The effect of prolonged rest on power output

ollie51

Long story short:

-Did a CP20 test mid September as I started training again.
-Trained for 6ish weeks, saw a nice gradual increase in ATL and the numbers I was hitting in 2x20s.
-Did 11 days of no exercise to all intents and purposes
-Did a CP20 test - came out c 15% lower than last time.

few things to consider
-I had a long flight the day prior
- Was very tired
- Asthma was pretty bad
- TSB was positive but not hugely ( I tend to work best at a low negative)
- ATL was pretty low
- CTL was a fair bit higher than when I did the test mid september

So, did I really lose that much power due to the prolonged rest (I think not), was it down to other factors (Hopefully so) or down to a combination of both (probably so)? It's just a bit worrying since a positive TSB should mean the ability to produce good numbers, and a overall increase in CTL should too mean an increase, to my understanding.

Worth further mention is that I felt pretty weak in both rides I did this weekend.

danowat

You still had a positive TSB after 11 days rest?

jgsi

Any chance of seeing that PM chart?

bigpikle

2 HUGE issues for me would be :

1. after a long flight I'm good for nothing - I ride like I havent been on a bike for a year!

2. before a max effort test I always do MUCH better if I've had a little intensity in the day before. Going cold is always a recipe for a poor result

Then there are all the other factors you list. Ignore it, do 2 weeks solid training and then re-test and I bet you're back to exactly where you left off.

ollie51

JGSI wrote:

Any chance of seeing that PM chart?

DM'ed you.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Pithy Power Proverb: Form = fitness + freshness - A. Coggan

While you'll see threshold improvements in 6 weeks, it isn't nearly long enough to expect to have built CTL to a level to sustain you through a break with a length equivalent to >25% of the duration you had trained for.

Then layer ontop the acute confounding factors, and you had a bad day as well.

But what you will likely find is you can come back to previous level faster than 6 weeks.

ollie51

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

Pithy Power Proverb: Form = fitness + freshness - A. Coggan

While you'll see threshold improvements in 6 weeks, it isn't nearly long enough to expect to have built CTL to a level to sustain you through a break with a length equivalent to >25% of the duration you had trained for.

Then layer ontop the acute confounding factors, and you had a bad day as well.

But what you will likely find is you can come back to previous level faster than 6 weeks.

So removing the 'acute' factors, ie the variable ones, typically what sort of decrease of power would you expect to see?

dw300

Ollie, were you expecting to see a reduction in performance when you rode after the time off?

ollie51

Yup, was expecting less, c. 5% but no more than 10% though, let alone 15%. Why, do you think I set myself up psychologically to fail?

dw300

Well it might have something to do with it. Especially if you had thoughts about how long you'd been off the bike for several of those days leading up to it.

But added to the list of non-ideal factors, it's just backing up the idea that they all contributed to having an unusually 'off' day .. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless a pattern starts to develop.

For me 4-6 weeks is getting towards the point where I'd be looking for a 'rest' week. I'd definitely be on the downswing after that long, especially if the training was pretty intense, or ramping up in intensity to that point. I try to gradually build up the amount that I'm over-reaching, then reset, and build up again for 4-6 weeks .. I couldn't just rest and expect to immediately be back at my peak.

Alex_Simmons/RST

ollie51 wrote:

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

Pithy Power Proverb: Form = fitness + freshness - A. Coggan

While you'll see threshold improvements in 6 weeks, it isn't nearly long enough to expect to have built CTL to a level to sustain you through a break with a length equivalent to >25% of the duration you had trained for.

Then layer ontop the acute confounding factors, and you had a bad day as well.

But what you will likely find is you can come back to previous level faster than 6 weeks.

So removing the 'acute' factors, ie the variable ones, typically what sort of decrease of power would you expect to see?

All you can can is that it will be between nothing and what you experienced.

I wouldn't attempt nor prescribe such a thing immediately after a break. I would allow a few days, if not a week, of riding before testing again.