Recovery time when getting older

[Heltor Chasca]

[I get 5 single pints of which I take one to work each day. No headaches, no hunger pai.

Full fat, semi or skimmed?

Semi. I prefer full fat in taste but I believe it's best to keep to 10% or lower in fat for better cholesterol rates. I stand to be corrected of course.

[tyreon]

Moderation,circumstance and having passed 55+(life experience)should be enough to gauge most things yourself.

I meet senior cyclists much 'fitter' than myself. Healthier? I don't know. Howsoever one guy careers around at 19mph for 50mpd and he's 74. Others,similar age,go faster. Yet all isn't well: some come off(repeatedly!)to incur pretty bad injuries. These guys are road-men. It isn't for me,and I'm younger. I also wouldn't cycle at that speed 'peleton' fashion(each to his own,of course)

What I would caution about is cycling like this,'going down' and not having a family for support. Then yer on your own. With growing divorce,family separation(caused by death/work,other circumstance)you could be in serious trouble. 111,999,A+E...aren't everything you need these days. You need an extra advocate to stand beside you as 'witness'(well,that's what I think).

A cyclist I know who has a 'loose'/removed family won't go out with the racing crowd for fear of inviting injury. Recovery time could be (solitary) confinement,next Dunroamin nursing home,porridge(gruel)£20 a plate!

[MikeF]

A long ride nowadays (I'm 67) leaves me quite tired for several days afterwards.
I know it's all part of getting older but I still don't like it and to a great extent neither does my wife.
Anyone got any ideas on improving/ speeding up the recovery time?
The call of the open road is strong..
Rod

I'm older than you. What's a long ride? A long ride for me would be over 40 miles, but that would be nothing for some. I presume around Hampton is fairly flat and not like the constant ups and downs of say the High Weald.
I just accept the fact that I cannot do what I did when I was younger and I just have to plod up hills at a speed I can maintain and have gearing to suit (30" or below). I'm passed by others, but I get there in the end and I may see a lot more on the way. . I've done more cycling since just before retiring. I don't find I need recovery time, or feel tired except for say an hour or so afterwards, but I do find that I have "more energy" on a ride if I haven't cycled far for a few days.

If you are feeling tired for days it might be worth consulting a doctor or at least as Colin says "adjusting" what you are doing; that doesn't sound right. I find I have to go at a pace I can maintain for the ride. When I arrive home (and I live on higher grounds so it's aways uphill), I don't arrive exhausted, but feel I could have ridden further.

[bigjim]

I'm well into my 60s. I too find myself extremely tired after a long ride. 70 miles is just about ok. 100 mile rides get just too much to recover comfortably from. I ride with a club and the pace can be pretty fast at times and there is a fair bit of hill climbing. I've stopped doing the 100+ miles rides. It is not worth it to me. I'm fine on the bike and stay with the pack but the recovery time can extend into the whole of the next day at least and I struggle to sleep well after a hard ride. I've found a glass of full cream milk with protein powder works well as a recovery drink. I'm suspicious that I'm also not drinking enough water when out on the bike.
I've lost a few mates recently. All younger than me so am more cautious of overtaxing my heart. I'll ride at a decent pace but will only do short bursts out of my comfort zone. I've stopped riding hills that make the veins stand out on my forehead and sweat pour into the eyeballs. I halt the bike and rest or walk a bit. Dead heroes are not much use.

[cyclop]

As a 63yr old ,regular cyclist(at least 3 rides a week,min 7 hrs a week) the years have ticked over,patterns form,nothing much changes,one knows what works, at least I thought I did until a major event necessitated a big change in behaviour.My wife had a heart attack.She,s recovering well and,naturally,I needed to stay home for a while until she felt she could be left on her own.The turbo was dusted off and,biting the bullet,I knuckled down to 1hr sessions most days with a 2hr one at weekends,mostly intervals.Here,s what I found after 4 weeks;feel stronger;recovery is better;never have that tiredness that lasts days and,most interestingly,on my first road ride,a 4hr hilly effort,these changes were felt during the whole ride.All very unscientific but,nonetheless,food for thought.

[MarkGraham]

I've bought a copy of 'Fast after Fifty' by Joe Friel - I'm primarily a runner with cycling second but its relevant to both and has what seems to be good advice. I'm currently in week 5 of a programme taken from the book and liking it.
One of the best ideas in it from the perspective of the original post seems to be that a 'week' need not be a 'week' long - where we may be used to trying to tick off certain training targets each week a suggestion is to make the 'week' longer, say 10 days, to allow more recovery time between sessions while still following a structured programme.

[mnichols]

I feel like the baby of the group at 47

It's very inspiring to read about people in their 50's, 60's and 70's still putting in the miles and enjoying their cycling. My granddad rode into his 90's and only stopped after breaking several bones when he feel down a very large hole (fell into a pub cellar whilst walking down the road, after they left the loading door open)

I think I'll buy the Joe Friel book

[Ray]

Get a flavour of the Joe Friel book by going to http://joefriel.typepad.com/blog/ and doing a search for "aging" (or, indeed, "ageing" ).

Although Friel is aiming particularly at competitive riders, don't let that put you off if you're of a more leisurely persuasion. The basic principles still apply: a bit of intensity, ample recovery time, and maybe some strength (weight) training. You can adapt to fit your life, and your inclination. I don't care much for pumping iron, for example, but at the moment plenty of heavy digging and 'structural' gardening is just as much of a workout, and far more interesting.

[bigjim]

but at the moment plenty of heavy digging and 'structural' gardening is just as much of a workout, and far more interesting.

Horses for courses methinks.
I can think of nothing more boring than gardening. I love going to the gym and lifting a bit of weight. I like the atmosphere and the social contact. Plus the benefit of a swim or sauna after a good workout, them maybe a coffee in the on site cafe whilst chatting and talking nonsense with other grumpy old blokes like me.
I've still not completely worked out how to recover properly after a long ride though.

[Ray]

Horses for courses methinks.

Right. Whatever turns you on. Most people seem to grumble that turboing is mind-numbing, but I'll willingly put up with it if the alternative is cold, wet or v. windy weather. No match for outdoor cycling, though, when the weather is OK - like today, when my 80kms included two café stops and three or four breathtaking bursts of what power I still possess. It was fun.

I've still not completely worked out how to recover properly after a long ride though.

Looking at your post higher up the page, you seem to keep fairly rapid company, which may have something to do with it. It's important to keep stretching ourselves, in so far as we're capable, but there may be a price!

[bigjim]

Most people seem to grumble that turboing is mind-numbing,

Oh no! I don't go near any cardio stuff in the gym. I'd rather go for a jog in the rain any time. it's just weights for me or maybe in desperation a boring swim. I went out on Sunday for a gentle pootle with some gentle folk. Lots of stops and a nice pace. We covered maybe 55 miles. I still felt it that night so I don't know what is going on. Though I did not get a good nights sleep the night before and I did not have my milk recovery drink. Thought that I would not need it after my gentle day. Maybe I'm not fit enough, though I do ride a 25 mile circuit 3 times a week at a decent clop and that does not bother me at all.
Back to the drawing board.

[MarkGraham]

A summary from fast after 50 from my perspective would be that as you get older 1) Muscle mass declines - so do some strength training, 2) VO2 max declines - so do some HIIT, 3) Body fat increases - so eat right, 4) Recovery takes longer - so build it in to your programme. All good principles at any stage of life but he stresses how they become increasingly important as you age.
There's lots of good detail and suggestions for how to aim for all of the above with some realistic expectations of at least being able to slow the decline or in some cases reverse it, at least to some extent. The good news is that if you have been fit and active all your life you may well have declined at a much lower rate than normally expected.

[SpannerGeek]

I drink full fat milk after cycling AND before! Its recommended for men over 40 as it's an excellent source of raw material for testosterone, which has a bigger impact both on and 'off' the bike then most people realise. Is also cheap and cheerful

[samsbike]

I drink full fat milk after cycling AND before! Its recommended for men over 40 as it's an excellent source of raw material for testosterone, which has a bigger impact both on and 'off' the bike then most people realise. Is also cheap and cheerful

Really, as I have been drinking semi skimmed in a bid to get the nutrients but not the fat! Is there any evidence for this (full v semi fat milk?)

[mountainman531]

I'm 58, in June I will be 59. I do Bikeability cycle training in schools and I cycle to schools whenever I can. Mostly the furthest school away is 10 miles but I try to put a loop in after work and make it up to 30. Yesterday I did 36 miles, today 37. I don't work in the school holidays so then I go out on longer rides. Sometimes I ride with my local CTC group and this year I've already got some 80 - 100 mile rides in. I'm not a racer but I'm not slow either and so far I don't feel any more tired than I ever did. I think that keeping going helps, there have been several reports that if you cycle regularly you are 10 years younger than your actual age so really I'm just a young whippersnapper!
Two of my club cycling mates are 70 and they can do the mileage on clubruns no problem and they ride midweek too, it's great what you can do given the time.