Loss of fitness

1_reaper

Hi all
I have not been out on the bike now for a week due to ill health. Am i likely to have lost much fitness over a week? Over the worse of it now. So should i start of nice and gently or just carry on where i left off? Thanks

JGS

I'd do a test ride to see if you've cleared the worst of it. Something medium paced and steady without any severe hills or sprints in. If you feel fine doing it and your average pace seems correct for the effort you put in then you're probably over it and can carry on. However you should ensure you are fully recovered before you try jumping straight back into your full effort training as hard training weakens the bodies defences and means that any latent illness still hanging around has a chance to kick in again.

daveydave43

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... good-20115

but more long term, but it does say that things like the cardiovascular system will be first to decline, as well as muscle glycogen levels
you may even find as you get back on the bike you're full of energy... happens to me when i take a couple of days off.
i'd guess the illness you had would be more potentially debilitating to your bicycle fitness than a week off, so, as above, keep it easy to ensure it doesnt return

Pokerface

I've just come back to race today after a week off. It was tough and I definitely had lost some of my jump - but not as bad as I thought it would be.

1_reaper

Thanks for the advice. Shall take a run out on one of my flat routes and that should give me a good gauge of fitness to see where i am fitness wise

1_reaper

Well went out this morning on my 25 mile route with a couple of short sharp hills. I was two minutes down on my usual time for that particular route. There was one hell of a head wind on the return leg of my route which put me down to a 16.4 average. so fairly happy with that. so can't have lost that much fitness

danny4xboy

The effects of revesability is something that has also worried me and having recently fractured my collar bone, this subject is on the fore front of my mind.
From my experiance and the experiances of other, 1 week isnt enough time to see a decrease in fitness, yes you may find that you loose some zip out of your legs but this would be down to ther physiologial factors, not a loss of fitness.

You will begin to see a decline in fitness after 2-3 weeks of inactivity such as decreased Threshold, V02 max and glycogen capacity. Most people, myself included, find that an enforced week of rest usually does more good than anything as i do tend neglect recovery in favour of hard training, you may find the same.

One other point is that the longer you have been training, the longer it takes for de training to efect your basic fitness attributes. So if you have a good training history then it will take weeks for ones basic endurance to see a significat decline. Either way, dont worry about 1 week as physically it wont leave a mark on you, its just the mental bit that most people struggle with.

Good luck and hope you are back to full health soon
Dan

1_reaper

Thanks for the info Dan. All makes sense . Agree with the psychology bit. Think after a few more rides i will mentally have more faith in myself as my average ride times get back to normal

StillGoing

A colleague works by the rule of one week away from your discipline, four weeks to regain the lost ground. DOn't know how true or accurate it is.

1_reaper

Don't know about that as yesterday i managed to my amazement to knock two minutes off best time for my 25 mile route. Got it down to 1hr-20min's (I'm no racing snake). to be fair it was ideal conditions. Nice and warm and next to no wind So that enforced week off could of been what i needed. Guess peoples body's work in different ways :?

Garry H

philthy3 wrote:

A colleague works by the rule of one week away from your discipline, four weeks to regain the lost ground. DOn't know how true or accurate it is.

Doesn't sound right to me. As the above poster says, I often find that a week off once in a while does more good. Anything more than 2 weeks though and I definitely feel a drop in performance.