The Signs Of Over Training
- Thread starter Wester
- Start date
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In times where I know I have been over-doing it, I have found myself very tired, yet strangely unable to sleep properly and your performance will deteriorate.
I always try to alternate hard rides with slow "recovery" rides and it's probably a good idea to have a rest day. Don't head out on a fast, hilly 50 mile ride if you feel tired and all done out before you leave. Listen to your body.
I'm sure someone will have proper medical knowledge.
I always try to alternate hard rides with slow "recovery" rides and it's probably a good idea to have a rest day. Don't head out on a fast, hilly 50 mile ride if you feel tired and all done out before you leave. Listen to your body.
I'm sure someone will have proper medical knowledge.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
This article may help.
A friend of mine suffered from it once. He had commuted by bike 32 miles a day (including some hills) right through the winter which got him pretty fit. He went to Spain with me in March and did about 800 hard, hilly/mountainous miles there and came back very fit. What he should have done then was to take a week or so to recover properly but instead he started pushing himself harder. The more tired he got, the harder he tried to overcome his fatigue. The inevitable happened ... He became exhausted and kept getting ill. In the end, he had to virtually stop cycling for most of the summer to get his strength back.
A friend of mine suffered from it once. He had commuted by bike 32 miles a day (including some hills) right through the winter which got him pretty fit. He went to Spain with me in March and did about 800 hard, hilly/mountainous miles there and came back very fit. What he should have done then was to take a week or so to recover properly but instead he started pushing himself harder. The more tired he got, the harder he tried to overcome his fatigue. The inevitable happened ... He became exhausted and kept getting ill. In the end, he had to virtually stop cycling for most of the summer to get his strength back.
amaferanga
Veteran
- Location
- Bolton
You've got to be pretty stupid and blinkered to actually overTRAIN. Over-reaching is another matter....
How much you can do depends on how much you've done already and your history as a cyclist. Someone who has raced for years will probably be able to sustain 2 or 3 races a week plus 1 or 2 hard training rides throughout the summer with occasional easy weeks. A novice cyclist would never manage this.
But don't mistake occasional heavy legs with overtraining - you still need to push yourself if you want to improve and riding when tired from a previous ride won't do you any harm. If you're knackered before every ride though that's when you need to think about easing up a little. Have an easier week when you feel you need it, not every 3rd week or every 4th week as many training plans prescribe. Since most of us have regular jobs, family, etc. that get in the way of cycling it's best to have impromptu rest periods if and when normal life gets in the way.
How much you can do depends on how much you've done already and your history as a cyclist. Someone who has raced for years will probably be able to sustain 2 or 3 races a week plus 1 or 2 hard training rides throughout the summer with occasional easy weeks. A novice cyclist would never manage this.
But don't mistake occasional heavy legs with overtraining - you still need to push yourself if you want to improve and riding when tired from a previous ride won't do you any harm. If you're knackered before every ride though that's when you need to think about easing up a little. Have an easier week when you feel you need it, not every 3rd week or every 4th week as many training plans prescribe. Since most of us have regular jobs, family, etc. that get in the way of cycling it's best to have impromptu rest periods if and when normal life gets in the way.
Arsen Gere
Guru
- Location
- North East, UK
You can get mentally fatigued too. It becomes a chore to go out. You don't enjoy your ride. You lack the enthusiasm to push yourself hard when you think you should do.
When this starts to happen, it is sign you need a break.
When this starts to happen, it is sign you need a break.
Your age can also be a factor. The older you are the more recovery you will need between hard sessions. I'm 58 and perform quite well in local TTs on a diet of 6 days training a week and alternating hard sessions and recovery rides during the 6 days. Every couple of months, from Jan - Sept, I will take a week of steady cycling and at the end of the TT season I take a complete break of 4 weeks.
Training adaptations don't take place when training hard - they take place during well timed recovery phases that are interspersed between increasing training loads.
Training adaptations don't take place when training hard - they take place during well timed recovery phases that are interspersed between increasing training loads.
