape then it might be a lot quicker, especially as you weren't sick.
    Definitely the second case (I'm still quite new to proper training), and yes, I did improve quite quickly. Then at the weekend I felt a chesty virus coming on, which I'm only just getting over now... Not normally too prone to these sorts of things, but long-haul flights and changes in diurnal patterns really screw your immune system up I think. My resting heart rate is now pretty much where it was before I went away though (it was higher when I first got back) so I think I benefited overall from the stuff I did last week.

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