A hard day in the saddle. Not an easy day! Photo: fredsoo
There is a big difference in the way elite athletes train vs “weekend warriors.” The biggest difference I notice is the range of intensity. The pros “hard days” are incredible. Combined with lots of training volume, the amount of work performed in some of these harder workouts must be seen to be believed. On the other hand, “easy” days can be so easy as to put no stress on the body whatsoever. Most folks, however, have fairly hard workouts that don’t vary that much and periodization is non-existent.
Triathletes have a much more complicated training program than cyclists, combining running, cycling and swimming with work, sleep and even a family life! All this training is tough, but what makes us improve? In a word, recovery. The “Shotgun” workout plan where everything is thrown up against the wall every day is a sure prescription for overtraining and under performing. There is a reason why almost all of the serious athletes have a coach. Coaching works.
Those who can self coach have to use discipline to work hard and recover at the right time and in the right amounts to achieve success. In many respects, the easy days are the most difficult because you think that you aren’t improving. It is true, however, that the improvement comes through recovery from the efforts, not in the efforts themselves.
What are things that you can do on recovery days? Here is a short list:
- Practice riding in a straight line. Sounds easy, but try riding on a white line and not getting off it for sets of five minutes at a time.
- One-legged pedal drills. In an easy gear, practice pedaling with one foot uncleated. Start slowly and work up to multiple sets.
- Fast pedal drills. Use your easiest gear and spin at 120 rpm plus for short intervals.
- Smell the roses. Practice actively observing the things around you. You will be amazed at what you miss when training hard.
- Listen to your body. Try to identify each muscle group and feel how one set passes off to the other when pedaling.
- Pedal in circles. Really work on extending your pedal stroke as much as possible around the pedal path.
Granted, one-legged pedal drills and fast pedal drills may be too intense for a real recovery day, but the point is, much can be accomplished without killing yourself on the bike. Finally, remember that active recovery days are the most important if you ride 6 days a week. If you ride 3 days a week, you are already getting your recovery! Now that you are thinking about recovery, just think how much better your hard days will be!
