Cycling Recovery Tips | Recovery Strategies for Cyclists | EVOQ.BIKE
Cycling Recovery
You may have already read about what to do during a recovery week, which talks about what rides to do in order to come back stronger for your next cycling training block.
What weâre going to talk about in this post is in regards to what you need to do to be able to complete Mega RidesâŚand not just one, but a lot of long rides!
What more can I say, except that I think itâs clear if you follow me on Strava, I love big miles and long bike rides.
I am a âcyclistâ well before âbike racerâ, and often times have to fight the urge to RIDE MORE in order to have some performance capabilities.
I remember when we were chasing NRC Glory and would drive four to five hours to race a ninety minute criterium. I hated that; it could have been a six hour bike ride!
But Iâm digressingâŚ
This blog post is about how you make it through an OOZI WEEK⢠and some Mega Miles.
Whatâs an OOZI WEEKâ˘? A week with 1200 TSS or more. Iâm sure it will consist of OOZE RIDESâ˘, where you hit 3,200kj.
Whatâs with the dumb names?
Well, before Strava, we used to compare weekend rides and training and we got bored talking about TSSâŚ
âYou going Mega?â âMEGA!!!!â âOh snap. Okay Iâm in.â
mega = 275 TSS, Mega = 300 TSS, MEGA = 350 TSS.
So, how do you ride further on your bike? Or shall we say, ride MEGA?
It starts BEFORE and AFTER the actual bike ride!
See Also: Polarized Training For Cycling
Riding More Miles Starts in the Gym
I know, most cyclists hate lifting weights because weâd rather be riding.
If you read one sentence, itâs this one: if you want to go on long bike rides and crush mega miles, lifting weights will help you massively.
You can use all the post ride recovery tools that Iâll talk about, but seriously, GET IN THE GYM.
Our skeletons need the load and lifting will strengthen not only your muscles, but tendons, ligaments, and neuromuscular connections.
If I hadnât gone through our Power Phase Program this Fall and Winter, there is NO WAY that I would have completed these mega months of biking.
If you havenât read the posts on lifting weights, you should. This one and this one for sure. At some point weâll combine those, but for now, check them out.
Lifting has changed me as a cyclist. I was first introduced to lifting with my first coach, Jason Hilimire, but I had some issue with the protocol, and eventually I drifted away from it.
Also, most cyclists werenât lifting year round, so the gains that I made were lost within 2-3 months.
Main issues that I had with the program were that there wasnât enough âbase milesâ of lifting, and therefore I didnât see the gains stick around long enough. Iâd liken it to people that just use Sweet Spot training to bump up their FTP. Itâs a great way to create a soft shell where ONE NUMBER increases, but overall, you have so many holes in your cycling armor that youâll be picked apart in a group ride or race.
So, moral of the story, if you want to have some long rides over and over and stay injury free, I highly recommend that you lift weights for a couple months when your racing season is over, and then use maintenance lifts throughout the entire year.
Related Post: Avoid These Common Gym Mistakes
Recovery Ride for Cycling
What is a recovery bike ride? Traditionally, it will be a VERY easy ride in zone 1 (<50% of FTP) usually between 45-90 minutes in length.
When should you do a recovery ride? Recovery rides are a good form of active recovery on your cycling rest days. Typically, you will want to take 2 days per week of rest each week during intense training blocks. On these rest days, some form of active recovery can help promote blood flow and loosen up your muscles. Many times, Iâve felt really stiff and sore on a rest day, but after a recovery ride or a walk, I am a new man!
How long should a recovery ride be? There really is no reason to go longer than 90 minutes on a recovery ride. The idea of a recovery ride is to spin the legs and get some good blood flow going⌠this is NOT a training ride. Do not let you heart rate or power go above zone 1 on these rides. Think of this as a massage on your legs.
Active Recovery for Cycling
Now, recovery rides are only one way to do active recovery. Another key aspect of a cycling recovery is the mental break as well. If youâve been riding a lot, the thought of kitting up and going through the motions of getting ready for a recovery ride might not sound appealing. Donât sweat it! A recovery ride isnât going to make you any stronger, it will only help you recover, but there are other forms of active recovery for cycling that will do the trick as well.
Do what you enjoy or whatever you feel like on your cycling recovery dayâ a swim, a short walk, a core workout, just make sure itâs easy.
Cycling Sore Legs Recovery Time
Cycling sore legs recovery time can vary drastically depending on several factors:
Intensity of the ride â a more intense ride is more likely to cause muscle damage and sore legs
Duration of the ride â longer rides can deplete your glycogen stores and cause more muscle damage
Nutrition â You can minimize soreness from rides by making sure you eat enough during and after your ride. Research has shown that carb intakes of 120 grams per hour of cycling can drastically reduce muscle damage
Rider fitness levels â Newer riders will typically take longer to recover from hard rides than more experienced riders
If your legs are sore, itâs still okay to ride, but an easy zone 1 or 2 ride is probably best.
How Do Pro Cyclists Recover So Quickly?
If you watch the Tour de France, one of the most amazing things is just how well pro cyclists can recover between staged for three weeks in a row. Every day theyâre smashing 170+ kilometers. What can we learn from the pros about cycling recovery?
Nutrition: Many pro cyclists are touting the advancements in recent years in sports nutrition. 10 years ago, only a handful of teams have sports nutritionists, now, every WorldTour team has a nutritionist that closely monitors their intake to ensure proper recovery. You can only get out what you put in. If youâre doing a big week of training, you must pay close attention to make sure you are consuming enough Calories. Once you get this dialed, you will notice a huge difference. We have tons of resources on cycling nutrition here.
Sleep: This is when your body makes the bulk of itâs repairs from a hard ride. The amount of sleep everyone needs varies, but in general, you should be aiming for a minimum of 7 hours every nightâŚ. 8-9 is much better! You might not notice a big difference after one or two nights poor sleep, but chronically, poor sleep can really add up and decrease your recovery as well as your training adaptations.
Training: Of course, these pros didnât get to where they were overnight. Cyclists regularly do 3-6 hour rides almost every day in training and routinely train 20-30 hours per week. If youâre new to training, it will take some time to get to this level. When I first started cycling, 10 hours was a big week. If you train 7 hours, try 9 hours. Once you get good with that, increase to 10 or 11.
Mega Riding Blocks
Whether we look at weekly TSS, the density of the workouts, or the months as a whole, for me, this was a HUGE BLOCK.
High overview, monthly stats:
The weekly view is pretty stout as well!
Okay, enough about me, but I wanted you to see that these werenât just fluff hours; this was mega training and lots of LONG rides.
In order to do this, the prework was all completed from the gym and a solid base foundation.
Which brings me to the first product that goes on Pre-Ride.
Hello Blue CBD For Cycling Pre-Ride and Post-Ride
Before we dive in, USE the Hello Blue Discount CODE Brendan15 for 15% OFF and some free goodies (LIKE FREE MUSCLE BUTTER!!!)
I was introduced to Hello Blue CBD through Phil Gaimon. I saw him posting some product photos before the Red Blue Gran Fondo and asked him, âWhy Hello Blueâ?
So I looked around on their site and was really impressed not only by the layout and presentation of products, but that they actually did seem to know cycling. If I was looking for a CBD to improve performance, this brand seemed to be the one.
I messaged them to see if they could have Phil bring some samples down, and instead, they sent me some samples for the team!!
If youâre looking for CBD for Cycling or CBD to improve your performance, this is the brand!
There are a number of reasons to use CBD in a lotion form, but here are mine:
Immediate Muscle Relaxation
Less Muscle Soreness Hours After The Ride
Feeling More Recovered For The Next Long Ride!
Any athlete looking for CBD should check out the Hello Blue CBD product line, especially endurance athletes looking to improve their workouts and recovery with CBD!!!
My favorite products are:
Muscle Butter - ACTIVE and RELAX
Chamois Cream with CBD
CBD Sleep
Iâll get into these in more detail below.
Related Post: Complete Guide to Cycling Nutrition
Pre-Ride Routine
Bands for Muscle Activation
Itâs all about activating the muscle groups.
Quads, glutes, inner and outer leg.
Do some of the following and I bet you find some muscle that just arenât moving smoothly. These movements will strengthen your legs and keep everything flowing!
Glute Bridges, Clam Shells, Monster Walk, Abduction Movements, Adduction Movements, Dead Bug, Elevated Hip Band March, Donkey Kicks, Bird DogsâŚ.anything like those!
Get kitted up and apply the chamois cream!
Chamois Cream
Iâve been using the same cream for 10 years and was convinced it was the best. They asked me to give this a try, so I figured Iâd do it and let them know, politely, what was wrong with it. ;-)
Well damn, THIS STUFF ROCKS!!!!!
First off, it stays in place, meaning it is not goopy. Itâs easy to handle and get exactly where you want it.
Second, it reduces saddle sores because of the Vitamin E, shea butter, CBD, and Aloe Vera.
Third, you donât need to use a ton.
I could go on and on, but check out their own words about it below!
This is the best chamois cream for cycling.
Simply the best chamois crème on the market. Made by cyclists for cyclists with CBD (150mg per oz.), Shea Butter, Vitamin E, Aloe Vera and so much more so you can âtake care down there.â Made in European style, with a slightly warm then cool sensation when first applied, which feels great when you are sore from a lot of time in the saddle. Smells like Mint Chip Ice Cream. THC Free.
We know there are a lot of chamois cream options on the market . . . we have tried them all over the years. Some are good, some are great, some you know after one use that youâll never touch again. As we have personally experienced the amazing healing effects of CBD with topical applications, we decided it was time to make something for our most sensitive of areas. We think weâve come up with a great product that does a few things for the cyclist:
Slightly numbs the skin and promotes good blood flow. Youâll appreciate this when you first get on the bike, especially if you just had an epic ride in the days prior. That first contact with the saddle can be painful if you havenât recovered all the way. This will help.
Coats and soothes tender skin, preventing chamois chaffing. Some chamois creams promote themselves as being âhigh viscosity.â Wait, what? The more viscous a substance, the thicker it is. Think motor oil and honey . . . not something you would want to put down there. Weâve created an easy-to-apply, mid-level viscosity cream that will protect you throughout your ride. Around mile 40 youâll see what we mean.
Helps sensitive skin with recovery. While most chamois creams focus on pre and mid ride, we have included compounds that help you recover and heal post-ride as well! Vitamin E, Shea Butter, CBD and Aloe Vera are all excellent for epidermis, basement membrane and dermis health and recovery.
The bottom line? It helps your bottom be less sore and sensitive.
Related Post: Top Core Exercises for Cyclists
Muscle Butter For High Performance
Next Up, GET THE MUSCLES READY!
Iâve tried other amplifying creams and whatnot, but nothing has done the job for high performance quite like Active.
A great attribute to this product is that is GOES ON CLEAN.
Itâs not goopy and a huge mess. Also, it smells really good!!!
From their site:
Formulated by athletes for athletes, CBD Muscle Butter Active combines the pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory benefits of CBD (150mg per ounce) with the counter-irritant and pain relieving properties of Boswellia (Frankincense). It goes on like a lotion, stays on like a salve, water-resistant, THC Free.
Apply at least 20 minutes prior to exercise or immediately after to promote faster recovery and soothe aches and pains. Active smells minty. Daily smells citrusy like grapefruit and orange. Relax smells like lavender.
150mg of CBD per ounce (600mg in a 4oz. jar) plus all-natural ingredients to get you back in the game. We created CBD Muscle Butter Active to help with our own muscle recovery during and after long bike rides. After spending several hours pedaling through the Santa Monica Mountains outside of Los Angeles, our legs were twitching and tired! This fantastic all-natural blend helps right away and provides long-lasting benefits. This advanced formula cuts your recovery time in half. Smells super minty. THC Free.
Formulated by athletes for athletes, CBD Muscle Butter Active combines the pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory benefits of CBD (Cannabidiol) with the counter-irritant properties of menthol and the pain-relieving properties of camphor and boswellia (frankincense). Our proprietary blend of all-natural ingredients in designed for pre-activity warm-up and prevention as well as post-activity recovery. It is safe for competitive sports, as are all of our products. Made with care in California.
This is an absolute game changer!!!!
Now, what do you do after the ride? Iâll start simple to more complex or costly!
Post Ride Recovery
Massage Stick
Immediately upon getting home I hit my calves, IT Band, Glutes, and inner thighs with this massage stick.
The IT Band is usually pretty sore and this will get blood and nutrients flowing back into the muscles as soon as possible. This is clutch!!!
Recovery Food
Start eating!!! Get your Science in Sport REGO into a bottle and consumed if you are smashing again the next day! If you arenât riding the next day, use the Overnight Protein. Itâs a no brainer!
Related Post: Cycling Recovery Week Guide
Hello Blue CBD: Relax
Yup, weâre back to the anti-inflammatory products that will rush relief to the tired muscles.
RELAX smells like Lavender and is phenomenal. You donât need much, but apply to glutes, IT band, and quads, and anywhere else that is sore. I oftentimes put it on my achilles area since there is naturally low blood supply down there, and some massage and RELAX really helps.
Bands
Next, Iâm back to some band workâŚ.same ones as above
Trigger Point Roller - Blood Flow
This is crucial for, yes you guess it, the achilles and calf area, IT Band, Glutes, and even inner thighs.
Why all the massaging?
You really want to avoid letting your muscles tighten up.
If they do, things will be tugging in odd ways and this is when you feel those nagging little pains.
Many times, when something feels off, âMy knee hurtsâ, it isnât the knee, but something pulling it out of wack.
STAY LOOSE.
10 Minute Walk - Blood Flow and Digestion
Post meal walks will not only help you with digestion of all the food youâre consuming, but itâs like an active recovery ride, and youâll lightly utilize other muscles that havenât been shown much love. Go for a walk!
Elevated Legs - Massage
Elevated Legs Discount Code: Use Code EVOQSQUEEZE for 25% OFF ELEVATED LEGS!!!
These things are amazing!!
ELEVATED LEGS!
Youâll never want to leave them.
Time for BED!
Sleep for Cycling Recovery
Even though youâve just thrashed your body, sometimes itâs the neuromuscular damage that can leave you tossing and turning. Or, youâre so hydrated that you have to wake up to pee and canât fall back asleep.
Whatever the issue, these two products help me sleep and I love them.
Sleepy Tea
I drink these two, or a variation of them within the Celestial or Yogi Brands, every night. Itâs extremely calming and love the flavor. No caffeine, and it will help relax your body and brain so that you fall asleep with ease, and stay asleep.
Hello Blue Sleep CBD
Check THIS OUT!!! The best for last. CODE Brendan15 for 15% off and FREE GOODIES!!!
CDB Sleep has Melatonin in it which will help you snooze and stay snoozed.
Iâd make sure that you take it at least one hour before you plan to go to bed. And then be ready to fall asleep!
From their site:
Some studies say it could help with jet lag and some sleep issues like delayed sleep phase disorder, shift work disorder, and some sleep disorders with children. Other research shows it may let people with insomnia fall asleep slightly faster. It may also help you sleep better through the night, but not necessarily longer. This product may cause drowsiness. Do not operate machinery or drive a vehicle for 6 to 8 hours after consumption.
That covers it! Use these tips to keep your body running in tip top shape for the next big cycling training block!!!