Week off the bike

Training
1

I need to take a week off the bike. Good news is it’s my recovery week, but I want to make sure I don’t lose fitness when I hit my ramp test next week.

I can do almost anything except for cycling. I have a set of kettlebells which can give me a good mix of strength and aerobic workout.

Should I hit the weights hard this week or would it just be better to make my recovery week a rest week?

2

“Recovery week” and “hit the weights hard” are in opposition, IMO.

  • That is my suggestion. Nothing says you can’t do some amount of work. But recognize the purpose of a recovery week in the first place. The last thing you want to do is “overdo” it and end up hampering your next actual work week.

  • We really shouldn’t be so scared of taking time off and losing what we mistakenly perceive as fragile fitness. You could probably sit on your tail all week, and be fine… might even be the best thing for you.

I recently took some time off. I got in a total of one 90-minute Z2 ride in over 3 weeks. I just needed a mental break and decided to play it entirely by ear. Started with a full week off, did a ride, and decided I wanted more time off. Ramp test last week went far better than I would have expected and I’m still in great territory considering what might seem like a massive mistake. So, time off is not necessarily all bad and might be great.

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3

It’s a fact of life, don’t worry about it. If you suddenly start exercising in a manor you’re not used too then expect DOMS.
For all you know, you might be fresher from having a week off, depending on your current training load.

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4

I’ve been mixing in the kettlebells 2x a week over the past few days.

But I hear what you’re saying. Time to take a step back,

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5

Yeah definitely a bit of fear. It feels like I finally kept up a consistent groove on training, but you are right. Time to take it easy this week.

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Don’t get me wrong, we all go through it as athletes but unless you have extremely fragile fitness then it shouldn’t make a huge difference.

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7

I’ve never lost fitness from taking just a week off the bike.

I smashed my knee not long ago (MTB crash) and was off the bike completely for 10 days. Eased back in over a few days, then picked up right where I left off.

YMMV.

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