Training basics – getting back to form

Is there an accepted format for training if you’re looking to get back to speed after an injury-related lay off?

Would the training type depend on the length of the lay off?

For a long time I’ve been a decent endurance rider, not much of a sprint on me but I could keep a decent pace for a long ride or a multi-day route. My base fitness was always there, did loads of Z2 road and weekly SS MTB rides and could tune up pretty well with 6-8 weeks of turbo sessions. In the last 2 years a strain/hip tension issue has stopped me riding at my upper output level much so all I’ve been doing is the steady stuff, my overall mileage has dropped and fitness has slowly dropped too. Recently I pulled a muscle out running which has had me off the bike for a while. I kind of feel resigned to rest, feeling slow when I re-start and then building back up, so any tips for the structure of that build up? i.e. ‘mostly upper end on the turbo, forget the Z2’ or ‘stick with Z2 and build up to the turbo or hill rep sessions’ level of what to do advice?

Cheers, slow-jameso

I’d just go out and ride, get the miles in, and mix it up. It will soon come back.

Zone 2. Repeat. When feeling fit enough, enter a race for Z3+. If dropped see Z2. Seems to have worked for me.

Join Coco on Zwift and watch lots of eurosport.

I’m not one for structured training, but I do ride quite a lot.

Last winter saw me lose the most fitness I have for years, and I’ve found I’ve needed to have a couple of long weekends of back-to-back big rides. Followed by a full week (well six days, one of uplift).

Feeling good again now. I had been gradually upping the riding time, but those blocks (spaced about a month apart) were the main thing.

Sorry if this is completely not what you wanted BTW 😀

Commute to work on the bike if you can.

I’ve found this helpful when I’ve been trying to come back from injury or if I’m getting ready for a race. Previously, I’ve only used it in a run up to a race but I also did it in January after three months of relative downtime.

https://road.cc/content/feature/217209-six-weeks-fitness

The benefit for me is that it can all be done on the bike, sometimes even on the MTB, not on a turbo.

I’ve just finished it and after being the slowest I’ve been in five years, set the KOM for the 10 Under the Ben course racing at the weekend.

Would the training type depend on the length of the lay off?

Yes.  If it’s a couple of weeks , then back as you were.  More than a couple months and 99% of people are back to square one

I’d just go out and ride, get the miles in, and mix it up. It will soon come back.

Yeah, that’s it and I generally do. But I’m partly impatient now, missing the easy speed feeling, and also I like a bit of hard work on the bike as long as there’s a reason for it.

TiRed, I should have added that I don’t use Zwift. More of a HRM and thrash metal on the stereo sort of basic turbo trainer user. Maybe ramping up the HR I can hold for 30 mins as a similar test?

 those blocks (spaced about a month apart) were the main thing.

Sorry if this is completely not what you wanted BTW 😀

No, good reminder, I’ve found a 3-4 day bikepacking trip can be good as a block of work and I often finish on stronger legs than I start and feel good after some rest. More so for a 6-7+ day trip when I really feel like I ride myself into fitness but that’s not an option this summer unf.

@munrobiker useful link, thanks. Dave just did the Bryan Chapman which I’ve had in mind as my ‘back to form’ ride as a solo, I live not far from Chepstow. Had it in mind for 2 summers now : /]

Commute to work on the bike if you can.

Yeah I wish I could.. work’s 85 miles away.

A lot of that six week plan will feel ridiculously easy if you like working hard (which I do) but since I started doing it my results have improved so it seems to work.

An e-bike ?
You’re probably way younger than me….(I’m rapidly closing on 60)…..I’ve just got back riding after just 6 weeks off due to health issues (for the umpteenth time in the last few years and where I can lose 10kg ina fortnight and pretty much all my fitness) I was sort of dreading the slog of the first few weeks of rides so went out and got a 2nd hand e-road bike. It has been a game changer for me. I no longer have that ‘Oh not another bloody hill’ feeling and after about 10 rides, I’m ready to go back to my none e-bikes. (It will sit waiting for the next drop in fitness)

@munrobiker it’s true, one thing I learned in the past is that you don’t need to do much at high effort to see good results, maybe one short session a week (~10% of time available) combined with a lot of easy miles and a bit of tempo pace. 6 weeks is good too as I might do 2 rounds of it to give some structure to the rest of the summer. Generally my training sessions are just 6-8 weeks of hill reps or over/unders on the turbo, basic threshold effort stuff. I can only get one of those in mid-week as they leave me trashed and I need the recovery so doing 2 alternative sessions most week fits better with work patterns these days.

An e-bike ?

Yeah I can see that working well. Not that much of an injury or lay-off fitness drop here really, though I’d love an e-bike just for local DH laps..

I went with a block of high intensity work first.  Because that’s the first thing to go and being (considerably) heavier than average all rides feel like that, working very hard uphill but ticking along on the flat sections.

Obviously it only works upto a limited point before you have to go back to just getting the miles in.  But it gets me over that hump where simply accelerating or keeping up in a group feels like impossibly hard work.

TiRed, I should have added that I don’t use Zwift. More of a HRM and thrash metal on the stereo sort of basic turbo trainer user. Maybe ramping up the HR I can hold for 30 mins as a similar test?

Too much intensity for me! I’m a sub 140 bpm Z2 for 2h on Zwift. I don’t need the Zwift to tell me the intensity, I could just ride to HR (as I do for TTs including the HDW100 two weeks ago at about 155 for 4h). But I do like watching 2h highlights on Eurosport, on a 32″ TV in front of the bike in the garage. The Zwift paced group rides just set the intensity for me to keep me focused and add to my Stravas, nothing more really.

Intensity for me comes from the efforts of others – fast group rides with the club or Vets/Cat 3 circuit races. Missing tonight’s race as I have a cold 🙁

The body has a pretty decent memory for what it’s been used to doing. It’ll come back quicker than you might think. 👍

100% commute. Repetition is vital. String this together with 80-100 milers on a Saturday or Sunday and you’ll be pinging.

An e-bike ?

Is not the answer.

Regardless of how much of a ‘workout’ you can do with lowering settings/pushing harder etc, an ebike does not make (me) bike fit

There’s no replacement for real miles on a real bike (I’ve personally found).

I’ve always had the general feeling that it takes a couple of weeks to lose it and 6 weeks to gain it.

But my level of bike fit is nothing like race fit, it’s just being able to comfortably keep up with the younger MTB’ers

Watching this thread as I have been injured and not been out on the bike since my New Years Eve accident.

I have just dusted my bike off today, checked it over, added new sealant and I have every intention of riding it in the morning, but my physio has suggested only riding for no more than 10 miles, twice a week and not off road.  I am a bit nervous, but also looking forward to getting out.

my physio has suggested only riding for no more than 10 miles, twice a week and not off road.  I am a bit nervous, but also looking forward to getting out.

I can imagine.. Those 10 miles will feel so good after a long break. How was it?

100% commute. Repetition is vital

I can do rides early am or lunchtime so generally I get out 2, maybe 3x mid week for 90 mins to 2hrs. Got out of the habit recently but nothing stopping me. There’s certainly a conditioning benefit in a regular ride habit isn’t there.

I went with a block of high intensity work first.  Because that’s the first thing to go

This makes sense. I always thought cardio fitness dropped faster than strength. I’m bothered that one thing has meant my strength has slowly dropped and now an enforced break will drop cardio fitness further but perhaps simply reversing that is a guide for training type/bias – do some HI work and build that up steadily, get back to doing the long hilly rides that get overall form and strength back.

I can imagine.. Those 10 miles will feel so good after a long break. How was it?

I absolutely loved it, I came back as the person I was before the accident.  I guess I took cycling for granted, but I cannot express the feeling of those 2 rides, although I did a bit more then suggested but my physio said to listen to my body and if it felt good and there was no pain, so I ended up doing 23 miles then a 16 miler for the second ride.

As expected the fitness has dropped as I use to ride 40-60 miles, but hopefully it will come back over time, but for now its chuffing great to be back on the saddle!

^ great stuff 🤘🏻 glad it went so well.