If you want to constantly improve your performance on the road bike, you have to do one thing above all: regenerate properly. Unfortunately, this sentence still represents a paradox for many cyclists. They train too much, too fast and too intensively. And are frustrated when success does not materialise "despite their hard work". But why do many cyclists find it so difficult to take a break? "Because they don't yet realise how important it is for their positive performance development," says Christof Weiß, trainer at the European Bike Academy in Übersee, Bavaria.
In order to strengthen this awareness, you first need to understand what happens in the body during the regeneration process: the first regenerative processes in the body are initiated as soon as you roll out. The heart rate and breathing rate drop and the creatine stores are replenished. As the blood flow continues, the muscles become looser, muscle tension decreases and lactate is broken down. The electrolyte and fluid balance is equalised up to around six hours after exercise, and muscle and liver glycogen are replenished. It can take a few days to several weeks for the body to rebuild mitochondria damaged by training, which are responsible for energy production in the cells. The immune system and the psyche also need time to fully recover.
Sufficient sleep, a carbohydrate-rich diet, massages, stretching and relaxation exercises favour regeneration. Compensatory training can also speed up recovery, but should be done for a maximum of 45 minutes and at a low intensity (50 to 60 per cent of maximum heart rate). Highly trained cyclists regenerate faster than amateur cyclists, as their bodies are used to the constant alternation of loading and unloading. They can expect a significantly higher load/relief ratio.
SENSIBLE TRAINING STRUCTURE
The body adapts in order to be better able to cope with the required performance in the next training session. These adaptation processes to the training stimulus take place during the regeneration phase. This means that only those who correctly coordinate training and regeneration phases can achieve consistent and long-term training success. In training science, training phases are therefore divided into micro (one week), meso (one month) and macro cycles (several months). The purpose of this cyclisation is to adapt training and regeneration perfectly to each other. The cycles build on each other: Within a training week there are load and recovery days, within a training month there are load and recovery weeks.
Depending on your level of training, the ratio of loading to unloading varies enormously. For beginners, each training day should be followed by a day's rest, and even two rest days after longer sessions. For ambitious cyclists, a load ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 has proven to be effective, meaning that two to three days of training are followed by a recovery day. Professionals increase the load ratio to up to 6:1, meaning they only allow themselves one rest day per week. It is important to increase the workload on the training days, process it on the recovery day and then start the next workload phase at a higher level.
The training year is also structured according to the principle of the correct combination of loading and unloading, in this case it is called periodisation. Nobody can perform at their best all year round. For this reason, the annual training programme is divided into several preparation periods, a competition period and a transition period. The latter plays a decisive role in regeneration after a tough year of competition. During these weeks - usually four to six - the body and mind can take a break from cycling, with little or only playful training with short periods of exertion and low intensity. Afterwards, you have new strength and motivation for the start of the next preparation programme.
Recovery varies depending on the level of exertion: you need to recover differently after a cycling marathon than after a criterium race. The body needs longer to regenerate after long, intensive efforts; a few days without training (only passive recovery through sleep, sauna, massages etc.) are appropriate here, after which you can start with light regeneration training. After tough but short competitions, the body recovers much faster and regeneration can be supported and accelerated by active recovery (regeneration training). Proper regeneration is therefore a decisive performance-determining factor in cycling training. If you dare to take a gear down and give your body time to cope with the stimuli, you will reap the rewards - in the next race.
BATTERY EMPTY? HOW LONG DOES THE RECOVERY TAKE
FIVE TIPS FOR THE BREAK PLAN
1. keep a detailed training diary - then you can see in black and white what you have achieved and when you need a recovery day.
2. use the regeneration days to do things for which you otherwise have less time - for example a family walk or a trip to the cinema - this is easy on the body and clears your head.
3. try to fit your recovery days in with your working day - take training days off when you have a lot to do so you feel less like you're missing out.
4. organise your regeneration days in a varied way, use different ways to recover (massage, sauna, relaxation exercises).
5 Listen to your body. If you feel you need a day off, take a day off - don't slavishly stick to the training plan if you feel tired.
REGENERATE PROPERLY: HERE'S HOW
- If possible, schedule intensive training phases so that they do not clash with periods of stress at work. Even the healthiest body cannot cope with too much at once.
- If you take a break, then do it properly. Regeneration can take up to a whole week.
- Schedule such a regeneration week early on, i.e. immediately after intensive exercise if possible, to prevent the body from overtraining.
- Depending on how the training weeks were before the break, recovery can range from active regeneration to a complete break. Active recovery depends on the level of performance. However, you should not exceed more than one to two hours in the lower fat metabolism range.
- After hard training sessions, weeks and competitions, active recovery on the following day is recommended, only then should you take a complete break. The rule is: it is better not to train for a day longer than to take too short a break.
- Diet is important. Pasta should be consumed little or not at all. They turn into unnecessary fat reserves too quickly. Better: omega-3 fatty acids, for example in vegetable oils, high-quality proteins in the form of fish or steak and vitamin-rich food, i.e. fruit and vegetables.
- Get as much sleep as possible (eight or nine hours). Massages and stretching several times a week can support regeneration.
- End the recovery week with light training (one or two hours). The new training phase then starts with longer basic endurance units.
