whats going on with me?!!! training going backwards...
clunkychunky
Posts: 178
so a few weeks ago i found a great time trial route. it was only 16miles, but had 2 major climbs in it, and totalled over 2000ft of climbing. the week before last (last week in june) i started it. i loved it and became fixated on it! i did it for 7 days straight and my times tumbled from 59.37mins on the first day to 56.14 a week later. I then decided to have a rest day and ever since my times have been going up! the first day after rest day i completed it in 57.01. i consoled myself that i was slower because i had had a rest day and my times would improve.
simple matter is they havent.
i seem to be hovering around the 58min mark now.
i push everywhere i can on the route but i just seem to be going backwards.
i have no idea what is going on! i havent changed my diet, warm up routine etc and the weather is just about the same, so its nowt to do with wind or warmth. the only thing was i had a rest day and it seems to have messed up my time :evil:
any ideas fellas??
i really want to beat my 56min time!
simple matter is they havent.
i seem to be hovering around the 58min mark now.
i push everywhere i can on the route but i just seem to be going backwards.
i have no idea what is going on! i havent changed my diet, warm up routine etc and the weather is just about the same, so its nowt to do with wind or warmth. the only thing was i had a rest day and it seems to have messed up my time :evil:
any ideas fellas??
i really want to beat my 56min time!
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Comments
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How do you know that your rest day has messed up your time? It may have still been the case that you got slower even without a rest day.
So, what may have been happening?
1) Each day you rode te course you got more experience of it so that your times dropped because subconsciously you knew when to press and when not to
2) You got a ltlle bit fitter over the time (althogh this would be marginal).
3) Coincidentally, other physiological factors (such as hydration status) were in your favour (you can't tell this without a proper test).
4) You go slower as you are now slowly becoming more fatigued
5) Weather conditions have changed but so subtly that you don't realise..0 -
It's probably a state of mind thing. You get annoyed and frustrated because you can't beat your lowest time. Perhaps you should relax and not get fixated about times etc and just enjoy the ride. You may find that you will beat your PB when you're not so stressed about doing it.Where would you be if you fell down a hole?.. Stuck down a hole... in the fog... Stuck down a hole, in the fog, at night... WITH AN OWL!0
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you need to mix your training up a bit. If you've only had 1 rest day, i'd say you might be over-training. You should be having at least 2 rest days a week to allow your body to recover, otherwise you will go backwards very quickly.
Fin=d a couple of other routes where you can work on sprints, intervals, fartlek, endurance etc. Maybe only do this route once a week and with all the other training, and rest days, you'll probably find your times coming down again. Don't try to rush it...0 -
Just an observation based on my own 18.5k lap (think that's about 11.5 miles):
After a week of pushing through small gaps in London traffic I get a bit brave,
then I find if I miss a day my handling & braking suffers as I'm more wary of traffic/lights.
Also I have noticed a tendency to take the first few kilometers a little more easy
as if mentally I'm saving 'legs' for the last bit.
I don't yet have a cycle computer, but would be interested to keep an eye on it.
Right now I use the Endomondo App, but I can only look at it when I get home!Welcome to Hoogerland, Population: Heroes.
Danny Hart; How does he sit down with balls that big?0 -
No tailwind0
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You clearly need to use this as an excuse for something shiney and probably overpriced, it's the only sensible option!
On the other hand I would agree that you have been over training and fatigued. You should allow more recovery time in the week.0 -
I'd definitely disagree with that. It all depends on how much training you're used to, and how hard you're working. You may need a couple of days a week (at absolute maximum I'd have thought), or it may be one day a week where you do an easy ride. Or where you only do one session... It's impossible to prescribe rest days for someone: go on how you feel. If you're knackered walking up the stairs, cycling 40 miles probably isn't a good idea. If you've been training for two weeks on the trot but still feel fine then keep going (and work a bit harder).OllyRidesFirst wrote:you need to mix your training up a bit. If you've only had 1 rest day, i'd say you might be over-training. You should be having at least 2 rest days a week to allow your body to recover, otherwise you will go backwards very quickly.
As for the change in time; outdoor cycling is so multi-factoral that comparing times week by week is only going to lead to madness. Subtle changes in the wind, temperature, traffic etc are all going to affect your speed.0 -
Training 'effect' typically takes 3-4 weeks, so you're simply not giving enough time for the benefits of training to kick-in, nor giving the chance for your body to recover. Consider your straining to be a series of steps rather than a straight-line.
If you don't mix your training, your body will become adapted to doing a 16 mile hilly route, but not much else. Look at your long term goals and work back from there.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0 -
Nerrep wrote:
If you've been training for two weeks on the trot but still feel fine then keep going (and work a bit harder).OllyRidesFirst wrote:you need to mix your training up a bit. If you've only had 1 rest day, i'd say you might be over-training. You should be having at least 2 rest days a week to allow your body to recover, otherwise you will go backwards very quickly.
Sorry, but that's the worst advice i've ever heard! No matter how good you feel, you ALWAYS need rest days otherwise your body doesn't have time to repair itself. Lesson 1 of any training program - don't overtrain!
Straight from t'internet:
Overtraining is a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual's exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes.
Improvements in strength and fitness occur only after the rest period following hard training.0 -
I'm not denying the existence of overtraining, but you can't say that everyone needs at least two days off a week! The more your train, the more accustomed to it you become, and the less time you need off. At the moment I find I start to feel tired after about six days of training -- sometimes more sometimes less -- so I take a day then. I have friends who compete in high level sport and from Sept-Jan this year had one day scheduled off in his training program (for Christmas day). There was still "rest" in the program, but in the form of an easy session, or by cutting out the morning session on a couple of days for a week.OllyRidesFirst wrote:Nerrep wrote:
If you've been training for two weeks on the trot but still feel fine then keep going (and work a bit harder).OllyRidesFirst wrote:you need to mix your training up a bit. If you've only had 1 rest day, i'd say you might be over-training. You should be having at least 2 rest days a week to allow your body to recover, otherwise you will go backwards very quickly.
Sorry, but that's the worst advice i've ever heard! No matter how good you feel, you ALWAYS need rest days otherwise your body doesn't have time to repair itself. Lesson 1 of any training program - don't overtrain!
Straight from t'internet:
Overtraining is a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual's exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes.
Improvements in strength and fitness occur only after the rest period following hard training.
If you're not feeling tired, you're not overtraining; and if you are overtraining, you'll definitely know about it.0 -
Nerrep wrote:
If you're not feeling tired, you're not overtraining; and if you are overtraining, you'll definitely know about it.OllyRidesFirst wrote:Nerrep wrote:
If you've been training for two weeks on the trot but still feel fine then keep going (and work a bit harder).OllyRidesFirst wrote:you need to mix your training up a bit. If you've only had 1 rest day, i'd say you might be over-training. You should be having at least 2 rest days a week to allow your body to recover, otherwise you will go backwards very quickly.
Sorry, but that's the worst advice i've ever heard! No matter how good you feel, you ALWAYS need rest days otherwise your body doesn't have time to repair itself. Lesson 1 of any training program - don't overtrain!
Straight from t'internet:
Overtraining is a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual's exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes.
Improvements in strength and fitness occur only after the rest period following hard training.
again, this is incorrect. Tiredness is just one symptom of overtraining.
And if your friend is a high level sport athlete and has only had 1 day off in 5 months then either his coach is a complete idiot, he is a complete idiot or he is lying to you. No coach in the world would allow an athlete to go 5 months with 1 day rest period....0 -
The days off actually also allowed for new year, so I admit I wasn't entirely correct. And as I've said before, there were rest periods: days where the training level was substantially reduced, but still present. The club is extremely successful at a high level.
I'm confident that if I tried to follow this program now, I'd be "overtrained" within a few days. But that's a reflection on my current state of fitness, and not one shared by everyone. As I've said twice now, I'm not denying that overtraining exists, just saying that it's absurd to make generalised statements on how much rest people need without any idea of the training load they're used to, their fitness, and how they're feeling.
Having overtrained in the past, I can absolutely assure you that you'll know about it if it's happening.0 -
thanks for all the replies and advice.
i think i might try and mix it up a bit. i was doing that before i found this route, but i will go back to doing it.
just still totally p****d off that since i had the rest day i just havent been able to get near my time. i mean im over a minute off, which on a 16mile course, albeit hilly, is massive!0 -
Could be any number of factors, and also could be you burned yourself out by riding too much and too hard within that week. You need proper rest days, and that could just be the case. After a day of rest your body just seems to have adapted a bit.
Keep giving it a go, but just realize training does not happen over night, and your time wont drop that fast.0
