Loss of Fitness

Paul Kiernan

I went out for a spin yesterday having not cycled for about 2 weeks. I did a route up the Sally Gap I had done a few weeks ago. To my horror, my speed was about 6% slower and my average heart rate was much higher (149 v. 142). I spent a ridiculous hour in my anaerobic zone as opposed to 24 minutes the previous time.

Can I really have lost that much fitness in 2 weeks? It was very windy yesterday but the wind was behind as much as it was against me. It was also a fair bit warmer.

IM0

maybe, but if you had a power meter on for sure you would know, power/watts dont lie and no environmental factors affect them.

Did they feel the same ask yourself.

Zorba

U might have just had a bad day, sometimes happens to me and others i know where one day u just don't feel great on the bike, then a few days later your back to where u were.

Personally i think to keep at the same level of fitness you'd want to be going out at least once a week, preferably at least twice a week.

Or u could have maybe a touch of a cold or maybe your sleeping pattern was disturbed ?

I wouldn't worry about one bad day on a bike we all have them, if it continues i'd start worrying though.

Paul Kiernan

me@ucd wrote: »

maybe, but if you had a power meter on for sure you would know, power/watts dont lie and no environmental factors affect them.

How much is a power meter? Bloody expensive, I believe! Any cheap ones available?

me@ucd wrote: »

Did they feel the same ask yourself.

TBH, no. From the first hill in Enniskerry it felt tougher than usual.

U might have just had a bad day

Hopefully, you're right.

gerardduff

No doubt you'll have lost a bit of fitness if you've been off the bike for 2 weeks. But you will bounce back quicker if you had a good base fitness pre your break...That should be one of the benefits of a good base.

When coming back from a break try to cycle with at least one other person. If you can't do that try to be conscience of the break and expect a slow day or two before you're back where you were two/three weeks ago.

papac

I seem to remember that heart stroke volume begins to decrease on the third day of rest. (no link sorry).
Other things follow in quick succession.

I reckon the older you are the quicker you lose fitness also.
As someone else said-once you have a good base you regain quickly.

Lumen

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Can I really have lost that much fitness in 2 weeks?

No.

Stokolan

I always find when I'm off the bike for more then 2 weeks that I feel like I've lost some fitness. For the first 10k or so I also feel like im gona get sick :P

But once the first ride is over I'm usually back to good form.

jwshooter

the same thing happened to a friend of mine , god rest him !.;)

Homme Enigmatique

The wind was really strong yeaterday & it has been very calm for the previous few weeks which would make a big difference to the effort required.

Ryaner

Everyone is different. I know myself if I spent 3 or 4 days off the bike and eat bad, once I get back on I'll suffer for the first few hours. Power will be down, HR up and I'll sweat more than usual. Following day is usually a massive improvement though.

blorg

@Paul- conditions make a big difference. This is why you can't really tell anything off speed. A headwind will have you going slower and is not always that perceptible as to the massive effect it is having. Wind always makes you slower, even on an out and back course. You don't get back from the tailwind what the headwind costs you.

You can only really tell objectively how you are doing with a power meter, or in competition with others.

Apart from that it could just be a bad day; we all have them and I wouldn't worry too much about it. But to be honest to go only 6% slower on a very windy day compared to a calm one doesn't sound that bad at all.

Paul Kiernan

Thanks, guys. I'll stop worrying about it!

I checked my computer and saw that when I did the same route in early March I was 23% slower with an even faster heartrate so that cheered me up:).