Dropp in power after resting

Does anyone know why my power is dropping like crazy after two days off rest…Like for zone 3 and above i see about 40-50w drop at the same hr…I figured this would be down to my cardiovascular recovery is much better than muscle recovery …So when i rest legs become fresher but hr rises to quickly and i lose power at treshold , does anyone have i solution been stuck with these mystery for years ?

2 days off is not much rest, have you tried doing an easy short z1 ride on those days?

How is the RPE on those efforts?

That’s because you are comparing to hr. Your plasma volume likely decreased with rest causing your heart to pump faster to provide the same benefit (or you were over tired before or similar internal changes). It does not mean you are less fit it just means your heart rate is higher. In a week or less it will probably lower again unless you were over fatigued.

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HR is often a misleading metric. Low HR at a given power might be indicative of improved fitness, but might also be a suppressed HR due to fatigue. HR will typically respond/rise quicker and reach higher numbers when you are fresh. And if you are trying to use HR to measure fitness, z2 (and maybe low z3) would be the most indicative. But it’s still flawed. I very rarely wear a HR strap when training and never when racing. Not saying there isn’t some value in HR data if looking at macro trends, I just don’t find enough value to bother wearing a strap and would not read too much into short term trends (certainly not comparing a couple workouts).

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I second this. Probably is the case for you, OP. No fitness doesn’t change very much at all after a day or two off. I usually don’t like to ride hard my first day back after more than 1 day off tho, but I never check HR so idk how it affects that.

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I’d ensure that your power meter/trainer has been calibrated before your next ride.

If it’s a smart trainer you’re using, it’s a good idea to unplug it for a few minutes every now and then, and check firmware/perform a spindown once it’s back up and running.

I wouldn’t expect your HR zones to be that far off under normal and healthy circumstances.

Maybe you have an illness coming on… :man_shrugging:

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Do you have any rest week?

My best advice is try to rest and listen to your body, take it easy for a while
There’s many things can affect your hr