How Long Does It Take To Recover?

By Coach Matt Russ

A common assumption is that a day or two allows full recovery from training or racing. For the most part this amount of recovery may allow you to resume training, but it takes up to 10 DAYS or more to fully recover from a tough work out or race. Fatigue accumulates and recovery is like a bank, you make a withdrawal (training) you must make a deposit (recovery) to get your balance back up. The bigger the withdrawal the greater the deposit you have to make.

Part of the training process is to add some level of training stress while the body is not fully recovered. This allows super compensation and builds fitness, but it is a slippery slope. You have to carefully balance the stress recovery and schedule regular intervals to allow your body to catch up and replenish your balance. Daily these are sleep / rest periods, weekly- off days or recovery days, monthly- recovery weeks, and annually transition phases. All of these allow the body to fully repair itself and resume training at a high level.

If a schedule aerobic base ride turns into a 2 hour hammer fest it may double your recovery time before you are able to resume normal training. It may also degrade the quality of your work outs later in the week. Remember, every bit of training stress has implications so choose yours wisely then allow your body to recover from it.

Matt Russ has coached and trained elite athletes from around the country and internationally for over ten years. He currently holds expert licenses from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling (Elite), and is a licensed USA Track and Field Coach. Matt is head coach and owner of The Sport Factory, and works with athletes of all levels full time. He is a free lance author and his articles are regularly featured in a variety of magazines such as Inside Triathlon, and Triathlete. Visit www.thesportfactory.com for more information or email him at coachmatt@thesportfactory.com