Training Tips #1

Most of us are not full time cyclist. We have other commitments like studies, work and family. Sometimes we are not able to have enough rest at night to be able to feel good during training the next day. What should we do on days like this? Below are a  few good guidelines to follow:

If you are well rested and feeling good, train long or hard as the program suggests. If you are feeling less than great, do a Recovery Ride of the full length of the suggested ride for the day. If you are really tired, replace the training with a nap. For people that regularly have trouble getting enough sleep for good recovery, they must have the rule that they must sleep to train.

The training plan might say something like "Sprints (10) if you got 8 hours sleep last night, else Short Recovery Ride" or "Endurance Spin: 4 hours if you got 8 hours sleep last night, else Short Recovery Ride" and so on. When the body is ready for rest, rest will do more to make it stronger than any number of intervals, sprints, training races or long rides. Only replace a ride with a Day Off if you are rather tired or sick. Otherwise, an easy ride is better than no ride and better than a hard ride when tired.