Cycling and Recovery: Why Recovery Matters

Cycling is an excellent way to improve cardiovascular fitness, build endurance and strengthen the muscles of the lower body. But whether you are training for an event, riding with a club or simply trying to become a stronger cyclist, improvement doesn't come from riding alone.

Training provides the stimulus. Recovery gives your body the opportunity to respond to it.

That makes recovery an important part of cycling — particularly when rides become longer, harder or more frequent.

Why Do Cyclists Need Recovery?

Every ride places a degree of stress on the body.

A gentle cycle to work is very different from a long weekend ride, repeated hill climbs or a hard training session, but as intensity and duration increase, so does the need for recovery.

Muscles become fatigued, stored energy is depleted and the body needs time to adapt to the work it has performed.

Without sufficient recovery, repeatedly adding more training can eventually become counterproductive. Legs may begin to feel persistently heavy, performance can plateau and enthusiasm for training can start to disappear.

The aim isn't simply to recover from one ride. It is to arrive at the next important session ready to perform again.

Hard Rides and Easy Rides

Not every ride needs to be difficult.

One of the simplest ways to manage cycling training is to alternate harder sessions with easier days. After a demanding ride, an easy spin can provide movement without placing the same level of stress on the body.

This is often referred to as active recovery.

The important word is easy. A recovery ride shouldn't gradually turn into another training session because the legs suddenly feel good or another cyclist comes past.

Keep the effort comfortable, avoid chasing speed and give the body an opportunity to recover.

There will also be occasions when complete rest is the better choice. If fatigue is particularly noticeable, sleep has been poor or several demanding sessions have accumulated, taking a day away from training may be more beneficial than adding another ride.

Refuelling After Cycling

Longer and harder rides use considerable amounts of energy, making nutrition an important part of recovery.

Carbohydrate helps replenish the body's energy stores, while protein provides amino acids required for muscle repair and adaptation.

You don't necessarily need a specialist recovery product. A normal balanced meal containing carbohydrate, protein and other essential nutrients can provide what the body needs.

After particularly long or demanding rides, however, eating relatively soon afterwards can be useful — especially if another training session is planned for the following day.

Don't Forget Hydration

Cyclists can lose a considerable amount of fluid through sweat, particularly during longer rides or warm conditions.

Finishing the ride doesn't mean hydration stops being important.

Continue drinking afterwards and allow thirst, weather conditions and the demands of the ride to guide how much fluid you need. Following longer or particularly sweaty sessions, replacing electrolytes lost through sweat may also be useful.

Good hydration is not only something to think about while riding. It forms part of the recovery process too.

Sleep: Your Most Important Recovery Tool

There are plenty of products designed to help athletes recover, but one of the most valuable recovery tools costs nothing.

Sleep.

During sleep the body carries out many of the processes associated with physical recovery and adaptation. Consistently cutting sleep short while increasing training volume is therefore unlikely to be a successful combination.

If your cycling training is becoming more demanding, pay attention not only to how many miles you are riding but also to whether you are giving yourself enough opportunity to sleep and recover between sessions.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for tomorrow's ride is get an early night.

Stretching and Mobility

Spending several hours in a relatively fixed cycling position can leave certain areas of the body feeling stiff.

Gentle mobility work after riding can help restore movement and may simply feel good after a long period on the bike.

Stretching after exercise can be included if you enjoy it, but it shouldn't be viewed as a guaranteed way to prevent soreness or eliminate the need for recovery.

A few minutes concentrating on areas that feel particularly tight — such as the hips, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves — may be all that is required.

Listen to Your Legs

Cyclists become accustomed to tired legs. Some fatigue is an entirely normal consequence of training.

The challenge is recognising when normal tiredness is becoming something more persistent.

If your legs continually feel heavy, your normal pace requires noticeably more effort, motivation begins to fall or performance is declining despite continued training, it may be worth reducing the workload and allowing more time for recovery.

One poor ride doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong. A pattern of poor rides deserves more attention.

Recovery should therefore be flexible. Training plans provide structure, but they cannot always predict how your body will respond to work, sleep, stress and everyday life.

Recovery Beyond the Bike

Recovery doesn't begin and end with a post-ride routine.

What you do during the hours between training sessions also matters.

In 2016, ABSOLUTE360® became the recovery partner of the Aprire Women's Cycling Racing Team, supplying riders with infrared-responsive garments that could be worn away from the bike as part of their wider recovery routines.

ABSOLUTE360® Responsive™ sportswear uses infrared-responsive technology designed to interact with the body's naturally produced thermal energy. Research into infrared-responsive textiles has demonstrated benefits including increased local circulation and tissue oxygenation, supporting the body's natural processes during exercise and recovery.

For the Aprire riders, this provided another way of supporting recovery during the hours away from training and racing. The garments could simply be worn as part of their normal routine, with our recommended recovery protocol of wearing ABSOLUTE360® clothing for six hours after exercise.

It isn't a shortcut for good recovery habits, and no garment can replace adequate sleep, nutrition, hydration or rest. Instead, think of infrared-responsive clothing as the extra 1% that sits on top of those foundations.

Recovery Helps You Ride Again

Cyclists often measure progress in miles, speed, climbing and time in the saddle.

Recovery is harder to measure, but that doesn't make it less important.

The purpose of training is not simply to make yourself tired. It is to provide enough stimulus for the body to adapt and become better prepared for the next challenge.

That requires a balance between work and recovery.

Ride hard when the session calls for it. Ride easy when the session should be easy. Eat well, stay hydrated, sleep properly and don't be afraid to take a rest day when your body needs one.

Because ultimately, good recovery isn't time away from your cycling.

It's part of your cycling.