Best ways to recover

Doc Daneeka

Hey all,

Heading off on a weeks touring soon and wondering what's the best way to recover after a hard days cycling? Pretty new territory for me and its going to be tough putting days back to back doing 120k / 130k.

Any advice on what can be done to make it as easy on the body as possible during the trip?

Doc

Beasty

An ice bath - if possible, submerge the legs for 5-10 minutes, and then apply heat for a similar time, and return to the ice bath - This got me through a week when I had 5 days of racing about a month ago. I had the advantage of having separate bath and shower, and did 3 spells in the ice and 2 in the heat of the shower after each day's racing. Always start and end with the cold

Raam

Beer. It's a tour, not a race :P

Doc Daneeka

Ha, there certainly will be beer!! Wondering if something like a protein recovery drink is worth bothering with?

Cookie_Monster

keep eating & drinking lots throughout the day, definitely keeps you in a better state after as well as during. Stretch and sleep enough and beer: it tastes nice and is a relaxant

Cold shower on the legs is pretty good too, then hot shower to warm up again

Khannie

Doc Daneeka wrote: »

Ha, there certainly will be beer!! Wondering if something like a protein recovery drink is worth bothering with?

Increasing your protein intake during times of hard exercise is a good idea IMO. It doesn't have to be a drink though. You can just eat burgers.

rebel.ranter

Definitely do some warm down stretches.

Satanta

A protein shake with a couple of scoops of instant oats mixed through is a great recovery drink/meal.

petethedrummer

I just bought a foam roller. Makes you forget the pain of cycling very quickly.

Jesus H. f**king Corbett it hurts.

Rew

I use this stuff http://www.scienceinsport.com/public/shop_product.php?selprod=11 found it great.

Doc Daneeka

petethedrummer wrote: »

I just bought a foam roller. Makes you forget the pain of cycling very quickly.

Jesus H. f**king Corbett it hurts.

How you getting on with it? Had someone recommend one recently and am considering picking one up.

12 sprocket

Doc
Stick to your original plan to go touring and that way you wont have to worry about recovering from a hard days cycle. so chill out and enjoy the scenery, have a good breakfast and stop for coffee and cakes in the middle of the spin each and you will be great every day..

Hey all,

Heading off on a weeks touring soon and wondering what's the best way to recover after a hard days cycling? Pretty new territory for me and its going to be tough putting days back to back doing 120k / 130k.

Any advice on what can be done to make it as easy on the body as possible during the trip?

Doc

Khannie

Doc Daneeka wrote: »

How you getting on with it? Had someone recommend one recently and am considering picking one up.

I highly recommend them. Has fixed all sorts of issues for me in the past. Uncomfortable, but in a nice way.

petethedrummer

They're not cheap for what they are (a piece of foam). I got a large Jessica Ennis one from Argos (24.99). Which is as cheap as any you'll get from a physio supply shop.

I was round in a physio friend's house and saw it and gave it a go after cycling home from electric picnic. I tried it mainly on my hamstrings and it seemed to do the job. I seemed a bit looser than normal the following day, but it might be a placebo, I dunno. I have shockingly tight hamstrings, so its worth a go.

So I bought my own one and used it on Saturday and Sunday. My legs were sore after using it but fine the next day. I have an awful lot of knots and its gonna take a while (a month I have read) to work them all out.

Khannie wrote: »

Uncomfortable, but in a nice way.

I would say its more than uncomfortable. It makes my eyes water at times.

Khannie

petethedrummer wrote: »

I would say its more than uncomfortable. It makes my eyes water at times.

Yeah....slightly more than uncomfortable sounds about right. I use it on my IT band (side of thigh) a lot. Found it hard to get a decent roll / any kind of discomfort on my hamstrings though for whatever reason.

It is pricey for what you get. I put off buying one because of that (I'm scabby). I've now moved up to a piece of plastic pipe. Sounds horrific, but you progress past the foam after a while. If you're stuck for cash you could probably start out with this, but I'd expect it to be more than more than uncomfortable (i.e. bloody sore).

LCD

Protein shake, 10mins stretching & lying on your back with feet against the wall for 10mins. Zoot compression tights also help (as am sure many brands do but I prefer Zoot, get them in Cycle Superstore)

ROK ON

Doc Daneeka wrote: »

Hey all,

Heading off on a weeks touring soon and wondering what's the best way to recover after a hard days cycling? Pretty new territory for me and its going to be tough putting days back to back doing 120k / 130k.

Any advice on what can be done to make it as easy on the body as possible during the trip?

Doc

FFS pppl. They guy is going touring. If I ever go touring, remind me not to go with anyone here.
Zoot compression stocking??
Recovery shakes??
Hot baths/cold baths??

Its not a stage race?

I have done a reasonable amount of back to back riding in terms of leisure/sportives. I have never needed to use compression stockings, ice baths or recovery shakes.
Its not a stage race.

Tuppence worth.
Take it easy and enjoy your tour.
Get to your final destination of the day at a reasonable time in order to shower, rest and refuel.
Have a nice meal and a few drinks.
Get a good nights sleep.

petethedrummer

The conversation wandered ROK.

I would do no recovery on a tour apart from sleeping. I would also try not to get too hammered at night so I can actually go touring the next day.

Khannie

You forgot about my sagely advice to eat more burgers. Surely that's the highlight of the thread?

ROK ON

Khannie wrote: »

You forgot about my sagely advice to eat more burgers. Surely that's the highlight of the thread?

The combination of complex carbs and protein is just what a recovery cyclist needs. Vitamin intake can be boosted through a range of tasty toppings.
I find that a good burger needs to be washed down with a nice thick chocolate shake (are these similar to the recovery shakes that people are so fond of talking about?)

Khannie

ROK ON wrote: »

I find that a good burger needs to be washed down with a nice thick chocolate shake (are these similar to the recovery shakes that people are so fond of talking about?)

I'm a vanilla man myself...but cocoa contains lots of antioxidants, so bonus points there. Also, plenty of carbs and some nice slow release protein in there. Sounds just about perfect. Nom nom nom.

petethedrummer

Actually the way to recover from daily cycles is to cycle daily before the tour. Get your body (and mind) used to it.

If you're not used to it, its usually only the getting up out of bed and the first 30mins or so on the bike that are a problem. You feel good again once you get going.

how long are you going for? have you any rest days?