Rest or Ride?

Langman

Hi there

Loving cycling at the moment and my job gives my July and August to do as I please pretty much, so I ride a min of 2 hrs hard riding per day. I am making up for lost time since I haven't riden in about 15 years...

Anyway how often should I rest my legs they do feel pretty tired, but if I don;t ride I feel kind of guilty!!!!

Woodchip

Probably rest every third day (in my opinion). If you feel guilty throw in some core muscle excercises instead.

fossyant

You can have rest days - just pootle about or spin

Takis61

Ditto - can't often do that sort of time, so for me during weekdays I'm happy with a hard 45 minutes/hour when I can, 30 mins recovery ride next day after a hard session - long ride early Sunday mornings, 30-60 miles depending on what else is planned for the day.

DomPro

I end up simply losing fitness on rest days. Better off taking an easy week on the bike once every couple months.

geoff93

Basically you should aim to have a rest week for one week out of every four. So for every 3 weeks of hard training, have a rest week, where you're only cycling for half an hour a day,, keeping your heart rate below about 70 percent of your maximum. The half hour cycle gets your heart beating, and blood flowing, this accelerates the supply of nutrients being transported to your tired muscles.
At the end of the week, find your waking resting heart rate. Check every few days what your waking heart rate is, if it is above your normal baseline, this is a sign of overtraining, dedicate that day to another recovery ride. Always listen to your heart, and not your training regime.

Geoff.

fnegroni

For those like me who cyclo-commute every day, and do so to save money, and can't afford to 'rest', even on a rainy day like tomorrow, even if they can't sleep at night, even if their son will wake them up at crack of dawn, I recommend to spin one gear easier, or aim for a slightly lower average mpg.
And eat plenty of cereals on arrival in the office/home for recovery.