Using Train Now it will give you a workout 7 days a week. Obviously some of them will be endurance workouts, but at what point do you decide to rest over doing an endurance workout?
Do you firmly stick to rest days like every Friday and Monday regardless or do you go by feel?
If you’re doing TrainNow just take the rest day which works best with the rest of your schedule.
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I would base the decision more on how you feel. Rest days are intended to get you ready for the next session, therefore, if you think you can do an endurance ride and still be ready for your next planned workout, do it. Alternatively, if you’re feeling run down and think an endurance ride will dig a deeper hole, probably best to stay off the bike and focus on recovery.
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Problem with going by feel is that most athletes will greatly overestimate what they can handle and underestimate their need for rest. Taking planned rest day(s) each week is going to be a better solution for most athletes.
I have my athletes pick the day that works best for them to take off and it becomes fixed. If they need more rest, we take it, but they can always anchor on that one day each week. (4 out of my 6 cyclists take more than one day because life.)
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I start by working out the days that i want off the bike, and the days I want to do hard workouts, so Mondays and Fridays are my PLANNED rest days, which means Tuesday and Saturday are the best days to plan to do hard workouts, and I can ride Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and that works well with my schedule, but I do feel that it’s a mistake to stick to it religiously, it could be that I do a long ride on the Sunday, get home have a nap, sit around in the afternoon and go to bed early, and feel fully rested on the Monday, in which case I will SWAP (never replace) my rest day, same with the hard days, could be that I feel bad on the Tuesday morning, so swap it with the Endurance ride, and do it on the Wednesday, listening to the body is important for rest and training
But I don’t feel that Train Now (I use it) should be used a a guide as to what workout to do today, rather IF I do a workout, what does Train Now recommend
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This is how I manage recovery most of the time (in my mid-40’s, work/family stage of life). If you feel run down a rest day will be more of a benefit than any hard workout ever will be. That said, scheduled rest days are important too. Even if you don’t “feel it” they help manage accumulated fatigue and should be a part of every structured training plan.
My biggest mistake in my prime racing days was not taking enough recovery. I over trained and I can’t help but look back now and feel that a scheduled rest day every so often was the missing piece.
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I have two mandatory zone 1 / active recovery days because I’ve pushed it too far in the past and don’t have to worry as much about correctly gauging my level of fatigue. Make your hard days hard, your easy days easy, your endurance rides in check.
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