Recovery

Azhar

Hey!

I've been commuting to work for several weeks now (32 mile round trip) and im always suffering by the time i;ve got home that it still affects me the next day. which is when i drive in to work. before getting home on my bike i slow down a little to "cool down" and do the usual stretches once i'm in the house, have a hot hot shower and then just relax all evening. i'm making sure i'm eating healthy during the day and when i get back, but still i feel shattered the next day that i am unable to cycle and have to drive in to work and this has happened for 3 weeks now.

i have noticed that i am getting fitter, i can ride that little bit faster, getting real good at the hills i tackle but still the recovery period is letting me down. i ride in to work on a monday, wednesday, friday. but really hoping to get to the point where i can ride monday, tuesday, thurs and fri (wednesday as my rest day obv).

am i doing anything wrong or is my body still trying to get used to the lenght of my commute? any tips on speeding up the recovery?

jds_1981

Try eating well before cycling. Perhaps cycling a little slower - use a hrm? Then accept it'll take you a while to fully acclimatise. 32 miles is a very respectable commute distance.

Dan_Giant

Id be interested in this as my commute when i start it will be roughly the same length. Although it will only be every other week, as i work nights every other and don't fancy riding home at 2am.

Not sure if its relevant, but how long have you been riding? What distances were you doing before commute? How fit were you before starting, and how old are you as i'd imagine that would have an impact on your recovery times.

Have you looked into supplements?

Azhar

Dan_Giant wrote:

Id be interested in this as my commute when i start it will be roughly the same length. Although it will only be every other week, as i work nights every other and don't fancy riding home at 2am.

Not sure if its relevant, but how long have you been riding? What distances were you doing before commute? How fit were you before starting, and how old are you as i'd imagine that would have an impact on your recovery times.

Have you looked into supplements?

Hey Dan. I've been riding seriously for 2 months now. before that it was every other month to go tescos on a nice day, which is only about a mile down the road. so i was really unfit. i'm 16 stone and doing any amount of running would kill my knees so the good old GP recommended cycling. i'm 26. i did the 16 miles to my work place a few times on the weekend to try and get a feel of it before i just plucked up the courage and did it. since then i've really enjoyed it apart from just feeling so lathargic, tired, and sleepy when i get back from work.

daveyroids

Firstly I would like to comment that I think it is great how many new cyclists are now on this and other forums and I think your doing good for riding the distance that you are 3 times a week.

If you have only commuted for a few weeks I'm not surprised that you are finding it hard to recover. I don't know what your cycling / sports background is but you are traveling quite a distance every day and that is going to take some time to get used to. I would say to help you on your way is to ride smart. You have suggested that you are quicker up the hills which is good, but commuting, even 3 times a week takes consistent effort. To help you recover after your rides drink a glass of skimmed milk, keep your fluid intake up during the day and especially when you are cycling. The most important thing to remember is that your commute is not a race. Lay off on the hills and take your time instead of going faster. Good technique on hills is to put your bike in a manageable gear and keeping a good cadence and form. Train your aerobic base over the next couple of months. Read the comments in this link including mine. viewtopic.php?f=40052&t=12859956 My idea is to take your time and train your aerobic base. This includes cycling at a lower intensity which may result in you feeling less fatigued and a faster recovery. Train your base properly and you will be bomb proof as a cyclist.

dennisn

I noticed that the title of your topic was recovery. I also noticed that you never, except for the last word, mentioned it again. You tell us all about your riding yet never say a word about resting. How much sleep are you getting? And don't say enough because obviously you're not getting enough. You cannot simply ride, ride, ride, and not rest, rest, rest. It doesn't work that way. A very wise man once said that you must rest harder than you train. Learning how to do this is where most cyclist's come to an abrupt halt in their progress.

DaveL

daveyroids wrote:

Firstly I would like to comment that I think it is great how many new cyclists are now on this and other forums and I think your doing good for riding the distance that you are 3 times a week.

If you have only commuted for a few weeks I'm not surprised that you are finding it hard to recover. I don't know what your cycling / sports background is but you are traveling quite a distance every day and that is going to take some time to get used to. I would say to help you on your way is to ride smart. You have suggested that you are quicker up the hills which is good, but commuting, even 3 times a week takes consistent effort. To help you recover after your rides drink a glass of skimmed milk, keep your fluid intake up during the day and especially when you are cycling. The most important thing to remember is that your commute is not a race. Lay off on the hills and take your time instead of going faster. Good technique on hills is to put your bike in a manageable gear and keeping a good cadence and form. Train your aerobic base over the next couple of months. Read the comments in this link including mine. viewtopic.php?f=40052&t=12859956 My idea is to take your time and train your aerobic base. This includes cycling at a lower intensity which may result in you feeling less fatigued and a faster recovery. Train your base properly and you will be bomb proof as a cyclist.

Try putting Nesquik chocolate in the skimmed milk, immediately after each ride, I've been using it for about a month now, and it's made a big difference (might all be in my head, but seems to work for me).

Also as said above, taking it easy also improves fitness

Dave

Azhar

dennisn wrote:

I noticed that the title of your topic was recovery. I also noticed that you never, except for the last word, mentioned it again. You tell us all about your riding yet never say a word about resting. How much sleep are you getting? And don't say enough because obviously you're not getting enough. You cannot simply ride, ride, ride, and not rest, rest, rest. It doesn't work that way. A very wise man once said that you must rest harder than you train. Learning how to do this is where most cyclist's come to an abrupt halt in their progress.

well, once i've chilled out with my family in the evening i usually get about 7 hours. maybe 6 and a half hours sleep, which i think should be ok. enough time to recuperate but again jst too shattered to get back on the bike again.

rozzer32

Azhar wrote:

dennisn wrote:

I noticed that the title of your topic was recovery. I also noticed that you never, except for the last word, mentioned it again. You tell us all about your riding yet never say a word about resting. How much sleep are you getting? And don't say enough because obviously you're not getting enough. You cannot simply ride, ride, ride, and not rest, rest, rest. It doesn't work that way. A very wise man once said that you must rest harder than you train. Learning how to do this is where most cyclist's come to an abrupt halt in their progress.

well, once i've chilled out with my family in the evening i usually get about 7 hours. maybe 6 and a half hours sleep, which i think should be ok. enough time to recuperate but again jst too shattered to get back on the bike again.

You could deffo do with more sleep. I try and get about 8-10 hours a night. My coach says the more sleep the better really. Are you doing any other training on your bike or just your commute? Like has been said your body can't ride day in day out. And rest is more important than training as that is when your body adapts to changes.

Azhar

rozzer32 wrote:

Azhar wrote:

dennisn wrote:

I noticed that the title of your topic was recovery. I also noticed that you never, except for the last word, mentioned it again. You tell us all about your riding yet never say a word about resting. How much sleep are you getting? And don't say enough because obviously you're not getting enough. You cannot simply ride, ride, ride, and not rest, rest, rest. It doesn't work that way. A very wise man once said that you must rest harder than you train. Learning how to do this is where most cyclist's come to an abrupt halt in their progress.

well, once i've chilled out with my family in the evening i usually get about 7 hours. maybe 6 and a half hours sleep, which i think should be ok. enough time to recuperate but again jst too shattered to get back on the bike again.

You could deffo do with more sleep. I try and get about 8-10 hours a night. My coach says the more sleep the better really. Are you doing any other training on your bike or just your commute? Like has been said your body can't ride day in day out. And rest is more important than training as that is when your body adapts to changes.

The only training i'm doing really is just the commute. i dont really have the energy once i;ve come back from work on my biek to be doing any other form of training. i'm jst always thinking what i could do speed up recovery. my brother has given me some of his protein shake powder so i might try that when i get back home tomrorw and see how i feel. i'm hoping this will work.

daveyroids

DaveL wrote:

daveyroids wrote:

Firstly I would like to comment that I think it is great how many new cyclists are now on this and other forums and I think your doing good for riding the distance that you are 3 times a week.

If you have only commuted for a few weeks I'm not surprised that you are finding it hard to recover. I don't know what your cycling / sports background is but you are traveling quite a distance every day and that is going to take some time to get used to. I would say to help you on your way is to ride smart. You have suggested that you are quicker up the hills which is good, but commuting, even 3 times a week takes consistent effort. To help you recover after your rides drink a glass of skimmed milk, keep your fluid intake up during the day and especially when you are cycling. The most important thing to remember is that your commute is not a race. Lay off on the hills and take your time instead of going faster. Good technique on hills is to put your bike in a manageable gear and keeping a good cadence and form. Train your aerobic base over the next couple of months. Read the comments in this link including mine. viewtopic.php?f=40052&t=12859956 My idea is to take your time and train your aerobic base. This includes cycling at a lower intensity which may result in you feeling less fatigued and a faster recovery. Train your base properly and you will be bomb proof as a cyclist.

Try putting Nesquik chocolate in the skimmed milk, immediately after each ride, I've been using it for about a month now, and it's made a big difference (might all be in my head, but seems to work for me).

Also as said above, taking it easy also improves fitness

Dave

Ah! chocolate milk.

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... ter-12108/

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... ink-25698/

Flexisurfer

I do a 30 mile round commute and started that last May I am lighter than you and was running as well. It will get easier in time I promise, I now do a 15 mile ride in, no food before hand because that means getting up earlier meaning less sleep, I then to a 25 mile ride home usual stretches after and a meal that helps me recover ie steak and veggies or pasta.

During the day my food intake consists of a banana, apple, chicken or ham salad bagel, yoghurt and a small alpen cereal bar. Then about an hour before I knock off I have one of those Kellogg's nutrigrain elevenzies bars, the oat ones are really good. Water intake, I normally get through 2 cycling bottles of water during my working day then there's the bottle I have on my bike.

Don't be too hard on yourself you're doing well. On the days you don't ride do something like more stretches or pushups and sit ups. I work shifts, week of earlies week of lates, on the lates I don't normally bother riding but I'll run every other day and use free weights and do some more targeted stretching on the other days then treat myself to a longer ride at the weekend.

I don't think you should need to eat prior to the morning ride in.

finlayson99

IMHO I think you are doing brilliantly and should be proud of that.

The extra energy will come in due course when your bod catches up with you. Don't beat yourself up at the mo.

Keep it up and enjoy.

rick_chasey

It always hurts the day after if you've had a proper ride.

Doesn't always mean it's slower though...

NITR8s

Well done and keep it up.

Its just a matter of time, just keep at it and eventually you will suddenly think to yourself why did I struggle in the first place. I had a similar experience when I started doing a 14 mile round trip commute. When I first started I couldnt face doing two days back to back as I ached from the day before. Now I am used to doing much longer rides 50ish miles, that commute doesnt even phase me.

Azhar

thanks everyone for their words of praise. its nice and spurs me on. unlike my work colleagues who just laugh at me and tell me i'm mad all the time. nothing i can do aboiut that but just to put up with it but i suppose once i get a lot thinner they will see its benefiting me a lot.

this morning i had a pint of milk and bananas and did the stretches and felt alrite. however now that i'm back home, i've had something proper to eat, plenty of water but feel knackered. but i suppose i would after doing this http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1362238. not my usual route. only a slight detour. but it was killer. right now...i cant stop eating. just contstantly hungry.

samsbike

FWIW you are doing outstanding. I started in April, a similar distance to you and am struggling on 2 days a week and cant seem to get to 3 days a week.

alihisgreat

eat properly.

I'd recommend starting with a chocolate milkshake when you get home every day.

Muffintop

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

eat properly.

I'd recommend starting with a chocolate milkshake when you get home every day.

#

+1. Just even a pint of unflavoured milk - you're drinking it for the protein. You're hungry because your body is trying to metabolise your food in order to recover properly and you're either not eating enough, or you're not getting the balance right. Suppliments are good if you struggle to eat at all. I'd also possibly suggest something sweet before you leave in the morning too, to supply the energy on the race to work - if you're taking longer than half an hour/45mins to get there. Just has to be a couple of bites nothing major.

Mx