Rest week

Road Red

I'm training for the Etape and other longer sportives.

Currently doing four turbo sessions (two easy two hard) and two weekend rides. I'm working on doing a rest week every four weeks.

On a rest week should you reduce intensity or volume or both?

Down the Road

What's a rest week.

You're not training that hard - now if you were doing 450 miles a week than an easy couple of days a month are required.

Road Red

And the view from anyone who has a life other than on a bike?

ride_whenever

you're not training hard enough to require a rest week.

Are you perodising your training? If you are (ie ramping the intensity up and down over the cycle) then on your rest week just log the same amount of time at a lower intensity. As it is you're having at least one rest day a week, which should be sufficient.

The crew I'm coaching (rowing) for the national championships train twice a day 4 days a week then do two long sessions at the weekend, they're on a 6 week period but never have a rest week, just weeks that are less psychotic. They'll rest for a month after the nat champs but will still be out doing recreational sport almost daily.

boneyjoe

See how you feel. Seriously ramp it up in the final couple of weeks of the cycle. Then, in the rest week, definitely reduce the intensity, and if you are feeling pretty knackered (which you should be), reduce the volume too. Lots of facors will affect an individual's ability to consistently train hard and the recovery time needed between sessions (eg age, family/job comittments etc). Best to set a nice challenging schedule and then listen to your body, as everyone is different.