# Total Week Off??



## durkind (May 24, 2004)

Has anyone taken a full week off from the bike midway through season? Can a full week off be a detriment--will you lose any fitness?


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Yes, I did it a couple weeks ago.

If you've been training hard and are feeling stale / fatigued, it will definitely help.


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## vfr (Jul 14, 2012)

durkind said:


> Has anyone taken a full week off from the bike midway through season? Can a full week off be a detriment--will you lose any fitness?


I do it intentionally now and then and learned to do this the hard way. If you've ever done a serious job of overtraining, you'll never do it again. A week off now and then helps me and doesn't hurt in any way. Probably will be the same for you. FWIW.


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## cyclesport45 (Dec 10, 2007)

Try it. You ost likely will come back mentally raring to go, and physically fresh.


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

This season I trained consistently from January to first week of July, peaking for MTB nationals (2nd place, Cat2, 45-49 AG, BTW; wooohooo!!!!). 

Last week took a non-bike week long active vacation out of town. 

It was a good mental break, while spending quality time with the wife. 

IME, it takes 2 weeks to get back to par, from taking a week off. You can continue improving after that while having more training enthusiasm from the break.


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## slowdave (Nov 29, 2005)

Ive had a week off this last week. Hopeing i will be ok for state champs in just on three weeks and better for nationals in 2 and a half months. but i worked enough OT for a new tt frame and a new 12" for my son, who is more excited?


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## locustfist (Feb 21, 2009)

Just took 10 days off for vacation with a little hiking and a run or two.

First day back I felt a little weak but day 2 I was on great form. I had a really hard 14 day stretch of training before the break.


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

As others have stated, it is fine to take time off during the season, and probably important to do so. 

I just spent 9 days off the bike and coming back is going to be dependent on individual adaptation. I raced this weekend and I had to ride a bit more than normal to get my legs feeling right. I rode Tuesday (hard), Wednesday (easy), Thursday (moderate-hard), nothing on Friday, race Saturday. This is completely off my normal race week schedule, but considering I hadn't been on the bike for 9 days before Tuesday, I needed to get my legs ready for the hard effort on Saturday. (BTW, I would never normally ride this type of ride on a Thursday before a Saturday race, and almost NEVER do nothing the day before a race - usually openers).

You will need to see how your body adapts and what you need to do when you come back.


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

Just completed a mid-week crit and a midweek MTB race after the 8 days off I mentioned above.

In both races i was weaker, but not by much. In the crit went from 4th and racing/attacking around the front, and this time 8th and barely holding on the back of lead group in a semi technical crit (just couldn't move up). PM showed a really, really high average HR at a similar NP. About 10 beats higher than normal. So I'm fresh and not as sharp, I believe. 

In MTB race, got beat by guys I usually trade off with. 

It seems that I've lost my leg speed. I can put out power but in a narrow rpm band, which makes me race weaker. Time to incorporate some leg speed drills to get it back.


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## sdeeer (Aug 12, 2008)

I too just took 6 days off. I usually do this after the big July races as I have been 'on' a training plan since January as well.

This week I typically just get on the bike everyday and ride relatively easy but with a few efforts. Next week I get back at training and prep for the few remaining late season road/crits and CX. 

My HR is about 10 beats above normal for a given work rate and as far as I know this is partially due to reduced plasma volume with the rest period as well as potentially reduced adrenal fatigue. I originally assumed that it was all due to plasma volume but in talking with a colleague, he suggested that there is some evidence that HR will be elevated after resting from a long hard training stint due to adrenal 'recovery'. I still have to look into that.

But as others have said, if you have been going hard, a week off will likely lead to a brief dip in performance followed by good form.


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## blueapplepaste (Mar 20, 2012)

Yup as other have said go for it. I usually take a week off around this time of the year in the middle of good riding season. It's just nice to have a mental and physical break now and then. 

You'll come back mentally fresh and ready to make a strong push towards the winter


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## Duane Gran (Feb 3, 2004)

If this is entirely discretionary, you might be better off just doing light rides for recovery instead. Scaling back is worthwhile but cold turkey doesn't seem necessary unless you know that you will hammer hard the first day you feel fresh.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

The only time I've taken an entire week off the bike was after the flu. Felt horrible. 

Other than that, I don't think I've gone more than 5 days for many years. Even with a newborn, I've been able to hop on the bike, albeit for very short amounts of time.


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## Mr. Jones (Jul 4, 2006)

Duane Gran said:


> If this is entirely discretionary, you might be better off just doing light rides for recovery instead. Scaling back is worthwhile but cold turkey doesn't seem necessary unless you know that you will hammer hard the first day you feel fresh.


In my estimation, this would kill a lot of the mental benefit that you would get from not riding. For me at least, a big part of it is just figuring out when I am going to schedule rides/wasting time until it I have let food digest, etc. Waking up knowing that I am not going to ride on a particular day usually makes me a lot more productive on that day.


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