AG TRAINING · RECOVERY
How to Recover After Cycling
Post-ride food, fluids and sleep, and deciding between an easy ride and rest the next day.
Consider two things after a ride: how demanding today’s session was, and how long until the next important ride. After an easy hour, normal meals and rest are often sufficient. Following a long or intense ride, plan food, fluids and sleep more carefully.
What should you do immediately after riding?
If a safe section is available, finish with a few easy minutes. Once home, drink and plan a meal containing carbohydrate and protein, such as rice, chicken and yoghurt, or chickpea bulgur and ayran. Avoiding a delayed meal becomes more important after a long ride if your next session is later that day or early the following morning.
If you have sweated heavily, drink gradually and pay attention to thirst. Your main meal and sodium-containing foods also contribute. If you return hungry and thirsty, review food and refill plans for your next long ride. What to Eat and Drink on a Long Ride
How should you plan sleep?
Work backwards from an early wake-up time to allow enough time for sleep. Keep bedtimes and wake-up times as consistent as possible. If late caffeine affects your sleep, include caffeinated gels and drinks in that calculation. Consider how rested you feel in the morning as well as sleep duration.
An easy ride or full rest the next day?
- If your legs are mildly tired and improve as you warm up, a short ride at conversational pace may be suitable. Avoid targets such as catching the group on climbs or holding a particular speed.
- Choose rest if you slept poorly, feel substantially more tired than usual or find even easy riding hard. Shorten the ride if your legs do not improve during the warm-up.
- Heart rate, sleep records and perceived exertion are useful together. Compare them with your usual values over several days.
A long Saturday ride: what should you do on Sunday?
If a three-hour Saturday ride went as expected, you slept well and your legs improve during the warm-up, keep Sunday short and easy. If you struggled late on Saturday, slept poorly and still feel heavy in the morning, full rest may be appropriate. At AG Training, the order of longer and easier weekend sessions can vary with the weekly plan.
Record ride duration, perceived exertion and how you feel the following morning. Repeated fatigue after similar rides is more useful for adjusting next week’s load than one difficult day.
Sources
- Kellmann et al. · Consensus statement on recovery and performance in sport
- Walsh et al. · Expert consensus on sleep in athletes
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada and ACSM · Nutrition and athletic performance
- National Athletic Trainers’ Association · Position statement on fluid replacement during exercise
AG Training
AG Training founder and head coach, former national-team and professional cyclist Ali Gülcan.
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