Do I need rest days?

You'll always need rest days but as you get fitter they can become less frequent.... Play it by ear, you'll know if you have done too much..

I guess it depends how unfit you are to start with. When I got back into commuting by bike, 8.5ish mile each way'd take me 45 minutes. My thighs would hurt most of the time for about 6 months, gradually getting better. Now after a year it's down to 30 minutes and no pain.
I wouldn't say you need a rest day, but maybe take it easy every other if you can, cut out the hills. Basically if things start to hurt too much, have a break

Where in Cumbria Stratcat, Haven here!!!

stratcat wrote:

Thighs hurting for six months :shock: :shock:

well I've never knowingly taken it easy getting to work.

Just keep yourself below a maximum of 80-85i sh % of your capability (Max heat rate = 220 bpm - your age. I'm 29 so for me it's 191 bpm x 85% = 162 bpm) If you've got a heart rate monitor this will be a lot easier to judge. But as a rule of thumb you should always be able to jump up a notch if needs be like sprinting up to traffic lights before they go red!

You can go all out on at least one ride a week, but 80-85% is a good level to build your fitness up without burning out! (Oh, and eat LOADS of fresh fruit and veg and cut out any junk! You'll feel better for it!)

If you start to get a sick feeling then you're pretty much at your 100% VO2 MAX level (the level where your body physically can't get any more oxygen into your blood (Max Volume of Oxygen)) and you're running on full boost!!!

1 in 3 days is good for a rest day or just very light cycling.

Surf-Matt wrote:

Hmmm - I often run/cycle to the point of feeling queasy.

Otherwise it's not "proper" exercise

Quite right. As long as it's not every day (unless you're training to be a pro or something) There's nothing wrong with getting that feeling once or twice a week. It just means you're going near on your max and makes you feel ALIVE!! The fitter you get the better your body becomes at absorbing oxygen so you can go harder and faster before getting that feeling.

If you train a high altitude (or go on holiday biking in the Alps for example) your body will create more red blood cells (the ones that carry oxygen to your muscles) to take into account that there is less oxygen up there, because your body needs the same amount of oxygen whatever altitude you're at. If you then go home and go on a fast session on your regular route, you'll be amazed at how much faster you can do it without keeling over! This is because your body still has all those extra red blood cells (which will disappear over a week or so after retruning to normal altitude) and as a result of there being more oxygen near sea level, you can absorb huge quantities of the stuff! When I go biking in the Alps I always feel a little short of breath even when going to sleep for the first couple of days. It's called aclimatisation.

God did I actually sound like I might have learnt something at school for a minute there??

EnduroJCB i think the calculation to work out a percentage of your maximum is as follows.

1. You need to know your average resting pulse and your maximum pulse for a guven activity.

2.

Max pulse minus resting pulse x .85 (point 85 the percentage you want)) then add your resting pulse. Would give you 85% of your max.

ie: for me max pulse 182 on bike. Resting pulse = 48

182 - 48 = 134 x .85 = 113.9 + (48) = 161.9

85% of max = 161.9

Hope this helps