The flip side of recovery rides is the danger of doing too much. It's good to help your recovery by doing a gentle ride to loosen off you legs, but you do run the risk of simply adding extra stress to an already stressed out body.
Even slight over-training can be a real problem as it can take a week or more of total rest to shake off. Spotting the very first signs means you can immediately dial down the effort, save the situation before full over-training sets in and get back to full training perhaps after just one day off.
So what are the signs of over-training for you? I know for me that getting grumpy and impatient, and then feeling mildly depressed are sure signs that I've done too much. As soon as I pick up on those kind of indications I know not to do more, in the hope that I'll bounce back within 24hrs.
Another sign is checking out how much I've done - if it's way more than previous weeks then that might be a further confirmation that I've done too much.
It is possible to ignore these kind of signs, especially if you are enthusiastic, but over-training for a week or two will just mean you completely fall apart, suffer an injury or illness and then have to take a month or more off...
Italian events and European climbs
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Coming back from injury
Been struggling with a knee injury, and today is the first time back on the bike in 2 weeks. Coming back to training can be tricky, here are some things to think of:
1) Wait, then wait some more - I know you've trained for months and now feel its all going away but if you aren't right then you'll just exacerbate the last stage of recovery and postpone your real return to form.
I've waited and waited until the knee feels solid and there is no pain.
2) Work out what went wrong. Why did you get injured? I've got a weak right knee (date it all the way back to a school days rugby injury) but my recent problem actually related to tightness in muscles around my hip which pull on my thigh muscles and cause the knee cap to mis-align.
The 2 weeks off have been about stretching out these thigh muscles, and then waiting for the knee cap to stop being irritated. If you don't know what has gone wrong you may be prone to repeating the problem as soon as you restart.
3) Be sensible - I felt good today on the ride, and everything else was 100% - enthusiasm, energy - so its possible to blast off, be ambitious, and try to recoup the lost 2 weeks of training in one session - but don't.
I turned for home as I planned - because I know it will be this afternoon and even tomorrow morning that I finally understand that the knee has been able to cope with the limited ride it has had today, and even then I need to continue to take it easy.
1) Wait, then wait some more - I know you've trained for months and now feel its all going away but if you aren't right then you'll just exacerbate the last stage of recovery and postpone your real return to form.
I've waited and waited until the knee feels solid and there is no pain.
2) Work out what went wrong. Why did you get injured? I've got a weak right knee (date it all the way back to a school days rugby injury) but my recent problem actually related to tightness in muscles around my hip which pull on my thigh muscles and cause the knee cap to mis-align.
The 2 weeks off have been about stretching out these thigh muscles, and then waiting for the knee cap to stop being irritated. If you don't know what has gone wrong you may be prone to repeating the problem as soon as you restart.
3) Be sensible - I felt good today on the ride, and everything else was 100% - enthusiasm, energy - so its possible to blast off, be ambitious, and try to recoup the lost 2 weeks of training in one session - but don't.
I turned for home as I planned - because I know it will be this afternoon and even tomorrow morning that I finally understand that the knee has been able to cope with the limited ride it has had today, and even then I need to continue to take it easy.
Suffering and succeeding
How much of it is about suffering - to succeed?
After so many days out with a stiff knee I finally found a way of stretching it out, and then went for a bike ride.
So good to be out riding. So easy to forget how good it is just to be rolling along. And then wanting to do more, to go further, to just simply be better.
And that means suffering, doing more than you really can comfortably cope with. And getting back home tired, hungry and wet through and being pretty pooped for the rest of the evening.
Suffering and succeeding at Garmin Connect - Details
After so many days out with a stiff knee I finally found a way of stretching it out, and then went for a bike ride.
So good to be out riding. So easy to forget how good it is just to be rolling along. And then wanting to do more, to go further, to just simply be better.
And that means suffering, doing more than you really can comfortably cope with. And getting back home tired, hungry and wet through and being pretty pooped for the rest of the evening.
Suffering and succeeding at Garmin Connect - Details
Great workouts I never did #6
All day on the computer, I look up to see wonderful early evening sunshine and resolve to go training.
My bike is still in the shop being fixed, and I've been suffering from one of those niggling knee injuries - not enough to stop riding but there again "not right".
I get half changed anyway but then stop. The knee is just about OK, but not totally solid. And even when it is strong I'll need to go slowly and take short routes to build up confidence.
So stop and don't do it - and reap the benefits in the long run.
My bike is still in the shop being fixed, and I've been suffering from one of those niggling knee injuries - not enough to stop riding but there again "not right".
I get half changed anyway but then stop. The knee is just about OK, but not totally solid. And even when it is strong I'll need to go slowly and take short routes to build up confidence.
So stop and don't do it - and reap the benefits in the long run.
Great workouts I never did #5
Not been riding these last few days - got a stiff knee and waiting for it to ease up.
One of those problems that you have to be patient with otherwise you could end up really hurting yourself. They say you should "listen to your body" but it takes years to hear the music and even longer to take it seriously.
I've been going long enough now to know it'll fix soon enough and then I can rip into some serious KMs.
One of those problems that you have to be patient with otherwise you could end up really hurting yourself. They say you should "listen to your body" but it takes years to hear the music and even longer to take it seriously.
I've been going long enough now to know it'll fix soon enough and then I can rip into some serious KMs.
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