Recovery Rides: Crib Notes Request

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Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
I wasn’t in class the day Coach was explaining the biological theory behind recovery rides. Can you help?

I’m interested in what is actually happening on a physiological level. I have done an easy 1 to 1.5 hour, light, high cadence ride the next day after last couple of big rides I’ve done and it felt good. What happens to the body and why do these rides seem to help when logic tells you to put your feet up and go for all out and out rest?

As an aside: After yesterday’s 200km Audax, I had uncomfortable night sweats. Wonder why and I wonder what these night sweats are.
 

Asa Post

Super Iconic Legend
Location
Sheffield
I wasn’t in class the day Coach was explaining the biological theory behind recovery rides. Can you help?

I’m interested in what is actually happening on a physiological level. I have done an easy 1 to 1.5 hour, light, high cadence ride the next day after last couple of big rides I’ve done and it felt good. What happens to the body and why do these rides seem to help when logic tells you to put your feet up and go for all out and out rest?
I've never found a proper study of recovery rides, setting out a scientific basis for them which is based on experimentally derived data. It seems to be one of those things that most people agree about, without knowing exactly why they agree. In short, as you say in your post, the usual evidence given for their effectiveness is "It works for me".
The article: http://blog.trainerroad.com/l1-recovery-an-updated-understanding/ attempts to go a bit deeper into the theory. Frustratingly, he mentions the existence of "scientific findings", but doesn't cite them or provide any links.
 

Slick

Guru
I wasn’t in class the day Coach was explaining the biological theory behind recovery rides. Can you help?

I’m interested in what is actually happening on a physiological level. I have done an easy 1 to 1.5 hour, light, high cadence ride the next day after last couple of big rides I’ve done and it felt good. What happens to the body and why do these rides seem to help when logic tells you to put your feet up and go for all out and out rest?

As an aside: After yesterday’s 200km Audax, I had uncomfortable night sweats. Wonder why and I wonder what these night sweats are.
There will obviously be experts along to explain the exact metabolic workings of individual muscle groups under compressive and tensile loads, but in the mean time, my understanding is similar to a footballer or any other athlete doing a cool down period. If you just stop after an explosive effort you stiffen up, whereas a light run will burn excessive lactic acid keeping the muscles in good shape for the next effort. I'm not sure about the night sweats, lots of possibilities for that one.
 

Shortandcrisp

Über Member
Gonna get shot down in flames for this, but my hunch, based on nothing in particular, is that recovery rides are probably not as important as most people claim. Much more likely, in my opinion, is that all that hurt is there for a reason: finding ways to take away the pain or mitigate its impact is just interfering with the recovery process.
 
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