Trying to get a pulse on how people treat rest weeks. Select the answer that most often applies to you (feel free to elaborate in the comments):
0 voters
For my recovery rate theyāre placed pretty well and Iām usually starting to look forward to a low intensity week when they show up.
For clarity:
Rest = time off entirely, no work.
Recovery = work at an intensity below Endurance pace and usually 1 hour or less.
Point being that the proper term for the weeks in question are Recovery weeks, not Rest weeks.
They are different not only in name, but they also serve different purposes.
I usually take it easy and either do the prescribed workout or go for an easy MTB ride outside.
I do the prescribed workouts but legit hate it and dont look forward to it ever. I feel worse at the beginning of the following week but assume the recovery week is needed.
Voted I add an interval workout. What I normally do, if Iām going to get out on the club spin at the weekend, is do the ramp on the Friday (which is my āSaturdayā workout), as Fridays are when Iāve access to the smart trainer. If the weather is bad, or family life is happening, Iāll push the ramp to the Saturday or Sunday.
Definitely find recovery weeks and rest days a hard part of training - taking them is a big process goal for me.
I play things by ear. I have challenges with my knees and adjust things accordingly. I try to get at least a shortened high intensity ride in recovery weeks.
When the recovery weeks show up Iām usually ready for them. In fact, today is the beginning of one for me. Yesterday my legs felt quite tired and my heart rate was a bit higher than normal, so I know recovery will do me good. From past experience the Tues, Wed, & Thurs rides feel pretty miserable, but normally by the weekend Iām starting to feel some pep again.
because I commute whilst also training, during a recovery week I will drop the TR workouts completely but keep doing my commutes as usual (low intensity)
I try to follow them as prescribed. Like others have said, I am not a fan of the workouts. I usually find a miniseries to watch (this last one was Chernobyl) or a couple of movies to pass the time.
I also try to do some yoga and/or core work if itās been slipping during the hard weeks.
I do them as prescribed. I usually ditch the Wednesday ride altogether. I also donāt mind reducing the time of the rides. Although on the weekend I do try to go up to two hours if I have time.
I try to take advantage of my rest weeks to catch up on other things around the house so thatās why I donāt mind cutting back the time Iām riding.
If youāre doing intervals during your rest weeks youāre not following the plan and you are really setting yourself up for long term fatigue issues, be it mental or physical in the long run. Iāve overdone the rest weeks and I am pretty sure I didnāt gain anything from the additional work, and if anything it just slowed my fitness progression long term.
Iām in between the first 2 answers! I certainly donāt do any structured intervals, but I do tend to go out and do group rides and enjoy myself - simply riding for fun and not having a plan is good for mental recovery. Those rides typically have plenty of easy spinning and coasting in the pack, but also a reasonable amount of work when on the front or on climbs, certainly more than is on the plan. Seems to work ok for me, and I do try to have a block of at least 3-4 days of nothing above z2.
This past week I had some fun on the fat bike!
Honestly, Iāll take things as easy as possible during a de-load week (aka recovery and/or rest).
I like to take extra days completely off, do things away from the bike, and even reduce the volume of many of the rides I have prescribed. Often I come off of these weeks feeling pretty flat, but after a couple of tough workouts I am back to full force.
This way I can get a mental reset along with the physiological one. I just canāt slog away at endurance time on the trainer for a week. It makes me much less motivated to train when I do come back to the hard stuff.
I canāt stand low intensity rides on the rollers. Either end up doing something else (running, probably) or doing nothing and just skipping a bunch of workouts.
Also should note that typically Iām more depressed on these weeks so I wouldnāt really advocate this approach.
I am on my first recovery week using TR, Iām following their workouts for the week. I am riding outside all week and not going above 75% ftp. Outside Iām working on cornering and other bike skills with minimal extra effort.
I also usually do 2 weight lifting days instead I am adding mobility and light lifting/ low sets. Letting my body recover and be stronger. Feels good to give the body something different.
Yeah they are two different things.
Option 1 - I follow a rest week as prescribed (endurance rides only)
That is not a rest week, it might be a recovery week option though. Canāt believe 81% pick an option that isnāt a thing.
A recovery week for me is a reduction on training load or time approximately 50% of the training stress or time of a normal āonā week.
It still includes intervals, one or two sessions and the rest endurance or recovery sessions.
I make my own plan due to my oddball RN schedule, so adherence is only to myself. Iām new to bicycle training, but have habits left over from running the previous year.
I reduce workload to 60-65% of harder weeks, but include a HIIT session. Iām going to start trying some SS in there as well in the near future.
I do similarly to some of you: my Recovery week looks a lot like my Training weeks, but volume is reduced by 33-50%. In other words, I still do some SS, some VO2max and some Tempo, but shorter times.
Also, I donāt do too much Endurance (and Iām a Ranodnneur ironically), most of my long rides are 2-3 hrs of Tempo.