As markers displayed on these coaching tools are wholly left up to the interpretation of the coaches/athlete, some may be able to execute a session with massively varying fatigue levels to that of another athlete.
This is where interpreting your own sensations and feelings is crucial in developing a good athlete/coach relationship. As training for a cyclist involves the ability to recover between stages, consistently hit power figures and maintain a lean body mass, recovery holds the key to managing these variables.
If you wake up the morning of a session and feel too fatigued, you must evaluate the purpose of the session in relation to your sporting goals and the level of fatigue you may be experiencing.
For athletes training for Multi-day tours:
Training for Multi-day races is significantly more complex, as you are training your body to cope with extreme levels of fatigue while being able to sustain good power output.
A common saying is that Endurance is the enemy of power, and thus an equilibrium must be struck.
There is a fine line in being able to execute a session under fatigue while making sure not to ‘overdo it’ and put your body in the red. If you awake the morning of a session feeling over-tired and unable to complete the session, it may be required that you push through with a modified session with far reduced volume and maintained intensity, followed by a period of good recovery in the following days.
Often pushing for one last session followed by a double recovery day can yield great physiological benefits for the athlete in the long term. Obviously, discretion between you and your coach is advised here.
For athletes training for single-day races:
As single day races require no ability to recover the following day, having absolute power and the ability to perform repeated efforts are key to success, it’s important that you hit a session with 100% focus and nail every variability.
Performing a session with your body at 80% in the lead-up to a one day race will not only cause detriment to your mental confidence but also will not ‘add’ to your fitness in a way that is valuable.
Therefore, it would be recommended that instead of pushing to complete the session, you re-evaluate your training plan with the help of your coach, which may involve taking a full day off the bike or just a recovery ride. Complete discretion, in this case, between you are your coach is beneficial to your success.
Regardless of your goals or what type of training you are doing, recovery is a huge factor which will always limit your ability to do repeated session or increase your absolute power figures. Napping post-training (after re-fuelling) has been shown to increase the release of hormones which repair your body, along with a sleep of 8+ hours each night.
This is the most basic of principles which should be mentioned – obviously, there are many other crucial factors such as nutrition, body composition, rider type and gender which is all for another article.
