Go Slow To Get Faster

We think of over-training as something only Olympians and highly competitive athletes are subject to. How could my modest achievements relate to over training? But it's quite possible for recreational cyclists to do sub-optimal training by going too hard too often.

What are the symptoms of over-training? General fatigue, difficulty achieving maximum heart rate (MHR), increased rate of injuries, less enthusiasm for your sport, trouble sleeping, drop in performance, change in resting heart rate. Cyclists often mis-diagnose these symptoms as poor fitness and push harder instead of what's needed, i.e., backing down.

To build up your peak power output and aerobic capacity, you want to go harder at the peak moments (85% of MHR and above) on your hard days and go extremely gently on your easy/recovery days.

To build up your endurance you need time in the saddle and miles on the road, but they don't all have to be at race pace. In fact, they shouldn't be.

What is happening in the training and recovery cycle? 
Think of your hard efforts as breaking down muscle tissue. Any effort above 70% MHR begins to do this. The harder you go, the more muscle breakdown occurs. But after breakdown, your muscles will re-build a little stronger than they were before -- if you allow them to. "Active recovery" days can bring more oxygenated blood to your muscle cells and flush out waste products. But if you go too hard, you'll break down new muscle tissue before it has a chance to fully form. Counterproductive.

An ideal training week might look like:
Day 1: gentle recovery: 20 minutes easy spin at 60 - 70% MHR, 20 - 30 minutes of stretching
Day 2: gentle recovery
Day 3: gentle recovery
Day 4: Hardest day of the week: Most of the time at 60 - 65% MHR interspersed with brief aggressive hill climbs or intervals between 85% and 100% of MHR.
Day 5: gentle recovery
Day 6: Fast group ride: Pace varies between 60% - 90% of MHR based on terrain, wind, and group.
Day 7: Endurance ride: Often the longest ride of the week. Pace varies between 65% and 80% of MHR and averages 75% or less.

You might do two weeks like this, followed by a third week that looks similar except substitute an active recovery day for the hard "Day 4". This becomes a "recovery week." After that, do two more weeks like the first two, except very slightly harder top-end efforts.  As you build strength and overall fitness, your recovery days do not get harder. They stay gentle. Your hard days get longer and the number, speed, and duration of hills or intervals you do may increase. But recovery days always stay super light.

The good news for those who want to lose weight is that the best heart rate range to build endurance and burn fat is is 60 - 70% of MHR, not higher.

This year my MHR is about 185. For me, that means:
60% = 111
70% = 130
75% = 140
80% = 148
85% = 158

To call today's bike commute a "recovery" day, required climbing hills at just over FOUR miles per hour and stopping occasionally to look at the scenery.

Even at that pace, I would briefly hit a heart rate of 75% of MHR climbing the hills on Rosedale and Carter Roads -- well above ideal. I also spent a lot more total riding time than would be ideal for recovery. It may be better to do a little strength training or take the day off if you can't go easy on recovery days.