The Importance of rest days
Strawberrymilk
Posts: 4
Hi all. I'm fairly new to road biking, and have been doing 13 miles a day for the last few weeks. It takes me about 45 minutes on mainly flat roads. I've been training in tae kwon do for 8 years and so already had relatively toned legs and am used to exercise. After the 13 miles I'm not out of breath and my legs aren't really that sore, however people who work out regularly are telling me to always take rest days throughout the week however I'm not sure I need to at the moment? I'm fairly ignorant about cycling so was wondering if I could get any opinions from more experienced cyclists? Should I do longer rides but less days of the week or something? How far should I be able to go in what time? If it helps I'm female, 18 years old, 5'9 and weigh 13 stone. I'm not bothered by the length of the ride as I enjoy exercise
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As part of a rigorous training regime, rest days allow recuperation and muscle recovery. If that's not what you're doing, just rest if you're tired - you don't need protein shakes if you do a few reps with the 1kg handweights a couple of times a week.
But train for the event you're trying to win - what are you trying to achieve?0 -
What are your trying to achieve?
Ride quicker? Longer?
Go out on a club ride in the fast group?
Do a 130 mile sportive?
From there you can start to plan stuff.
The need for rest days will then become more obvious.0 -
^+1: quicker, longer. If your daily 13 miles are not stretching you, and you already sound like you're in good shape then you've little to rest from. Do a hard 50 miler or longer and you'll see that then next day you will tire faster and it will become self-evident that you need to rest a day.0
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Just listen to your body - if you need a rest it will tell you.0
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DaxPlusPlus wrote:Go out on a club ride in the fast group?
My experience is that the above for most clubs around my area is an oxymoron.
They all claim "fast group" but I think more accurately they should be called the "fastest group" as they don't tend to be fast, they are merely faster than the slow rides.0 -
BrandonA wrote:DaxPlusPlus wrote:Go out on a club ride in the fast group?
My experience is that the above for most clubs around my area is an oxymoron.
They all claim "fast group" but I think more accurately they should be called the "fastest group" as they don't tend to be fast, they are merely faster than the slow rides.
It really doesn't matter whether the fast group really is fast. I mean what does that even mean - fast as in TdF fast? or fast as in Cat 1 racing? Or faster than a granny on a MTB*?
Do to a whole host of reasons I think a lot riders want to be able to keep up with the fastest group - it may not even be due to overly competitive personalities. It could just be the local scene - perhaps there is no slower group or the slower group really is too slow for them but they get dropped by the faster group (or simply don't enjoy the weekly torture of the faster group due to their lack of fitness) - so they are caught in a no man's land. People in that situation will either try to get faster or give up and go somewhere else. For those that don't give up some training can help them stay with the faster group. Hence it's good reason to look at training and the rest days that come with it.
* apologies to all the MTB riding grannies out there - for all I know they could just be following some gruely training regime and decided to have kids when they're very young0 -
'Rest days' are important when you NEED them, but they aren't necessary if you are not fatigued and can continue to perform at the desired level on the next day. If you feel 'fresh and strong', then additional rest is probably not needed.
Signs of fatigue that need rest are sore mucles the day after exercise, and a general feeling of tiredness.
Try forcing yourself to ride faster - a pace slightly more than your 'comfortable level'. After increasing your speed, then increase the distance.
For me, having 'wobbly legs' walking down stairs after a ride is a good indication that I've had a hard workout, and will need a rest day....
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA0 -
Listen to your body and get to know it. I generally ride most days because I want to. My rest days might be a gentle trundle around my easy course or a visit to my friend for coffee. Today I have achy legs after quite a busy weekend so will probably have a day off...0
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I take my rest days very seriously. Most weeks I have 6 rest days. Some weeks I go for the full 7.0
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markhewitt1978 wrote:I take my rest days very seriously. Most weeks I have 6 rest days. Some weeks I go for the full 7.0 -
If all you're doing is 13 miles a day then you don't need a rest day.English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg0
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Try doing a 30 miles day for a change then have rest day after if needed0
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If it helps, my rest days usually involve cycling. I tend to do one day a week off the bike, but with some stretches/light core work.
I usually do a recovery day after a hard session, such as intervals, or a race.Insert bike here:0
