Rest days?

Gecko848evo

Hello I was wondering if it's necessary to take a rest day off out a week. I'm 27, 5'11", 211lbs. I ride about 15-25 miles daily and one 50 miles (weekend) is it necessary to take a day off? Do I rode enough to "need" a day off? There is a upcoming century ride on May 14 I think if I can get up to 100 miles on a weekend il sign up lol.

Bobbinogs

I would do this...when you feel like you need a break have one, when you don't...don't. It works wonders for me.

If you are looking for a training plan then there are plenty out there but, tbh, riding your bike does the job:

http://www.doitforcharity.com/cycling-t ... guide.aspx

markhewitt1978

"Fitness comes from recovery not from training". That said 15-25 miles isn't a massive amount and you should be able to recover from that on a daily basis. If you're doing your century ride consider not riding much or only riding gently for a couple of days beforehand.

surrey_commuter

I was told that if you do 100 miles a week you will be fine to do 100 miles in one go - they were right. Other than that listen to the above and rest when you are tired.

Gecko848evo

Cool thanks guys. As far as nutrition, should I make another thread or is this fine to ask here? Just wondering if I'm doing this right..I drink 24 oz of water with electrolytes for every 1 hour and as soon as I hit 1 hour I eat a clif bar or gu energy gel. My question is should take both at the same time or just one per hour?

singleton

It depends. On you, on how you have trained, on what your body needs, on the conditions....

Drink as much as you need. Nutrition wise - don't try to replace what you use, try to just augment it a bit.

My advice - do not eat anything, drink anything, wear anything, use anything, change anything different on the day than what you have done in training.

simon_masterson

Unless you are too exhausted to get on your bike and turn the pedals, just ride your bike. Unless you are doing high intensity training (this being the operative word - not just riding regularly to keep yourself in good shape), you needn't worry. Good diet and lifestyle help, but not essential.

meanredspider

After you've ridden a bit, just try it. I was always surprised when I did how much faster I was. But I was riding around 30 miles a day.

nigeldoyle

I'm a competitive masters road racer. I have 1 or 2 rest days per week depending on what's on my training plan. I would suggest having at least 1 rest day at least per week. Then every 4th week that week should be a much lighter week i.e. less intensity and probably a bit less time.

As for nutrition. Anything under 90 minutes you don't really need anything. Your electrolyte drink is all you need. At 211 lbs you're carrying a bit extra so if possible try to do without the bars etc. With an event in May, you could drop 10lbs pretty comfortably by being careful what you eat. Have the bars and gels on the actual century ride or any 3 hour plus training ride.

Gecko848evo

Perfect thanks guys..really liking this forum lol

simon_masterson

nigeldoyle wrote:

I'm a competitive masters road racer. I have 1 or 2 rest days per week depending on what's on my training plan. I would suggest having at least 1 rest day at least per week. Then every 4th week that week should be a much lighter week i.e. less intensity and probably a bit less time.

As for nutrition. Anything under 90 minutes you don't really need anything. Your electrolyte drink is all you need. At 211 lbs you're carrying a bit extra so if possible try to do without the bars etc. With an event in May, you could drop 10lbs pretty comfortably by being careful what you eat. Have the bars and gels on the actual century ride or any 3 hour plus training ride.

All very applicable to competitive riding, but not to recreational riding. There really is no need for regimented rest days in recreational cycling - take one if you're tired and feel the need. And electrolyte drinks are a con - save your money.

meanredspider

Simon Masterson wrote:

And electrolyte drinks are a con - save your money.

Well, he's drinking water with electrolytes - that might be cheap as chips as it could be anything from some table salt upwards.

Gecko848evo

It's not that bad 17$ for 1.5lbs of cytomax

simon_masterson

That's $17 too expensive. Electrolyte drinks are a con.

charlie_potatoes

Simon Masterson wrote:

That's $17 too expensive. Electrolyte drinks are a con.

Jesus wept! Or at least he would do if he was a member of this forum. Those tears would contain electrolytes which, if available from Wiggle, would be prohibitively expensive and could be considered a con............

I'm getting the hang of this talking sh1te malarkey. Got a long way to go before I reach your level though Simon

simon_masterson

They might even contain some carbohydrate, which would make them useful. Zero calorie sports drinks are a pointless invention.

kajjal

nigeldoyle wrote:

I'm a competitive masters road racer. I have 1 or 2 rest days per week depending on what's on my training plan. I would suggest having at least 1 rest day at least per week. Then every 4th week that week should be a much lighter week i.e. less intensity and probably a bit less time.

As for nutrition. Anything under 90 minutes you don't really need anything. Your electrolyte drink is all you need. At 211 lbs you're carrying a bit extra so if possible try to do without the bars etc. With an event in May, you could drop 10lbs pretty comfortably by being careful what you eat. Have the bars and gels on the actual century ride or any 3 hour plus training ride.

This is good advice, a good nights sleep also works wonders for recovery. If you ride too hard / far every day as i have in the past more than once it just leads to injury or illness. Listen to your body and if it needs a rest give it one. Diet also helps, eat healthily and it works wonders.

markhewitt1978

Simon Masterson wrote:

They might even contain some carbohydrate, which would make them useful. Zero calorie sports drinks are a pointless invention.

Why? I find dropping in a tablet is a good way to add some flavour if nothing else

simon_masterson

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

They might even contain some carbohydrate, which would make them useful. Zero calorie sports drinks are a pointless invention.

Why? I find dropping in a tablet is a good way to add some flavour if nothing else

No issue with that, but tasting nice isn't the primary purpose of a 'sports drink''. (And the ones I've tasted weren't particularly amazing anyway)

nicklong

Simon Masterson wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

They might even contain some carbohydrate, which would make them useful. Zero calorie sports drinks are a pointless invention.

Why? I find dropping in a tablet is a good way to add some flavour if nothing else

No issue with that, but tasting nice isn't the primary purpose of a 'sports drink''. (And the ones I've tasted weren't particularly amazing anyway)

Slightly off-topic, but electrolyte tablets do serve a purpose; if you're doing a day's riding in the middle of summer you need to replenish your, ahem, electrolytes as you lose them through perspiration. However, you might not want to be drinking carb drinks for 10 hours (or be able to carry spare powders etc).

OK, not needed for a 90 minute steady ride, but they kept me from cramping up during 2 scorching Marmottes.

Back to the OP - if you aren't doing really tough intervals to the point your legs hurt or feel stiff, and as long as they don't feel tired as soon as you get on the bike in the morning, then you'll be OK. However, every 4 weeks treat yourself to a reduced effort week just for general maintenance.

simon_masterson

If you need to replenish electrolytes, you very likely need to replenish carbohydrates as well. If you don't need to replenish carbohydrates, taking on electrolytes probably isn't going to do much for you.

meanredspider

Simon Masterson wrote:

If you need to replenish electrolytes, you very likely need to replenish carbohydrates as well. If you don't need to replenish carbohydrates, taking on electrolytes probably isn't going to do much for you.

I think you've become dogmatic about this. If I'm sweating buckets (on the turbo for instance) I want to be topping up my fluids as I go because there's a limit to how much fluid your body can absorb. And, if I'm doing that, I want to get some electrolytes on board too (even if that's just some table salt or I'll splash out a few pence on a Zero tab because it tastes better than salt). I don't want to take on the carbs whilst I'm working hard and don't need to if I'm working for only an hour or so.

I think it's fine to argue that sports drinks are overpriced.

simon_masterson

There's really no need at all to drink salty water for an hour on the turbo.

charlie_potatoes

meanredspider wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

If you need to replenish electrolytes, you very likely need to replenish carbohydrates as well. If you don't need to replenish carbohydrates, taking on electrolytes probably isn't going to do much for you.

I think you've become dogmatic about this.

milemuncher1

Fatigue is a nightmare. I try to take a couple of days off from riding every week. It helps with maintaining motivation and preventing injuries.

meanredspider

Simon Masterson wrote:

There's really no need at all to drink salty water for an hour on the turbo.

Well, I'm going to agree to disagree because everything I've read suggests it's a Good Thing or, at least, does no harm, so I do it most of the time (I don't buy "sports drinks" BTW). You may know better - though you don't say how.

Personally I'm deeply suspicious of ANY categoric advice when it comes to fitness and nutrition because just about EVERYTHING I've learned about the human body over the last 10 years suggests we're all too different for any one answer to be correct.

simon_masterson

meanredspider wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

There's really no need at all to drink salty water for an hour on the turbo.

Well, I'm going to agree to disagree because everything I've read suggests it's a Good Thing or, at least, does no harm, so I do it most of the time (I don't buy "sports drinks" BTW). You may know better - though you don't say how.

Personally I'm deeply suspicious of ANY categoric advice when it comes to fitness and nutrition because just about EVERYTHING I've learned about the human body over the last 10 years suggests we're all too different for any one answer to be correct.

Not being harmful isn't much of a justification. This really needn't be a complicated or contentious issue - your body takes in electrolytes as part of your diet. Just as it's not necessary to take on additional carbohydrate for/during shorter durations and lower intensity, it's also not necessary to take on additional electrolytes when undertaking this level of exercise. It won't harm you, but it won't do much for you either. Conversely of course, good energy products designed for prolonged high intensity exercise aren't just sugary water.

The guy who runs Torq energy did a good piece on this issue a couple of years back - see here. http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/news/panorama

meanredspider

Simon Masterson wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

There's really no need at all to drink salty water for an hour on the turbo.

Well, I'm going to agree to disagree because everything I've read suggests it's a Good Thing or, at least, does no harm, so I do it most of the time (I don't buy "sports drinks" BTW). You may know better - though you don't say how.

Personally I'm deeply suspicious of ANY categoric advice when it comes to fitness and nutrition because just about EVERYTHING I've learned about the human body over the last 10 years suggests we're all too different for any one answer to be correct.

Not being harmful isn't much of a justification. This really needn't be a complicated or contentious issue - your body takes in electrolytes as part of your diet. Just as it's not necessary to take on additional carbohydrate for/during shorter durations and lower intensity, it's also not necessary to take on additional electrolytes when undertaking this level of exercise. It won't harm you, but it won't do much for you either. Conversely of course, good energy products designed for prolonged high intensity exercise aren't just sugary water.

The guy who runs Torq energy did a good piece on this issue a couple of years back - see here. http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/news/panorama

The article is perfectly reasonable but it does rather distort towards its own products. I'm perfectly happy to take on my fluids and electrolytes in the drink and my carbs in solid form. I've also understood that electrolytes improve how fluids are taken up rather than passing right through you.

I aim to take on carbs in the peak of insulin levels that follow hard exercise which has the combined effect of my blood sugar levels not dropping too much whilst helping the preferential replenishment of glycogen. Fluids, on the other hand, I'm taking on during the exercise because I'm sweating and thirsty. You will ultimately replenish your electrolytes through normal food but (placebo or not) I get cramp if I don't take them as part of hydration during hard exercise.

I should add I do none of this for my commute. And century rides are different again.

Gecko848evo

Yea, on my weekend I hit 50 miles with some pretty steep hills...I make a 4 hour perpetuem drink and I eat 1 cliff bar within the 1hr and 30 min..I think I bonk at the 3 hour mark and beyond I start feeling really tired. I basically eat every 90 min I don't wanna over do it but, I think I might need to eat more...another issue I'm having is finding some long distance riding shorts I have some 3d gel chamois shorts I got on eBay there okay I guess but around the 3 hour my ass is killing me

shimanobottombracket

Wow!? Carbs, electrodes! It seems to be an endurance athlete you must also be a medical expert. I dont know shoot about metabolism or other aspects of human biology so how would someone like me hope to train for an endurance event? All these carbs and calories is baffling to me. Why cant I just eat a chicken wing or 2 every hour or so to provide energy?

Bobbinogs

ShimanoBottomBracket wrote:

Wow!? Carbs, electrodes! It seems to be an endurance athlete you must also be a medical expert. I dont know shoot about metabolism or other aspects of human biology so how would someone like me hope to train for an endurance event? All these carbs and calories is baffling to me. Why cant I just eat a chicken wing or 2 every hour or so to provide energy?

I take it you missed off using [ironic] [/ironic]??