What makes you faster? Training, lots of training, is the answer most cyclists give to this question. However, there is actually a fallacy behind this statement: it is not the training that makes you faster, but the recovery afterwards. If you could pedal your way to becoming the best professional cyclist in the world through hard training, hordes of training maniacs would be on their bikes for days on end. This extreme picture shows that no matter how well or hard you train, regeneration is the key to improving your form. When your body has fully recovered, your fitness level soars. If you neglect regeneration, you will lag behind. The simple basic principle of regeneration is as follows: the harder or more exhausting the training, the longer the body needs to recover. During this time, the body restores the biological imbalance. Illnesses or everyday stress have a negative impact on regeneration. After severe colds, regeneration can be disrupted for two to three weeks, which in turn has a decisive effect on performance. Those who do not regenerate quickly slip into overtraining.
Sufficient rest instead of overtraining
What overtraining is in sport, exhaustion syndrome, also known as burnout, is in working life. The classic symptom where the need for regeneration is clearly noticeable is muscle soreness. In the past, the pain was thought to be caused by a build-up of lactate in the muscle fibres, but today science assumes microtrauma in the muscles. These tears in the fibres cause tiny inflammations in the muscle, which leads to swelling. Everyone knows the feeling when your legs are almost bursting after going to the gym for the first time in months. But instead of continuing to train doggedly when your muscles are sore, which is still the norm for many athletes, the tissue needs to regenerate.
The entire fitness special on the subject of regeneration contains these topics:
- How does our body recover from stress? Find out here.
- After the race is before the race. How to structure your recovery.
- Besides sleep, food is the most important building block for getting fit again.
- Homemade: recovery shakes to mix yourself
- The spectre of overtraining: how to recognise a drop in performance.
- Tried and tested: 15 recovery drinks put to the test
- Loosen up: Roll your muscles smoothly - exercises to do at home
- What to do with injuries?
- Regeneration turbo? What massages and ice baths really do.
- Painkillers: how dangerous the pills are.
- Recovery killer: Why long bike rides damage your form.
- The measure of stress: Hunter Allen developed a formula that measures stress.
You can download the fitness special "Regeneration" as a PDF free of charge.
