I’m very much a novice cyclist but I’ve noticed something unusual. When I have a day off between rides (as my novice plan indicates) I struggle to get through the next vid. It’s as though my body has forgotten what cycling is. However, if I do two days in a row, I feel as fresh as a daisy. I decided to follow this through and got to day 6 feeling great before my body said ‘time for a break’.
Does this happen for anyone else? How do I avoid that post day off sluggish feeling? Do I need to be doing more hours per week?
As background, I’m generally doing about 6 hours a week on the bike with nothing else fitness wise.
Not a coach but you might want to consider trying a recovery spin on those days. Like 45-50% of FTP at an easy cadence 80-85 for about a half hour on those “days off”. I find they help keep my energy up if I am feeling otherwise sluggish on a day off. You might also want to try some of the gentler yoga vids (like Morning Yoga routine, or Shake off the day, I also like Stretching after Suffering). There’s a whole group of Sufferlandrians who have taken to daily yoga (myself included) and I swear that has helped with my energy levels as well as forcing me to commit to something healthy for me each day.
On the grand tours, riders will ride on their rest day just to avoid the symptoms you have mentioned. I feel very sluggish after a day off, even the warm up of the next workout feels uncomfortable.Yet if you ignore the rest days and keep riding, it will grind you down. Perhaps thinking a rest day is really a recovery day, a day to devote to doing what you need to recover will work, As Sir Glen mentions, active recovery me be the thing for you