# How long to regain fitness after 4 months off?



## P.D.E. (Oct 15, 2006)

Thanks to a bad leg injury I've been completely exercise-free for 4 months...was only able to walk lightly.

Before I was riding 200-300 miles/week consisently for almost 2 years and was planning on getting into racing this year. This is the first time I've been off the bike for more than a few days...can anybody tell me what to expect in terms of time to get back to form? Some guys have said it only takes 2x the layoff time to come back (i.e. 8 months) while other folks said after that long a break you're back to zero and it could take years to fully come back to a well developed fitness level


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## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

P.D.E. said:


> Thanks to a bad leg injury I've been completely exercise-free for 4 months...was only able to walk lightly.
> 
> Before I was riding 200-300 miles/week consisently for almost 2 years and was planning on getting into racing this year. This is the first time I've been off the bike for more than a few days...can anybody tell me what to expect in terms of time to get back to form? Some guys have said it only takes 2x the layoff time to come back (i.e. 8 months) while other folks said after that long a break you're back to zero and it could take years to fully come back to a well developed fitness level


You were riding 21,000 km/year and not racing?


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## P.D.E. (Oct 15, 2006)

ewitz said:


> You were riding 21,000 km/year and not racing?


The last 12 months pre-injury I rode 12,000 miles (19,300km). I've only been "training" for cycling for 2 years, before that I was just a casual rider. Last year I didn't think I was quite ready for racing but I had high hopes for '08...until I crashed hard in October!


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2008)

I don't think it would take years.

Many pro's and top riders have recovered from bad injuries in time periods less than a year.

I would imagine base it your main (and most time consuming) target. Anaerobic fitness could only take a few months to get back up to a decent level after that.

I am not an expert though.


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## Export A (Mar 18, 2007)

Living in Canada gives me an annual 4 or 5 months off the bike, unless I feel like suiting up and riding on snow and ice(no thanks). I do ride 2or 3 hundred a week from may to oct . I find it only takes about a month of riding to get back to that point.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Rule of thumb*



P.D.E. said:


> Thanks to a bad leg injury I've been completely exercise-free for 4 months...was only able to walk lightly.
> 
> Before I was riding 200-300 miles/week consisently for almost 2 years and was planning on getting into racing this year. This is the first time I've been off the bike for more than a few days...can anybody tell me what to expect in terms of time to get back to form? Some guys have said it only takes 2x the layoff time to come back (i.e. 8 months) while other folks said after that long a break you're back to zero and it could take years to fully come back to a well developed fitness level


As "some guys" have said, the rough rule of thumb is 2 months to recover for every 1 month off. However, there is a lot of variation in that. Years to fully recover? I don't think so. I was in a wheel chair for 7 weeks, followed by 3 weeks on crutches (January through March) and by May, I was close to 100% based on my time trial speed.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

It depends on what your goals are with your recovery.

If it's just getting back to riding 200-300 miles a week...that shouldn't take more than 3-4 months at the most. I was able to go from no riding for years to 200 miles a week in 3 months. Now I wasn't the fastest guy in the world, but I could ride those distances with a decent amount of climbing without much problem.

If you want to do it at a specific speed that's pretty fast then you are talking about a bit more time. 3-4 months to get the mileage and base back...Then another 2-3 months of intervals to get your speed back.

If you want to return to a faster pace than before figure 6-9 months.

Take for instance when people have tear their ACL and need knee reconstruction (something I've been through). I was completely off the knee for two weeks, then started really slow rehab. By 7 months I was back at full strength and by 9 months I was stronger than before the injury.

It will just take dedication and work to return to normal....but not as long as you think if it's just getting back to your base mileage.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

Just race  You won't be in top shape, but you still have a decent base. Starting to race isn't about winning -- it's about having tons of fun and learning a lot.


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## P.D.E. (Oct 15, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback so far. It seems like the consensus is for months rather than years...that's very heartening news. This could be my year to start racing after all.


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