How many rest days do you take?

I ride five days a week. The two days off are not back to back, and move around depending on my schedule. I ride about 150-300 miles per week, with lots of hill work on at least two days. I think six days is too much. Rest time is important, since that's when you build muscle. Taking a week off every now and then is good too.

cldpsu said:

I'm trying to ride 6 days a week with one rest day, but i feel awfully tired. I think maybe i should have another rest day somewhere in between, what do you guys/girls think?

That used to me my schedule - now I ride 4 days a week with 1 day off in the middle and 2 days off at the end. My distance and speed have both increased!

I'm reminded of a body building mantra - you GROW outside of the gym.

About 120 miles/wk.

I dunno, it really depends on your training. If every time you light it up, redline, then maybe training 3 times per week is sufficient!

I personally train 6 days per week, with 3 hard sessions and 3 active recovery rides. One day off the bike.

Since my commute to work is 20 miles one way with lots of hills, I run that 2 days a week as a time trial and 2 days a week are play around on lunch. The rest of the time is walking around work(large hangar). Seems to work pretty well.

Typically about 4 days of training with 2 hard days. If I have a race, I subsititue the hard day for a race day. I don't ride for 3 days. Only 1 really a rest day when I don't have to ride and work. Sitting at home doing nothing or taking care of some bills. The other 2 days I don't ride but have to work long hours. I can still get in 12 hours to 15 hours of training and close to 200 miles a week. I focuse on rest and recovery more now.

cldpsu said:

I'm trying to ride 6 days a week with one rest day, but i feel awfully tired. I think maybe i should have another rest day somewhere in between, what do you guys/girls think?

thanks for the input guys... thought i was a wuss for wanting that extra day haha

Guess I agree with Jones comment the most. Whether you should take one, two, or three days rest a week is probably more dependent on how hard you ride on your "on" days. I find myself doing 5-6 days a week where I alternate the hard days with the recovery days. I try to stick to 6 days a week and do so most of the time, but there is always the ocassional cramp or real-life issues that arrive the cause me to drop to 5 on a given week. Any given ride should be at least as long as races you plan to participate in. Some books on the matter recommend a 4-8 hours training a week for a cat 5 with more necessary as you move up to higher classifications. Recommend picking up "The Cyclist's Training Bible" by Joe Friel, a good book on cycle training for racing.

cldpsu said:

thanks for the input guys... thought i was a wuss for wanting that extra day haha