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Why does anyone need rest days?
If you read the last issue on my overtraining woes, it will come as no surprise that I recommend every cyclist also factors in rest days.
Ignoring the potential for long term damage, chronic fatigue, and permanent injuries (why, WHY would you ignore that?), there are plenty of short term improvements to be had by including proper rest days into your training.
Hard training only provides the potential for improvement.
Rest is where we improve.
In the words of Joe Friel, bestselling author and elite coach:
It’s during short-term rest that the body adapts to the stresses of exercise.
Muscle strength and endurance improves. The heart’s stroke volume increases. Capillary beds in muscles grow allowing the heart to deliver more oxygen. Aerobic enzymes increase. Blood volume increases further enhancing oxygen delivery. Glycogen stores are restocked allowing for harder workouts in the following days.
And these are only some of the physical changes that result from recovery.
That all sounds good to me!
What is the objective of a rest day?
Now, a rest day need not be a whole day of doing nothing, nor should it be restricted to one day.
For trained athletes, and most others, there will be limited muscle damage in steady state exercise.
The majority of muscle damage and the dreaded delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is caused by eccentric muscle loading - small micro tears as a muscle is lengthened under load - which doesn’t really occur during cycling.
Instead, we’re looking to recharge. Mentally and physically.
Recovery methods
What if I told you there was a free, instantly accessible performance enhancing drug that will increase your performance by 10% in a little over a month? What if I told you it wasn’t banned?
You would take that in an instant.
SPOILER: It’s sleep.
Sleep is the number one recovery tool, so make sure to get enough! Whether it’s topping up with a nap, or getting an extra 90 minutes of sleep, you will feel the benefits.
You need fuel, and for most people on a ‘normal’ balanced diet, we’re looking at carbohydrate stored as glycogen in skeletal muscle.
The most readily available muscle glycogen stores provide 1,400-2,000 calories or 350-500 grams of glycogen. This can take up to 48 hours to fully restore if entirely depleted.
You can opt for active recovery - very light exercise - or full rest. In my own experience, even highly trained athletes should have one complete rest day per week.
If nothing else, a day of little stress off the bike can help you to recharge mentally.
Importantly, remember to see family, friends, and take time to recuperate mentally as well.
Rest day frequency
There are two approaches that we can take: a scientific only, data led decision, or a holistic approach.
I prefer the latter, but will touch on my two preferred scientific measures here.
I like to measure fatigue based on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Training Stress Balance (TSB).
If you measure your fatigue based on resting heart rate and HRV, look to a study by Grégoire Millet, a French researcher working alongside the French National cross-country skiing team:
- If your HRV decreases by more than 30 percent, decrease your training load
- If your HRV decreases two days in a row, take a rest day
Alternatively, Joe Friel indicates that pushing beyond -30 TSB means you are headed for excessive fatigue. Extending beyond -30 TSB will require consecutive days of rest to fully recover.
Most riders will manage two to three hard days, some up to one week.
Combining these with an acute awareness of ‘feel’ can be a powerful tool.
If you notice a lack of motivation, short temper, mental burnout, or excessive fatigue - maybe you find yourself craving more calorie-dense food than usual (put that bag of cookies down!) - it might be time to take a rest.
Summary
- It’s important to assess and review your efforts.
- Keep an eye on how different rest periods affect you, and adjust your schedule accordingly.
- If you start to see signs of overtraining, it’s time to revisit how often and how effective your rest days are.
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