Cycling recovery is not just your typical "resting" or "cool down" phase. For most cyclists, some things are unnecessary as long as it doesn't involve getting into the pedal.
While it may be tempting to skip a comprehensive cycling recovery routine, most of the time, it can make or break your process of reaching your target miles or even your performance in your cycling competition. According to health research from New Zealand, optimal cycling recovery is one of the contributing factors to enhancing cycling performance.
This is why it's essential for every cyclist to know the optimal cycling recovery methods, not just to be the best cyclist that they can be but also to avoid potential injuries and accidents.
The truth about cycling recovery
Cycling recovery is a process to allow your body to move away from the stress it has endured from a long or challenging ride. It will enable your muscles to repair themselves, adapt to your cycling habits, and even grow tougher to withstand even more challenging cycling routines.
In short, cycling recovery ensures that your body doesn't break down due to your rides.
While many recovery routines are available online, you need to know that your cycling recovery process should be based on your body, your cycling habits, and your goals. It's not just about "resting" when needed. It's about finding the right combination of resting and training.
Furthermore, optimal cycling recovery involves more than just your cool-down time between or after your ride. It also includes how you plan your week before and after a ride–when should you take a day off? When do you do a casual ride to keep up with your rhythm? And when should you go for a challenging ride again?
Most experts agree that the best way to find the best cycling recovery routine for you is to keep track of your body. This includes keeping track of your heart rate, exhaustion levels, and capacity to hit your cycling goals. These factors will help you know if your body is already accustomed to it or if you should take your cycling recovery routine a notch higher.
Cycling without a recovery routine
Skipping cycling recovery routines could cost a significant toll on your health. Not only can it cause ailments and injuries that may affect your biking habits, but it can also cause accidents that may affect other cyclists.
1. Prone to Exhaustion
You become more prone to exhaustion when you don't give your body time to recover from your rides. This means you may not be able to achieve your goals and finish a race because you're over-strain yourself.
2. Osteoarthritis Diseases
Failure to pace yourself in your rides makes you vulnerable to osteoarthritis ailments such as patellofemoral and medial plica syndrome. Diseases like this can affect how you put pressure on your pedals, affecting your speed and overall riding experience. Furthermore, it can also gravely affect your mobility in other daily activities such as driving, running, and walking.
3. Lack of Focus & Irritability
A proper cycling recovery routine is also essential for your mental health. When you overtrain yourself, there's a high tendency for you to lose track of your own body. You may also need help controlling your emotions whenever you ride.
All these may affect your decision-making on the road, making you prone to accidents.
4. Numbness
Not allowing your muscles to recover from your rides may cause numbness in your body, especially your wrists, legs, and feet. While you can quickly alleviate this numbness with ice packs, they may affect your nerves when left unchecked. Worse, they may be precursors to more severe ailments such as Exertional Compartment Syndrome.
5. Head Injuries & Trauma
Exhaustion, body pain, numbness, and lack of focus on experiencing any of these make you prone to accidents. According to RoSPA, in 2020 alone, more than 16,000 cyclists encountered accidents on the road, some of which acquired irreversible injuries.
Best cycling recovery tips
Here are some of the best cycling recovery methods which you can try.
1. Create a Periodic Training Plan
You should adequately distribute rest days and recovery weeks in your training plan. It would be best if you based them on your biking activity–the more challenging the trail or the longer the ride, the longer the rest day.
However, during these recovery days, it's essential to do mobility activities such as indoor cycling, walking, or running. This way, your body can efficiently respond when you go back to cycling.
2. Spin Lightly Before Halting
Cooling down doesn't mean going to a complete stop in the middle of your ride. Doing this can cause more harm than good to your body.
Whenever you exert too much pressure on your legs during a challenging ride, take a few minutes to spin lightly before going to a complete stop. When pedaling hard, your blood vessels expand; if you halt abruptly, a tendency can affect your blood flow. You may feel light-headed or worse. You may even pass out during your ride.
3. Wear Compression Clothes
Compression clothing is designed to maintain optimal blood flow when doing strenuous activities such as cycling. It also helps in reducing swelling and post-cycling soreness.
But here's the catch, only some use them correctly.
It's best to keep your compression clothing, especially your socks, at least 2 hours after your ride. This way, you can reduce the possibility of numbness and soreness. It would help if you did light stretches and massages after removing your compression clothing.
4. Self-massage, Even During Rides
Massaging can help your muscles relieve pressure and improve your body's blood flow for a full recovery. Scheduling a professional massage every week is the ideal option. However, you could also self-massage at home using massage balls or foam rollers.
When going for a long ride, it's also best to pack yourself a compact massage roller. You can use it throughout your legs when cooling down.
5. Skip the Vitamins
According to 2020 research from the National Library of Medicine, antioxidants can counteract the effects of physical activities and keep your body from recovering completely. Those who take excessive Vitamins C and E tend to be more prone to muscle injury, and their body takes longer time to recover.
Instead of these vitamins, it's best to recharge yourself with protein-rich food such as salmon, eggs, and even potatoes.
6. Sleep Properly
Sleeping is essential to your recovery period as it allows your body to produce growth hormones necessary for muscle repair. It also increases your body's anti-stress hormones to allow your mind to rest fully.
During your recovery period, it's best to get approximately 9 hours of sleep. But this is only some of what matters. During regular days, it's best to get at least 7 hours of sleep to ensure optimal health.
7. Track Your Progress
Last but the most important, track how your body responds to your cycling recovery routine. As mentioned earlier, following your heart rate and susceptibility to exhaustion during your rides is essential to identify if you have the correct recovery routine. Health watches are the best option for you.
You could also base your adjustment on your cycling goals. If you need to hit your target distance or perform better during races, then it's time to recalibrate your recovery routine.
Conclusion
Your cycling performance isn't just determined by how long your feet are on the pedal. Your cycling recovery routine is as essential. Allowing yourself to recuperate from a challenging ride only ensures that you can perform as well, or even better, on your next ride!
