Recovery is just as important as your actual cycling training. Failing to recover properly means you won’t be fighting fit as quick and you risk injury. Here are our top three suggestions for turning your post-cycle recovery game into a match winner:
Go-go-again
After finishing a long ride or a particularly gruelling spin session, getting back on your bike might seem like the last thing you want to do. However, aptly named ‘active recovery’ is an important part of the cycle. Critically, it means your metabolism continues to fire, it helps blood flow around your body, and it reduces the impact and inflammation caused by muscle fatigue. So, as tempting as it is to lounge about moaning about your aches and pains, you’ll find it beneficial to get back on the bike as soon as you can.
5-star fuelling
Refuelling is also a vital player in the cycle recovery game. Recovery starts within 30 minutes of finishing a ride. You should be including recovery powders, which replace glycogen and electrolyte stores and rebuild lean muscle, in your post-cycle routine. After a ride, the food you consume needs to contain a mix of carbohydrates, protein and vegetables. Consuming the right combination will aid your body’s restorative process. Check out our blog for more on how food can aid recovery.
Keep supple and stretchy
Stretching is free, easy to do, and relatively pain-free if you do it regularly. Amazingly, we still see so many cyclists failing to warm down and stretch (I’ve been guilty myself). I can say first hand stretching revolutionised my body’s ability to recover. I quickly experienced fewer aches and pains, including in my lower back and hamstrings. Your muscles take on a fair bit of punishment during a long ride, so give them a helping hand by adding stretches to your cycle recovery routine. Your glutes and quads will be forever grateful. Check out these top stretches from Bike Radar.
Any recovery top tips? Let us know!
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