2 weeks hols and lost all fitness

rock_bus

Just been on a 2 weeks holiday and have now really struggled on two club rides which normally would’ve been relatively comfortable.
Admittedly was 2 weeks of crap food and alcohol overindulgence but wouldn’t have expected it to have had this big an impact.

Is this normal and what’s the best way of getting back on track?
For first time in while I haven’t enjoyed the rides

shirley_basso

Ride on the front of the same rides then in a few months time once you're strong, then ride on the back.

There are no shortcuts to getting fit quick.

imposter2.0

Rock bus wrote:

Just been on a 2 weeks holiday and have now really struggled on two club rides which normally would’ve been relatively comfortable.

Sounds about right. Unless you were expecting two weeks of inactivity to actually make you faster..?

rock_bus

Nope definitely not faster but certainly didn’t expect the fall off to be so bad!

Alex_Simmons/RST

Detraining happens relatively quickly. It's the reversibility principle in action. Endurance capability (which is what cycling is all about) falls away much more than strength capacity does which is why it's more noticeable for cyclists.

Reversibility of course works in both directions, so resumption of training (done sensibly) will see fitness improve again.

cougie

Ride more.

If you've plenty of base fitness then it's harder to lose fitness. If you've been cycling for a shorter while then it's easier to lose.

Get a few more rides in and watch what you're eating. You've put a few pounds on I guess ?

mariamartinez

same happened to me, but I started commuting by bike and that helped a lot without focussing on what was "lost". I suggest this, or alternatively ride everyday short distance medium intensity for a week without performance monitoring