CyclesNWeights7

Just curious how everyone likes to recover after extra long rides, intense races, or just overall very strenuous activity?

Personally, I’m a huge advocate for foam rolling, loosens the back and everything else, and I use a massage gun to loosen up my quads, hams, and calves almost nightly. Closest thing to deep tissue work I can get on a very regular basis.

I’ve also recently started seeing a sports chiro, but that’s not really indicative of a “regular” recovery routine as I’m still treating a few things there and haven’t gotten to a “maintenance” schedule so to speak……

Steve B.

I'll do a short and easy ride, or swim workout, or both. Or a kayak paddle. This year I often just take a day off from riding.

shelbyfv

https://www.bikeforums.net/training-nutrition/

Troul 

gentlemen's club, some neat beverages, a nice lunch special, & a lyft home.

WhyFi

Post-ride, I'll stretch and foam roll problem areas (for me, that's primarily quads and IT band). I'll consume adequate nutrition. I'll try to get good sleep, something often overlooked. I'll ride easy the next day, if necessary.

wolfchild

Meat, potatoes, beer and days-off. to rest....I don't believe in any of these exotic recovery practices such as stretching, foam rolling etc.,,there is no evidence that any of them actually work.

indyfabz

Shower if one is available, change, set up camp, cook dinner, hopefully with adult beverages, start a fire if it’s not warm and read, all while drinking water throughout the evening.

kahn

I've joined the one Groucho Marx was allowed to join!

rsbob 

If super sore, I take a hot soaking tub. It really relaxes the muscles. I do a little stretching but probably not enough, Get a deep tissue massage every couple of weeks but that just ended due to the town I get them has above average Delta outbreaks. My usual recovery is to spin the next day with very little effort or mileage, say 15-20. (For people with Kilometers is it Kilometerage?)

Broctoon

This! I like to dip in a hot tub/jacuzzi after a hard day on the bike.

DonkeyShow

Salt bath, yoga, massage gun, tequila.

PeteHski

I just take a day or two off the bike and get some quality sleep and nutrition. I hate all the foam rolling/massage/stretching thing... so I don't do any of it.

big chainring 

One day of riding, six days recovery. 😄

jpescatore

Hiking/walking works best for me when I feel I need a recovery day from biking. If the weather doesn't support that, an easy hour on Zwift on one of the flat courses works, too.

GhostRider62

I am an advocate of building up to the distance and intensity needed for an especially long ride. And if done right, I am not needing anything special but some sleep and maybe 1- 2 days rest.

OTOH, if I am not sufficiently fit fo the load, it might take 3-5 days to recover. The problem is plasma volume and stroke volume will start to significantly decline and fitness is lost. So, I try to do some easy Z1-Z2 rides and take hot baths with the old skool self massage to the legs.

CAT7RDR

Walk the pooch.

Cold showers.

Increased hydration and protein.

WhyFi

I don't know if many (any?) actually like foam rolling and stretching but, for some, it's a lesser evil. I primarily do it because it helps to alleviate soreness, particularly when my training load is high. Before I started the stretching and rolling regimen, muscle ache would sometimes be problematic enough to impact sleep, which is a major detriment to recovery.

10 Wheels

Same Here.
Ten MINUTE Soak in Hot Soapy Water works for me.

PeteHski

I bought my wife one of those massage guns last Christmas and thought I'd give it a go. But turns out I hate it! I've tried foam rolling in the past as well, but I hated that as well and felt no benefit from doing it. I do actually do a few (and I mean a few) very basic stretches, but not consistently and don't notice any difference either way. Fortunately I don't seem to have any particular issues with muscle soreness or sleep, so I'm lucky in that respect.

Milton Keynes

I guess I don't really do anything. Once I get home, shower, of course. Drink a lot of water, get something to eat, sit on the couch with the TV on and computer on my lap catching up on Bike Forums.

WhyFi

Something that might be helpful to the subject, and possibly shed some light on the wide variety of answers, would be to note the kind of Training Stress we're talking about. "Recovery" from an average weekly TSS of 300 is far different from that of 700+.

msu2001la

I will probably take it easy the day after a big race or particularly intense ride, but I am definitely not using the title "recovery ride" or "rest day" on Strava.

jamesdak 

Well, I'm just in this for fun and tend yo do longer, faster rides consecutively. Case in point last month I did 10 days in a row of 50+ miles just to see how the old body dealt with it.

For any ride that was hard and over 40 miles I'll eat a banana and chug a pint of chocolate milk at the end. Then just make sure I eat right the rest of the day, hydrate, and sleep. The hardest part is getting 8 hours of sleep but for me that is also the most important.

If I pushed the legs hard enough to actually be sore I prefer a 15-20 soak in an ice bath. Been doing that since my marathon running days.

Iride01 

Recover? Are you sore or tired? I'm usually ready to ride again if someone ask to go.

I drink plenty of fluid while cycling and seldom loose even a pound maybe two after a 4 hour ride in the heat. I also drink not quite a liter of recovery mix after every ride. I'm finding that chocolate milk works very well. I'm using chocolate soy milk.

Other than that, what's to recover after a ride? I mow the grass, walk 3 to 5 miles with my wife and pretty much anything else.


Or are you just asking what we do to relax?

GhostRider62

That still does not tell you much.

TSS of 700 in a week could be a recovery week for some. How negative of the TSB is better idea. Once I hit -30 TSB during normal training, I back off. I used to be able to push it to -50 and still get stronger. No more.

If I am super fit, I can do back to back 600+ days and need not much recover but if not fit I need 3-5 days of recovery and the overall effect is very counterproductive.

If someone has a CTL of 40 and they do a 700 week, they are toast and probably not sleeping well CTL vs ATL. Look at Amanda Coker, she did what 250 miles everyday for a year. A 700 week for her would have been a catastrophe.