Regaining Form

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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Ghost234
Posts: 397
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:21 am

by Ghost234

I've been a competitive cyclist for the last 6 years (cat 2), and at the start of the year I was having a record season in terms of power output and results. However, by July work was starting to pile up, and I lost vast amounts of training time. By November/December, my training was non-existent, I don't think I even hopped on the bike for the month of December and maybe a handful of rides in November. Work has since subsided greatly.


My question is, is it possible to regain form in time for April/May race season? Does anyone have any experience taking a few months almost entirely off, and coming back to a reasonable level? I've done 2 workouts at this point and my FTP is down a solid 60-70 watts.

BikeAnon
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by BikeAnon

I don't have an answer, but I have a comment....

You've made it to Cat 2, and you know you were having a record year. You know yourself better than anyone. You've learned what works for you.

Go for it. Do you have a team?

Do you have any previous March markers you can use, to judge your form?

Also, your April / May races... What are the key factors in who wins? FTP may not be the most important thing to focus on. Maybe this year is the year to make breakthroughs in previous limiters, as your build will need focus, while leaving some things out.

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nlouthan
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by nlouthan

Are you as lean as you can be? Even if you can't get your FTP as high, you might be able to improve your w/KG. That'll help if your courses aren't pancake flat.

nathanong87
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by nathanong87

not sure what numbers you had prior , from a percentage perspective , but usually in a 4-5 month time period i can regain about 10% off of where i was and get back to 'form'.

just do what u can. life happens, i've definitely raced with less than 'optimal' form, and gotten some results. Just focus on preparation, freshness, maybe weight, and race tactics.

jimborello
Posts: 283
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 5:07 am

by jimborello

Im exactly in the same spot as you are, excellent season last year, pretty much broke all my previous PRs on the bike and running and won a lot of races (sorry Im a triathlete) but I made a pause in November due to work and lack of motivation and I gained a lot of weight and lost a lot of power. Right now Im struggling to find my motivation back but according to my coach I can be back to my previous level in no time as long as I lose the weight and do the workouts as planned, I have an ironman 70.3 in March 20th so I have a lot less time than you do but Im optimistic I can do better than last year, you just have to focus man.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

It probably is possible it may take you a bit longer to find your form again but if the underling fitness is still there and muscle mass then so long as you dont over do it your pace can return quicker than you think. go for it. What exactly do you have to loose?

han1337
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by han1337

Did similar a few times always was back to 85-90% of power very fast - the last 5 to 10 took longer looking at the power history.

Loosing weight is a good point - as you training wont be as hard as possible in the beginning as you build up again there is time to get even leaner and make up for the 10 percent loss in the meantime.




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Ghost234
Posts: 397
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:21 am

by Ghost234

bm0p700f wrote:It probably is possible it may take you a bit longer to find your form again but if the underling fitness is still there and muscle mass then so long as you dont over do it your pace can return quicker than you think. go for it. What exactly do you have to loose?



It was 4 months. I doubt I lost any real muscle.

After about 3 rides now, I've realized I initially lost 60w from my FTP. I've gained back 20w as of last nights ride, a hopefully I'll be much closer to my original fitness when I do another trainer session.

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siklis
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by siklis

yes losing weight is a great and quick fix. but proper training is key too. regain back to 90% of your previous best could be quick, but the final 10%....afterall only you know youself better than anyone here.

focus on training as well as self esteem, and take it easy. you'll reach it again
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