Interesting. Would you say this applies to a rest week after a block of training, or just a random week?
The original study entailed complete cessation of training (for two weeks).
I have never taken ârest weeksâ, so canât really comment otherwise.
I am not one of the lucky ones, either. 
My body has always struggled to get going after a Recovery Week, whether itâs from running, cycling, or the gym.
I got in tune with my body enough to know it takes me a few days of intensity training to get the ball rolling again, and thatâs normal for me. You may need to play with the Workout Alternates for the first few days once youâre back from Recovery Week.
Now, if you never get the ball rolling again after a recovery week, Iâd look into it further.
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Yeah if your typical training schedule doesnât push you to your limits then the recovery weeks become less needed.
I would probably still do an entire rest week or two at least once a year just to really reset. This also serves the purpose of ensuring that you are 100% recovered. Sometimes I go through several months of training, racing, resting and think Iâm doing okay until I take a real break and then I go âWow, this is what it feels like to be truly recovered!â. So make sure that you are actually recovering and not just getting caught up in the âblanket of fatigueâ that is very common.
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yeah i moved away from the short testing for a while but have recently brought it back! I was a little less into WKO for a whileâŚI like it, but easy for me to slip into training for algorithms rather than the actual goal
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I just had a look at interval.icu fitness score after a rest week.
Since I commute by bike most week days, I could only find a complete rest during last Christmas.
Well, 12 days actually, so more than a week.
It took exactly 5 weeks to get back to that same fitness score.
I tend to agree with that. However, âtoo hardâ is mostly also intensity distributionâŚif I stay with 80-90% endurance, âZ2â efforts and I manage well, I can keep going. One I do too many group rides or efforts, quickly I need rest and if I dug a deep holeâŚit can make some time after rest week. Most importantly also build up slowly after rest weeksâŚ
Interesting. I keep it in mind as itâs just a tool to look at trends and help make training decisions, rather than getting wrapped around the axle about making one of the numbers go up. I can see how that would be a trap to fall into!
This is a classic YMMV. By the end of a rest week, Iâm ready to train again. The first hard intervals or two are a bit rough, but by the end of the workout, Iâm hard charging.