Hi
Why is it that I feel more tired after a rest day? I must admit taking a day off never seems that easy for me trying to get all the planned workouts in (12 week all purpose plan) which generally covers 6 days plus I also want to go out on the Sunday group ride as well so that makes 7!!. This Sunday I did my volunteer Tea/cake duty at the club hall so was in a way forced into not riding yet this morning I feel more tired than ever?? They usually do 50/60 miles in our group at an average of about 18mph and normally after that I feel fine again Monday morning but this Morning I feel more tired than if I had done the Sunday ride. Why is that? Also, I have a full week off the bike in 2 weeks time with no bike riding ( Going Camping) and I am already worrying that I will loose some of the fitness I have gained in my last 8 weeks hard work on the plan. Please convince me that rest is good!!
You feel tired because you’ve given your body permission to recover from overdoing it and it is going to take more than 1 day to recover if that is the case.
You say you normally feel fine on Monday after a Sunday club ride, give your body a chance to properly recover and you won’t feel fine you’ll feel fitter. I’m often amazed at how much better I feel the day after a half hour Z1 recovery ride than if I skip it.
50/60 miles at 18mph doesn’t say anything about intensity or training load, what kind %FTP or HR zone does that equate to?
Club/outdoor/social rides are not supposed to be done in addition to the workouts scheduled in a SYSTM training plan, you’re meant to substitute.
You’re not going to lose fitness in 2 weeks, you’ll find you come back stronger after a good rest and recovery period.
One of the factors in aging is the decline in testosterone levels. This means that sometimes DOMS can be pushed off by a day or two.
It also could be a sign of overreaching.
As @JGreengrass said, it is difficult to know without more information.
While rest must be done if needed, the older you get, the more fitness you can lose over time. If I rested for two weeks, I would lose a noticeable amount of fitness. I know this from experience.
Would I be permitted to inject a random sense of humour?
You will need a pre-rest day rest day to ensure you get the maximum rest before an actual rest day! 
But in all seriousness, I think, and just a personal opinion, you will lose some fitness if you stop training for 2 weeks. But if it’s just a week, the losses aren’t that much.
Thanks for all of your comments and encouragement. For me a ride as mentioned would be at approx as here
87.70km
3:02:51
710m
Ave Weighted Watts 155W
1,397kJ
Avg Max
Speed 28.8km/h 59.4km/h
Heart Rate 115bpm 142bpm
Cadence 76 165
Power 127W 524W
Calories 1,383
Max HR is 151 and estimated FTP 200 watts (Half Monty on Friday this week) suspect it may be a tad higher based on how I managed to do Nine Hammers last week based on that figure without destroying myself… Weight 61KGs age almost 69 years. Thanks I wont panic about my week off too much then
@ozmadman Just to add to what others have said - all stress is cumulative so you could be feeling the effects of other things in your life. Take a note of your overall stress, how well you are sleeping, hydrating and eating.
Here is a podcast (among many) on recovery:
Adding the outdoor rides to the plan could certainly be the culprit. I would suggest tracking everything as we are all different when it comes to our capacities for training and so it is important that you find your own balance.
During the ride, how much did you eat and drink?
How much sleep did you get the night before?
Others have mentioned this, but you really need a couple of “rest” days. This doesn’t mean sit on your backside and put your legs up (as a matter of fact that is the WORST thing to do at our ages). Do a light yoga workout. Do an upper body or core strength workout that is short and light (the first one in the series is a great place to start and to do this type of workout). Even go for a stroll (not a power walk but pretend you are walking a reluctant dog. If you really want to ride, do something like Recovery Spin. In all cases watch your heart rate. If it starts to head up, take a break or stop. Do this for two days.
Hi Cant remember but as a guess i would say not enough for both of them. I am retired though so its not like I have a day job to worry about or kids and other stresses to wear me down
I posted this link to a podcast about nutrition in another thread:
Thanks, will take a look cheers!
I used to do that too, 7 days and my “rest” day was an active recovery ride but as my volume increased, I left that rest day as a no-bike day.
The one thing that helped me or helped convince me I needed these real rest days was my WHOOP recovery score!
It’s important not to get too caught up in TSS scores etc during a 2 week period off the bike. In saying that I get it, being off the bike is a scary thought. Your “camping trip” if you’re incorporating cross training ie hiking. Kayak or swimming or some other sort of activity. You will probably still maintain your base. If the camping trip is Beers, way too many BBQ feeds etc. Then in my experience it does impact your training somewhat. We all have life + cycling. I find if you have clear goals then build your activities around that goal, it will go to achieving your outcomes. For example 2 week camping holiday I went on. I took my dodgy old mountain bike, found some trails and I included these into each day where I would have had a workout. When I came back to my normal activities, I didn’t feel as if I lost any fitness and had increased interest into my training programme as the break from the normal routine of the workouts have me a new lease of life on the workouts!
Hi
Thanks, Going with my non-cycling girlfriend and it is just a week’s camping (in 2 weeks time). The only activity will probably be some long walks and lugging heavy fishing equipment down to the beach and back a few times!! No beer though and just a general chilling out. It’s then 3 weeks back to normal life and then another week camping again.
Then just enjoy it!!! That sounds like an amazing trip away. The bike will be there when you get back, then get on it for the 3 weeks and train hard, then treat the 2nd camping trip like a reward for all the hard work
Yep, I will, plus some motivation arrived in a box this morning, a S/H carbon TT bike! never done a TT in my life but my local club that I joined a few months back runs regular TT’s so I thought I would give it a go. Got reasonably fit I think in the last 6 months or so and definitely since joining Systm 8 weeks ago now but have been running on estimated FTP up until now, well until Friday when I do my first fitness test EVER, the half Monty then I will see how fit my 68 year old body is. cheers
That’s awesome, enjoy your TT journey and if you’ve spent the money to get a good TT bike, then pay the money to get a bike fit to help you get your best possible position on the TT and then practice it. I’d love a TT bike in my arsenal, but for now I’m just putting bars on my road bike when there is a TT event.
+1 on this.
In fact, if have gone through the MTP, you will find that by rewarding oneself, it boosts the morale and drives one to achieve other goals. It does not matter how big or small that reward is. I can be as simple as getting oneself the god-forbidden ice cream or even taking a dip in the jacuzzi.