Harvieu25

To get the most out of a training session is it best to go into it fully recovered and fresh?

The past couple of times I went into a ride very well recovered (not quite 100%) and very fresh I felt as if the ride with hard efforts was easy and even when at max HR, RPE and breathing felt more like a 6-7 than a 10.

Or, is there a benefit to doing hard days not fully recovered? Those feel much harder to me anyway.

Thanks.

Machka 

Personally, when I'm training, I like doing three reasonably hard days in a row ... and then taking a break.

We've been putting in a reasonable effort on both Saturday and Sunday, and then Monday is a gym night with an intense spinning class + rowing. Tuesdays are rest days.

When I'm going into an event, I like to go in as fresh as possible.

Heathpack 

There is a balance when training between being rested and therefore being able to work harder in a given workout and accumulating enough cumulative training stress to become fit. Most of the time you train with a certain amount of fatigue present because that is the best way to reach your big picture goal- say an A race or an endurance event or whatever.

Prior to your goal race/event, you rest to remove the fatigue and then you see the gains. It's impractical to be fully rested for every single workout, the art is being rested enough to get the work done.

Harvieu25

Sorry for the delayed response. Thanks first off. I did my first century last weekend and in the build up I did quite a few metrics in the N. Ga. mtns.
The month of July also netted the most miles, hours and elevation gained ever, by a large margin. In the week of the century I took the week off to freshen up, only riding once, a 20 mile roller spin. The first 60 miles of the ride were great (imagine that), I was alone most of the time and passed a lot of others, which should have been my first clue. But, I was fresh and everything was feeling very easy. From 60-70 miles I started to fade a little. From 70-85 miles I was bonking hard even though my hydration and eating was good. From then on I was ready to throw the bike into the woods and walk. I was even cursing the air I was breathing. My legs were destroyed. I told myself to take a minimum of 4 days off, but you know how that goes.

Monday evening I tried to get on the rollers for an easy spin. 30 min into it I had to quit. Wednesday I went outside and forced a 36 mile ride with my legs protesting heavily the entire time (had to stay Z2 and less). Now its Sunday, my 4th day off. I have only done 2 hour long walks.

I think I felt something like this after my first metric almost 2 years ago. Hoping tomorrow goes well.

Should I ease back into it or jump in full speed ahead?

How long did it take you to recover from 'milestones'?

Seattle Forrest

How much protein do you get in your diet...?

gregf83 

I might take a day off after a big effort or do a recovery ride. Otherwise, I just keep riding. It can take a week before power comes back to normal but you should still be able to ride.

Harvieu25

100 grams + a day.

Did an easy spin on the rollers to feel out the legs and they are much better.

FXjohn

just because you get the work done doesn't mean you're making gains

FBinNY 

I don't know if there's an easy answer.

On one hand, starting a training session tired probably won't allow you to achieve the maximum possible gains, especially, for example, if your legs are tired and you're hoping to boost your cardio.

On the other, if you're training for endurance, and the ability to do sequential hard rides, as you might in a stage race or ambitious tour, it's worth finding out what you're capable of when not fresh.

Depending on your goals, you might experiment and train when tired, then after 2-3 tough days, take a break and train fresh, repeating the fresh + 2 days cycle and seeing how it plays out.