\u201cHow do you like to recover after training hard or an event?,\u201d is the lone question that caused an avalanche of deeply thoughtful and unique responses. Before I go any further, let me give you some back history.<\/p>\n
Prior to sitting down to write this post, I asked this question on Slack, a messaging platform our team uses to communicate. You see, we have a lot of cyclists and triathletes who work at TrainerRoad.\u00a0From our developers, to our marketing folks to our support agents \u2014 many of the people who own these roles are cyclists who have been loving the sport long before they started working here. This is one of the reasons we believe we\u2019ve been able to make such a great product; our only focus from day one has been to build a product that we, as diehard cyclists and triathletes, want to use ourselves.<\/p>\n
All that said, when it comes to getting insight on any training topic, it\u2019s an understatement to say I don\u2019t have to look too far. That was surely the case with this blog post topic \u2026 which got me thinking.<\/p>\n
Instead of following our traditional blog post format, I wanted to switch things up a bit and see how a post like this would hit with you guys, our blog readers. The main difference you\u2019ll find with this post is that it\u2019s less objective, i.e. a whole lot more personal, than our others.<\/p>\n
Every subhead below will introduce you to one of our TrainerRoad team members. After brief spiel about who they are and why they\u2019re awesome, I\u2019ll share their personal recovery tips, thoughts and stories. While this post is more subjective than our other blog content, I hope you still dig it and, most importantly, take away lot of great information.<\/p>\n
Okay, let\u2019s dive in already!<\/em><\/p>\n Cycling credentials:<\/strong> Cat I cross-country mountain bike racer and Level II USAC coach<\/p>\n Why Jon\u2019s awesome:<\/strong> For starters, Jon\u2019s the host of the Ask a Cycling Coach<\/a><\/em> podcast. He\u2019s also a Yeti-sponsored athlete, the 2015 Nevada State Champion and placed 4th at XC National championship last year.<\/p>\n Jon\u2019s thoughts on recovery:<\/strong> The first thing I do after a race is refill on electrolytes. I have one cold bottle mixed to spec and one watered down mix to sip on afterward. Many times my body craves plain water, but I make sure to drink an electrolyte mix that won\u2019t cause GI distress. Skratch Labs electrolyte mix<\/a>\u00a0is the best I\u2019ve found for this compromise. I like to take in a recovery drink while drinking my electrolyte mix. I\u2019ve tried a lot of different recovery mixes, but haven\u2019t settled on one like I have with Skratch\u2019s electrolyte mix.<\/p>\n If I know it\u2019s going to be a hot race, I\u2019ll keep wet towels in a cooler and have an umbrella handy just in case shade is scarce. I also make myself strictly adhere to the maxim \u201cdon\u2019t stand if you can sit, don\u2019t sit if you can lie down.\u201d<\/p>\n I try to treat post-race recovery with the same importance and focus that I use for the race itself. I also try to make it a point to have somebody else drive home, if possible, so I can keep my legs up higher than my heart. This carries on when I\u2019m flying or when I get home or back to the hotel. If it\u2019s a stage race, I place an even greater emphasis on all of these points.<\/p>\n For dinner after a race, I place a premium on taking in enough carbohydrates, instead of my traditional habit of avoiding grains. I try to plan my meal so I have something like rice with it. After Sea Otter last year, I learned this lesson the hard way.<\/p>\n After a successful first day of racing, I made a dumb choice to have an Seared Ahi salad for dinner. The portions were big, but other than the Ahi, there was nothing calorie dense or beneficial about the meal. The next day\u2019s road race started out great, and after 90 minutes I had completely bonked. I limped in with zero energy, knowing that I didn\u2019t take in a proper recovery meal the night before. After that race, I had a stir fry for dinner that gave me plenty of sustenance for the next day. The final day was a success!<\/p>\n Cycling credentials:<\/strong>\u00a0Chad has 10 years of coaching experience as a Level I USA certified Cycling and Triathlon coach. He’s also a multi-time State Champion and races competitively in nearly every discipline.<\/p>\n Why Chad\u2019s awesome:<\/strong> Chad\u2019s the creator behind more than 80+ structured training plans<\/a>, 800+ workouts and the cycling course Train Smart, Get Fast<\/a><\/em>. He also helped co-found TrainerRoad (no biggie).<\/p>\n Coach Chad\u2019s thoughts on recovery:<\/strong> After most long training blocks that lead up an important race, I\u2019ll take a few days off and do something active, but entirely outside the realm of cycling. This season it\u2019s been skiing, and this<\/em> week it\u2019s been home remodeling. Gutting walls down to the studs in a 90-year-old house is hugely physical, but anything that feels like effort suffices.<\/p>\n I employed this off-the-bike hiatus tactic, which usually takes place 10 days before important events and lasts 3-5 days, leading up to Cascade the year I lost the GC (overall standings) by 17 seconds. Although I trained very specifically and diligently, I lost serious steam just prior to the final couple weeks leading into the race, so I decided not to train for an entire work week. I just ran my indoor cycling studios from the sidelines, then resumed riding in a very taper-like manner (high-intensity, short-duration, ample recovery between efforts and workouts) for the remaining five days leading up to the stage race. I never felt better in my life and my racing showed it.<\/p>\n A large majority of the recovery information that\u2019s out there is unnecessary for most working athletes, but it\u2019s interesting from a coaching perspective. Eat well, sleep plenty, train consistently and appropriately \u2014 that\u2019s about what you need to know.<\/p>\n If you really want to get more analytical with your recovery, you can track your recovery metrics with a tool like RestWise<\/a>. They use metrics like your waking bpm, SPO2, body weight, sleep quality, energy level, mood, appetite, etc; also include body fat (via Tanita scale) and blood sugar to predict a Recovery Score. I\u2019ve gotten to point where I can usually predict my Recovery Score before RestWise calculates it, which furthers my belief that you can\u2019t go wrong with sticking to the basics of recovery.<\/p>\n Cycling credentials:<\/strong>\u00a0On the road, Dave’s a nationally competitive P\/1\/2 racer who regularly guest rides for international teams in UCI races around the world. Earlier in his racing career, he raced at the pro level in Asia and Italy. Now he mostly races masters with the Herbalife p\/b Marc Pro\u2014Nature\u2019s Bakery elite cycling team.<\/p>\n Why Dave\u2019s awesome:<\/strong> Dave shot and edited The Chase<\/a>,<\/em> our short film about the nationally ranked time trialist Justin Rossi.<\/p>\n Dave\u2019s thoughts on recovery:<\/strong> Immediately after a race or hard ride I drink an Herbalife h24 recovery drink. After that I eat once I feel like I can keep something down. A bit later I\u2019ll stretch and use the Marc Pro<\/a> for 1-2 hours, which helps move old blood out and bring new blood in. What I\u2019ve found with the Marc Pro is that it\u2019s a consistency thing \u2014 it works better the more you use it. I\u2019ve been using it religiously 5 days a week for the last four months and I feel like my legs are more fresh when I need them to be.<\/p>\n Another thing I\u2019m really consistent about is getting massages. Every 1-2 weeks I\u2019ll get one to help with recovery. Sleeping enough hours each night I\u2019ve also found to be super important and helpful. Stretching is another huge thing. Seriously. I didn\u2019t learn the importance of stretching after you race or train until later in my cycling career.<\/p>\n Cycling credentials:<\/strong>\u00a0Adam started doing triathlon in 2009 \u2014 he averages about 3\/year. Under his belt, he has has a couple AG wins at local Olympic Distance events, including a 2nd overall win. His best 1\/2 IM time was 4:34:48 (Racine) and best IM time was 10:29:17 (Wisconsin).<\/p>\n Why Adam\u2019s awesome:<\/strong> Salvo is a machine. He’s data driven in every way and as objective as they come. What\u2019s more, he has his pilot\u2019s license! Following an Ironman in 2010, he found himself with a lot of free time so, naturally, he picked up flying as hobby.<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s thoughts on recovery:<\/strong> After 5-6 years of training and racing, I really started to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and how to listen to my body. Could I push through that workout, or did I need to call it quits? Because I know what -20 TSB and + 6 TSB feels like, I can make better use of the PMC chart in TrainingPeaks.<\/p>\n Since starting triathlon in 2009, I\u2019ve kept with the same basic structure for recovery: 3 weeks on, 1 week off. However, I\u2019ve made one change since I started doing TrainerRoad plans<\/a> this year for the first time \u2014 I\u2019m now doing a little more during my rest weeks.<\/p>\n Post race, I\u2019m a big fan of making the most of my money and fueling up at the race\u2019s feed tent. Sometimes I\u2019ll get a massage because they feel nice, but it\u2019s definitely not something I actively seek out. Depending on the type of event I just completed, the following day I\u2019ll either take the day off or have an easy day.<\/p>\n When I complete an Olympic Distance, for example, the next day I\u2019ll have an easy day then on day two I\u2019ll start to ramp things back up. For longer events, like a Half Ironman, the day after I\u2019ll take off completely, then the following day after that I\u2019ll do something like an easy ride on the bike. For a full Ironman, because these events have been end-of-season races for me, I\u2019ll typically do whatever I want for the rest of September, which means taking a break from structured training for a bit. That kind of extended break is usually all kinds of good for both my mental and physical recovery.<\/p>\n Cycling credentials:<\/strong>\u00a0Trevor is a professional mountain bike racer for KTM Bikes Factory Racing and a Level III USA certified coach.<\/p>\n What makes Trevor awesome<\/strong>: This guy is over 5.0 w\/kg when he\u2019s not even training, so it’s safe to say he\u2019s a beast. He also got 8th place at the 2015 SingleTrack 6 stage race.<\/p>\n Trevor\u2019s thoughts on recovery:<\/strong> Like anything with endurance sports, I don\u2019t think recovery is so much a \u201cpost-workout technique,” but rather a long-term approach to building health and fitness. Compression socks, recovery drinks, hydration, etc. are all great after a hard workout, but if that workout completely ruined you because you came into it unprepared in some capacity, none of those things are going to do much.<\/p>\n Your nutrition, how well you stay hydrated, the quality of rest you\u2019re getting each night and your strength and flexibility all need to be incorporated. When one of those key elements is missing from your recovery routine, the effectiveness of your recovery kind of goes out the window. So, I really think you have to commit to it all if you truly want to feel the difference after a big workout or race.<\/p>\n Have a question for one of the cyclists who contributed to this post? Share it below.<\/em><\/p>\n Recovery is one topic\u00a0we covered\u00a0in episode 25 of the\u00a0Ask a Cycling Coach podcast<\/a><\/em>. Listen to the episode’s full recording below to hear this and other questions from cyclists get answered by our certified cycling coaches.<\/p>\nJonathan Lee, PR Director<\/h2>\n
Chad Timmerman, Head Coach & Co-founder<\/h2>\n
Dave Christenson, Filmmaker<\/h2>\n
Adam Salvo, Engineer<\/h2>\n
Trevor DeRuis\u00e9, Online & Forum Community Manager<\/h2>\n
Listen to Certified Cycling Coaches Discuss Recovery Methods<\/h2>\n