Resuming cycling training after a holiday period, such as Christmas or summer, can be a challenge for many cyclists. Lack of activity and overindulgence in food can make it harder than expected to get back into rhythm with a mountain bike on technical trails or a road bike on long routes.
Some opt for active rest, maintaining occasional rides and reducing intensity, which makes it easier to return to routine. However, regardless of the type of bike you use, returning to training gradually is key to avoiding injuries and effectively regaining physical condition.
Proper training planning and gradual adjustment of intensity will help rebuild lost endurance and strength. In this article, we explain how to get back to your best shape without making mistakes that slow your progress.
Plan your return to the bike
Before resuming your bike rides, whether alone or with others, most coaches recommend taking a moment to organize and plan these rides. Organize your time and create a chart or calendar with all the rides planned for the first week or month of activity. This simple step will give you an extra boost of motivation. For greater convenience, free mobile apps like TrainingPeaks or Kudo Coach can help you create these calendars, as well as help you track them. There are as many training plans as there are cyclists on the roads, so you will need to adapt yours to your time, work or academic obligations, and free time. To fine-tune the planning and make it completely beneficial and effective, seeking the help of a specialized coach will be very useful.
Start with short and moderate intensity rides
As we have already said, obsessing over quickly regaining your pre-holiday fitness is the worst thing you can do at this time of year. Your muscles and joints have adapted to the physical break or active rest, and putting them under great stress with intense rides will cause the dreaded overtraining, leading to fatigue and injuries Most professional cycling team trainers agree that the return to training should be slow and progressive. One of them, NTT Pro Cycling team coach Elliot Lipski, emphasizes this idea in this Cycling Weekly article, recommending easy rides and respecting rest periods as much as possible. The first bike rides after a holiday break should never exceed the aerobic threshold (if you train with a heart rate monitor) with an intensity between 60% or 70% of your maximum heart rate for a maximum of an hour and a half.
Increase intensity gradually
You should only include higher intensity intervals, such as climbing a steep hill or doing a sprint, as the days go by and always combined with easy or moderate rides. This will awaken and strengthen ligaments and tendons again without risking discomfort or injury, while also burning fat and reducing the weight gained during the holidays.
Combine cycling with the gym
Many professional cyclists are regulars at the gym during preseason. Doing strengthening exercises for the muscles involved in pedaling, mainly legs and abs, will help you strengthen muscles and joints more quickly and effectively. To start, choose low-impact exercises that do not involve extra weight (dumbbells, bars, or presses). Very important in this regard are core strengthening exercises, the group of muscles that provide balance and stability to the human body, including the abs, glutes, and lower back.
Change your eating habits
During holidays it is inevitable to gain a few kilos due to reduced (or stopped) training and having more free time for dinners or meals with friends, family, etc. Christmas sweets or big portions at the beach bar in summer take their toll. Therefore, when returning to activity, in addition to cycling or going to the gym, you should improve your diet and reduce large meals with family or friends as much as possible. It is good to establish a diet rich in proteins and vitamins, prioritizing fresh foods and reducing processed foods and prepared dishes as much as possible. Weight loss will depend more on your diet than on exercise, and it is an essential step to improve your physical fitness.
Do not compare yourself to other cyclists
It is possible that some of your group ride companions have rested less during the holidays and are in a more advanced state of fitness than you. Comparing yourself or measuring yourself against them with the intention of improving, whether on the same ride or through apps like Strava, will end up harming you. Focus on your training plan and build your fitness by relying only on your own data. This way, you will avoid the premature appearance of fatigue or muscle discomfort and even injuries caused by overtraining.
Don't be impatient
It's possible that your climb back to the optimal fitness you had before the holidays won't be as fast as you had planned. You shouldn't worry about this. Don't rush; the season is very long, and it's better for your peak fitness to arrive later than to come too soon. The body takes time to assimilate new efforts but it has memory. Even two weeks or a month of complete rest are the best base on which to build your new peak. Being prudent and not rushing your training plan can be very beneficial in the long run, even allowing you to improve on your last fitness peak.