General Discussion Triathlon Talk » easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days Rss Feed  
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2011-07-14 8:34 AM

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Subject: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days

Hello All, from your experience do you notice any/more performance gains by spinning easy/recovery ride vs. pure rest day between your hard days?  If recovery ride, how do you judge the time for these, what do you prefer (what is minimum time for X benefit)? 

Any good studies about this?  Recovery day after long ride vs between hard days which is more beneficial if at all?

For example, I want my longer days to be Sundays (2+ hr).  My harder days will be tues and thursday (approx 1 hour each day). Friday pure rest day.

So Monday and Wed what do you suggest? One and not the other/ both?

Thanks in advance.



2011-07-14 12:32 PM
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Subject: RE: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days

don't know about performance gains, but knocking the rust off wtih an easy workout seems to make my legs feel better than just rest.  Try it and see for yourself and plan accordingly.

 

Sometimes it's nice to just have a mental break though, sleep in, etc...

2011-07-14 2:03 PM
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Subject: RE: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days
My coach recommends if you are in need of a recovery set, go for a swim. So even after a race, you would find me in the pool instead of on the bike or road.  I tend to do these swims with fins on, no more than 1000-1500m and take it easy.
2011-07-14 2:21 PM
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Subject: RE: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days
i usually once a week go on a light 10 mile spin the day after a hard ride to loosen and relax my legs especially for an evening run. i also do take a day a week off my legs to let them rest.
2011-07-14 2:33 PM
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Subject: RE: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days

training for a traithlon, i would choose swim over any of the other sports.  mainly because i would always ride in the 70-75% range which is way too high for recovery day.  but if i swam a 1500 i felt like my entire body was resting.

now that i do pure cycling training, i just sit up ride about 15 mph spinning in the easiest gears i can and ride 30-40 min. 

fyi its very difficult to do this on the bike especially if you ride much faster.

2011-07-14 2:43 PM
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Subject: RE: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days
You only mention cycling... are you swimming or running AT ALL? Because those workouts will also play a factor for the in between bike days.

Let's assume you're only biking. I would toss in a 30-45min recovery spin on Wed and Sat. Helps flush the legs a bit between the 2 harder days and gets the legs woken up for the longer ride on Sunday.

However if you are swimming/running then I think a full schedule over look would be needed, not just a focus on a single sport.

Shanks


2011-07-14 3:20 PM
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Subject: RE: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days

Shanks - 2011-07-14 2:43 PM You only mention cycling... are you swimming or running AT ALL? Because those workouts will also play a factor for the in between bike days.

Let's assume you're only biking. I would toss in a 30-45min recovery spin on Wed and Sat. Helps flush the legs a bit between the 2 harder days and gets the legs woken up for the longer ride on Sunday.

However if you are swimming/running then I think a full schedule over look would be needed, not just a focus on a single sport.

Shanks

I apologize for not making that very clear.  I run on non-cycling days, so mon/wed/sat.  Swims are sporadic usually wed (lunch) and early sat am, as often as I can get them in, but not in brick style. 

So my main question, for days that I run in the am, would a late night easy spin with very little resistance for minimal time, ex 20min help with recovery/performance for next day or does that fall in the junk miles category that people talk about.  If that makes sense.  I would not be using this in place of another workout, as it would not feel like a work out but a leg loosener like evB4 mentioned.

Sorry for the confusion.  My days are all mixed up cause I just switched days around to train with some stronger riders to try to get faster.



Edited by bgeyeguy 2011-07-14 3:22 PM
2011-07-14 6:19 PM
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Subject: RE: easy spin/recovery ride vs pure rest day between hard days
bgeyeguy - 2011-07-14 1:20 PM

Shanks - 2011-07-14 2:43 PM You only mention cycling... are you swimming or running AT ALL? Because those workouts will also play a factor for the in between bike days.

Let's assume you're only biking. I would toss in a 30-45min recovery spin on Wed and Sat. Helps flush the legs a bit between the 2 harder days and gets the legs woken up for the longer ride on Sunday.

However if you are swimming/running then I think a full schedule over look would be needed, not just a focus on a single sport.

Shanks

I apologize for not making that very clear.  I run on non-cycling days, so mon/wed/sat.  Swims are sporadic usually wed (lunch) and early sat am, as often as I can get them in, but not in brick style. 

So my main question, for days that I run in the am, would a late night easy spin with very little resistance for minimal time, ex 20min help with recovery/performance for next day or does that fall in the junk miles category that people talk about.  If that makes sense.  I would not be using this in place of another workout, as it would not feel like a work out but a leg loosener like evB4 mentioned.

Sorry for the confusion.  My days are all mixed up cause I just switched days around to train with some stronger riders to try to get faster.

I don't believe there are such things as 'junk miles'. However, you are not getting much out of a slow ride and 'recovery' activities tend to be the least worthwhile of all training. They are usually reserved for mileage whores (like me) when taking the time off would be just as useful. If you need to skip a workout for the week, the recovery workout is the one to skip.

Basically, the recovery activity can help marginally with aerobic fitness but does virtually nothing for sport-specific fitness. Especially for biking, the hard stuff is where you'll improve the most.

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