Question: I’m 57 and each year find it more difficult to recover. I used to do three or four hard workouts in a row, but now it takes me at least 48 hours to feel lively again. Stage races or week-long tours are tough. It’s not just my legs — my whole body seems to be affected because I lack energy for daily tasks for a frighteningly long time after I ride hard.
I know I can’t turn back the clock, but are there any remedies for this depressing state of affairs? — Sally J.
RBR Replies: The most telling sign you mentioned is systemic fatigue. It isn’t just the legs anymore.
But there are some remedies. They won’t make us young again, but they’ll allow us to ride harder and longer more frequently.
- Quality rest. Get more sleep than you did when you were younger. Try to take a daily nap. Never stand when you can sit, and never sit when you can lie down. Do only one or two intense workouts each week. Take at least one and probably two rest days each week.
- Periodize your training so you work hard for three weeks, then do a week of much easier training. Include at least one month of reduced training into your yearly schedule.
- Hydrate. As we get older, our ability to recognize thirst decreases. Keep a bottle of water on your desk at work and nip at it frequently. Carry plenty of water or sports drinks on each ride. Hydrate fully afterwards.
- Eat enough of the right foods. Many cases of reduced recovery can be traced to under-nutrition. Eat sufficient carbohydrate to fuel your training, and allow enough extra for glycogen replenishment.
- Strength train. As we age, we lose muscle volume. As a result, it takes more effort to produce a given amount of power, and the increased effort requires more recovery time. Resistance training helps older riders maintain muscle strength and volume.
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Jack Lockwood says
When you find the solution please let me know. I’m 92 and cycle some but rest a lot.
f says
I love ya man!! I hope I’m still riding at your age!!
Jerry Durkan says
Get a good physical and lab tests to make sure it isn’t something that needs diagnosed: anemia, low thyroid, etc.
RICK SCHULTZ says
vitamins
Free says
If you eat well, and your annual blood tests show no lack of vitamins or minerals, then don’t waste money on vitamins. Your body will only use what it needs, if it doesn’t need anything it passes it to the kidneys where it then goes into the bladder, and you pee it away.
Most people over 60 will start to show a deficiency in vitamin E, so taking vit E is a good thing, but only if a blood test shows that an E supplement is needed.
Frank says
Not sure how this stuff would work for others, but for me, and I’m 70, after a long ride I make a shake! I cut up a full banana, one good size tablespoon of peanut butter, or powdered peanut butter; 4 teaspoons of Nesquik chocolate powdered mix, one scoop of Cytosport Cytocarb Maltodextrin Powder (directions call for 4 scoops but I’m good with 1); put the ingredients into a large cup with 14 ounces of milk and blend it real well. Drink and then I’ll lie down for about 45 minutes and maybe end up napping for 20 minutes or so.
I haven’t tried putting Creatine in my shake yet, supposedly it works well, but so far I haven’t needed it.
All this stuff you have to experiment with till you find what works best for you, start with reduced amounts of any type of either creatine or maltodextrin powder and buy the cheapest product you can find, more expensive won’t do anything except waste more of your money. That’s why I only use one scoop of the Cytosport stuff because one is working, any more would be a waste of product, as would buying other crap, and most of it is crap, nothing but snake oil.
Dave Minden says
Another culprit: low protein. USDA levels for adults are significant underestimates. A 175 lb person supposedly needs 75g protein daily. But those numbers are based on inactive persons. Athletes can need as mush as double that amount.
Free says
Taking vitamins is a fallacy if you are eating properly. The only time you should ever be taking a supplement is if a blood test reviews you are low on certain vitamins or minerals, usually in older people vit D comes up frequently, and a doc will tell you to take a D supplement. A lot of older people will also have a vit B shortage, and the doc can usually give that person a shot in the office. But just to take vitamins because it sounds like a good thing to do is a huge waste of money. Your body is made to discard anything it doesn’t need, and if the blood tests come back as not needing anything your body will simply take all the vitamins you take, filter what it needs through the kidneys, and then dump the access into the bladder where you will pee it way.