Off the Bike work, Warm Up, Warm Down & Recovery..

[tjdixon911]

Over the past few months I have been upping my mileage a fair bit, from what was 1 ride at 15-20miles / week I'm now doing between 3&4 of similar distance so averaging 60-70 miles / week.

I pretty much do nothing off the bike in way of Preperation, Warm Up, Warm Down and Recovery (Food / Drink?) - What should I be doing?

I've found recently my lower back gets a slight ache, the bike set up feels good and its only after I'm off the bike that I feel it, I don't know if this is the current cold weather or bike set up or could I be doing some sort of Stretching to relieve this?

My riding is MTB XC so pushing as much as I can (night riding in the week), I'm currently doing the Thetford Winter Series but may look to continue racing into the Summer months with other race series...

Advice / Links much appreciated.

[Craikeybaby]

I'd be keen to learn a bit more about this too, as I usually get home, clean the bike, then have a shower myself, I should probably at least do some stretches.

[nammynake]

Warm-up: Just turn an easy gear for the first 10-15 minutes of your ride. Avoid stretching cold muscles before a ride.

Cool-down: Just gradually reduce your effort as you're heading home.

Stretching: Try to do this as soon as possible after your ride while your muscles are still warm. I just go some basic calf, quad and hamstring stretches. If I've been on a long ride I'll also do some upper body stretches.

Recovery: Particularly important after a long or hard ride. Try to get some good protein/carbs down as soon as you get back. I always have a pint of milk as soon as I get back. Try to eat sensibly afterwards too, so avoid junk food as this will only inhibit your bodies ability to recover. Remember you only get fitter when you're recovering, so no point putting in huge miles only to down a greasy takeaway during that recovery time.

Back pain usually suggests bike-fit issues, so might be worth looking into that. Plenty of intro guides online which may offer a solution, otherwise go and get a proper fit.

[Usget]

nammynake said:

Recovery: Particularly important after a long or hard ride. Try to get some good protein/carbs down as soon as you get back. I always have a pint of milk as soon as I get back. Try to eat sensibly afterwards too, so avoid junk food as this will only inhibit your bodies ability to recover. Remember you only get fitter when you're recovering, so no point putting in huge miles only to down a greasy takeaway during that recovery time.

I have a pint of Nesquik after a ride and it works wonders. I posted a similar thread about a year ago, wondering why I got significant headaches and grouchiness after riding, and it was suggested that I wasn't drinking enough post-ride - the Nesquik fixed it.

nammynake said:

Back pain usually suggests bike-fit issues, so might be worth looking into that. Plenty of intro guides online which may offer a solution, otherwise go and get a proper fit.

Or a lack of core strength. Do some core exercises for a month and see if this improves the back pain situation - if not, then as nammynake says, it's probably a fit issue.

[the_stoat]

Usget said:

Or a lack of core strength. Do some core exercises for a month and see if this improves the back pain situation - if not, then as nammynake says, it's probably a fit issue.

Spot on in my view.

[j00pY]

After suffering from knee pain (ITB issues) after significantly upping my miles I have to recommend a foam roller. I went to the physio who gave me some stretches and rolling exercises to do and after a couple of days of rolling I had very little knee pain. Now, 6 weeks later I am pain free and back on high mileage rides.

[tjdixon911]

Thanks for the responses.

Last night I did a 23 mile route, the first 2-3 miles I did in a low gear to spin the legs up, then took it easy for the last 2 miles or so followed when I got home with a bit of stretching and a glass of milk, today I actually feel pretty good, I'm sure that can't all be down to the change but maybe it is...

I think a few extra pints of milk will need to be added to our next shopping trip...