How to avoid over-training
How to avoid over-training
To avoid over-training it is important to build recovery into your training plan. The best way to do this is by applying the rule of little and often.
A short block of recovery taken often will allow you to recover without losing any of the form you have gained. If your breaks in training are too long your will come out of them fresh but will also have lost some of your hard-earned form.
Periodisation is the method that coaches use to do this. Periodisation is essentially the systematic planning of a training plan and recovery is built into the program between each block of training.
In addition, each block of training is slightly harder than the previous block. The progressive nature of this type of training provides a continuous element of over-reaching and the recovery between each block ensures that the athlete doesn’t develop signs of non-functional over-reaching.
When considering the amount of recovery required, it’s really important to consider factors outside of cycling. Our family, social, and work lives take up more time than we spend on the bike, therefore the impacts of these external factors on the amount of recovery needed should always be included in a training plan.
Try and plan ahead to ensure both training and your family, social and work lives aren’t affected by each other. For example, combine a busy week at work with a recovery week. For the average rider with a family and a 9-5 job, I would recommend a least two recovery days per week, one on a Monday and another on a Friday. This breaks the week up and applies the little and often rule of recovery. Concentrate on shorter, more specific workouts during the week when time is limited and then try and get out at the weekends for longer endurance rides.