I would agree. My experience has been that when I hold a higher cadence around 100 rpm I do better on 4DP but to get there I have to be rested, well fueled, do a proper warmup and also have the right cooling.
I also find that my numbers are generally better in the winter versus the summer. My pain cave is in the basement and it gets warm down there due to the heat from the dehumidifier and also the heat generated by the trainer. In the winter I just crack a window and let in some ice cold air and the problem is solved.
I generally canât sustain a lower cadence consistently at threshold for a long period without backing off intermittently which obviously doesnât work for a 20 minute test. However I can sustain a lower cadence for a longer period of time at 80 to 85% of threshold which works well for long climbs.
What you implied is that doing a lower power at a higher cadence was the same as doing a higher power at a lower cadence and this is clearly not the case. If you are pushing lower power at any cadence you will be going slower (all other things being equal).
50 hrs work + 10 hrs commuting + 6 hrs of small business (guessing since you are likely training on weekends) + 10 hours training a week with 6 hours of sleep is a lot of stress and fatigue.
Having been down a similar road I can confirm the way back is hard. (Was doing 45-50 hrs work + 15 hrs commuting + 12-14 hrs training and 7 hours of sleep a night at one point. Saw FTP first plateau then plummet, avg speed do the same, tired all the time, then loss of motivation). Even after 9 months prioritizing sleep and of low, low volume training (7 hours/week), I still have a ways to go.
Like @JSampson and @WahooCoach_Corey said, youâre going to need more rest and recovery time or the stress/strain/fatigue will bring your numbers down even though you may be faster on race day.
That is spot on. Cumulative fatigue is real, and it sneakily compounds in a very nasty way. What we could handle 3 months ago, now seems impossible. Thatâs our bodyâs way of telling us, âHey mister, youâre doing too much!â
It is wise to listen. We simply cannot do it all. We must make choices.
I know this is an old thread, but research since it was written points to a MINIMUM of seven hours of sleep per day, more if you are heavily exercising or facing high stress.
[Edit]: I was the victim of both. I was in a high stress job with was causing sleep issues and i was overtraining to compensate. My abilities to ride plummeted.
After going through a couple months of increased stress and anxiety, Iâm concerned about tipping over into non-functional overreaching, as even some easier workouts are now feeling more challenging than before.
It seems like a bit of a gray area in terms of how to tell the difference between normal fatigue, non-functional overreaching, or overtraining, but any training suggestions as to how to reset to baseline and work back to a prior fitness level?
Really useful thread for me at the moment. After some months of warning signs, finally accepted that Iâm doing too much and as of today, drastically cutting back on the amount of training Iâm doing.
As much as I love cycling and strength training, I canât stop or slow down family life and work, so slowing down the training is my only option right now.
I read somewhere the other night âchoose to slow down the areas of life that you can, before youâre forced to stop everythingâ
Having reached burn out before, it finally sank in. Of course, my wife has been dropping hints for a while, but Iâm a stubborn idiot and usually do more when she says this
Today, I slept for 9 hours for the first time in years, and the only intentional exercise was 15 mins of yoga, plus some walking. Amazed at how little food I needed to feel full.
Hoping to keep this up for at least a week whilst I work out what my training should look like. At the very least going to commit to one full rest day per week for the whole year. If SYSTM had a badge for this, it would give me the motivation I need
@Namaku The body doesnât really distinguish between training stress and life stress - it is really all the same - so when you are going through higher stress periods you need to pay attention to your RPE during workouts and also just be honest with yourself that you are ready for training and also ready for the work that is scheduled. If not try dialing back - take a walk, do some yoga, light strength, an easier bike workout like Recharger, etc.
While platforms like TrainingPeaks and Strava have Fitness and Freshness scores they are just models and you will likely be better able to tell your training state than those models if you just pay attention on a daily basis.
If you need more long term recovery you can take a break from training or do one of the transition plans to slow things down and then prepare to ramp up again.
yeah as @JSampson said, stress is stress. Pay attention to how you feel (emotionally as well as physically) and do not rely on Strava, Trainingpeaks, Intervals.icu etc. If youâre training with consistent, progressive overload, taking breaks every now and then (for week, two weeks or more) is normal and honestly probably beneficial for your long-term progress.
I donât think you need to big-brain what counts as ânormalâ vs. nonfunctional fatigue. if youâre tired, you should rest: even normal fatigue needs to be shed periodically so that you can keep slamming the workout sessions with good quality.
One thing that sent warning signs I was in serious trouble was RHR and HRV. When I was stressed, my RHR went up by ten and my HRV tanked (50 â 30). There are other signs like higher than normal or lower than normal heart rates when training.
