Hi, I joined this forum recently because I wanted some advice really on the fatigue/reduced endurance I've been having for a while now. Sorry if this is a little long-winded but I'll try to give as much information as possible because I'm a little lost on what to do next?
I'm a male in my late twenties, I started cycling February this year, wanted to get fit and lose weight (now at my ideal weight), started on a MTB doing 5 mile rides 3 times a week, then as time went on I was managing 18 mile rides 6 days a week on a hybrid (one rest day a week), then in the summer I bought a road bike and all through Spring/Summer I was doing 30-45 mile rides aday/6 days a week, I had heaps of energy and with my enthusiasm I would on occasion ride in the evenings as well, longest ride was 75 miles, I was loving it getting fitter and losing weight, enjoying cycling! Then around late September/October I was noticing I was needing more time to recover from my rides, I would ride 2-3 days in a row and I would need to take a rest day (could ride 6 days a week before like I say), with that i was noticing alot more fatigue after my rides/doing other daily activities like walking the dog.
It was October/November/This month things got worse, I could only do one 45 mile ride before needing to have a rest day (would top up glycogen levels every hour with a gel/snack during ride, drink plenty of water), if I'd gone out the next day I would notice a big drop off in power and endurance, I was also noticing trouble sleeping/unrefreshing sleep, low mood, irritable after rides, too tired to move off the sofa for the rest of the day, feeling pretty terrible overall. I read about Overreaching/Overtraining and had alot of the symptoms, I finally decided I needed a longer rest so for the past 2 weeks I hesitantly stayed off the bike and ate alot of food, plenty of water etc.
I was expecting my energy levels/motivation to return pretty quickly but unfortunately even after 2 weeks resting my energy levels were still alot lower, still had sleep issues, feeling pretty weak/zombified. Today it was fine weather and i was fed up and bored of not riding so i decided to go for the first ride in what seems like forever, I managed a 30 mile ride and to my surprise I have lost very little fitness and the ride felt good once I got warmed up. But hours later/this evening I'm back to feeling exhausted again?...feeling pretty run down, certainly not like I've had a 2 week break!
I'm now pretty concerned this is more than Overreaching, I've read about overtrained individuals needing months away before getting their "mojo" back....
Does anyone have any experience with Overtraining and not feeling much improvement after 2 weeks off? My main priority now is sorting this fatigue issue out before Spring, Im worried this could ruin next years cycling.
Thanks for reading!
I'm a male in my late twenties, I started cycling February this year, wanted to get fit and lose weight (now at my ideal weight), started on a MTB doing 5 mile rides 3 times a week, then as time went on I was managing 18 mile rides 6 days a week on a hybrid (one rest day a week), then in the summer I bought a road bike and all through Spring/Summer I was doing 30-45 mile rides aday/6 days a week, I had heaps of energy and with my enthusiasm I would on occasion ride in the evenings as well, longest ride was 75 miles, I was loving it getting fitter and losing weight, enjoying cycling! Then around late September/October I was noticing I was needing more time to recover from my rides, I would ride 2-3 days in a row and I would need to take a rest day (could ride 6 days a week before like I say), with that i was noticing alot more fatigue after my rides/doing other daily activities like walking the dog.
It was October/November/This month things got worse, I could only do one 45 mile ride before needing to have a rest day (would top up glycogen levels every hour with a gel/snack during ride, drink plenty of water), if I'd gone out the next day I would notice a big drop off in power and endurance, I was also noticing trouble sleeping/unrefreshing sleep, low mood, irritable after rides, too tired to move off the sofa for the rest of the day, feeling pretty terrible overall. I read about Overreaching/Overtraining and had alot of the symptoms, I finally decided I needed a longer rest so for the past 2 weeks I hesitantly stayed off the bike and ate alot of food, plenty of water etc.
I was expecting my energy levels/motivation to return pretty quickly but unfortunately even after 2 weeks resting my energy levels were still alot lower, still had sleep issues, feeling pretty weak/zombified. Today it was fine weather and i was fed up and bored of not riding so i decided to go for the first ride in what seems like forever, I managed a 30 mile ride and to my surprise I have lost very little fitness and the ride felt good once I got warmed up. But hours later/this evening I'm back to feeling exhausted again?...feeling pretty run down, certainly not like I've had a 2 week break!
I'm now pretty concerned this is more than Overreaching, I've read about overtrained individuals needing months away before getting their "mojo" back....
Does anyone have any experience with Overtraining and not feeling much improvement after 2 weeks off? My main priority now is sorting this fatigue issue out before Spring, Im worried this could ruin next years cycling.
Thanks for reading!
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