[Closed] Taking time off bike to rebuild knackered core

My thoughts:

Just take it a bit easier on the bike. Stopping completely will lose your fitness.
Find a good physio. Well worth the money in my experience.

A different bike? I mean, try mixing up your riding a bit more. If there's something about your gravel/CX setup that is causing this long term discomfort then it could be a setup/fit issue but mixing in a mountain bike of some sort (with suspension or fat tyres would put you in a different position for a while and maybe offer a bit more comfort.

As someone who trashed their body over-training, I feel your pain. I took three months out one year to do strenth work I quite enjoyed that until I pulled a muscle deadlifting.

A few years ago I had to do 6 hours of physio a week mostly core strengthing and I found it massively tedious, so much I now struggle to do the physio I'm supposed to be doing as I'm fed up with it.

I'd keep riding wind it down 50%, gentle gravel rides no power meter or speedo, and few efforts to keep that some of that hard-earned fitness, then mix up strength work with some pilates with the rest of the time so you don't get bored. I'd deffo see a good physio to get the right stretches and strength work some of the stretches/exercises need to be executed with precision to be effective.

The other thing to bear in mind is your tendons are used to a certain degree of load, stopping suddenly can cause problems. My adductor tendinopathy had come back after 2 years as I stopped doing anything to see if my torn knee would settle down. If you do stop taper down, as well as tapering back up when you start again.

A different bike? I mean, try mixing up your riding a bit more.

Actually that's a very good point, I don't think the difference in position is a solution in itself, but it would be a good way to keep legs moving while rebuilding. My understanding is any form of pedalling will contribute/aggravate the general fatigue and imbalances that have built up in my hips and back.

setup/fit issue

am revisiting my bike fitter tomorrow. It didn't seem that long ago I went in for a bike fit but in fact it was three years, one low back operation and one broken collarbone ago, so probably time for a quick check!

Find a good physio

My bike fitter usually has a retained physio who would have been ideal, e.g. a cycling physio with access to bike fit tools. He's unavailable for the next couple of months though so I'm still searching for a physio with cycling knowledge who could also act as a form of coach, e.g. helping me work in other forms of exercise whilst rebuilding. I know it shouldn't be complicated but I'm especially time poor at the moment so it's a real juggle trying to fit in the appropriate strengthening whilst also trying to maintain fitness running and on bike!

As someone who trashed their body over-training, I feel your pain. I took three months out one year to do strenth work I quite enjoyed that until I pulled a muscle deadlifting.

Yep, I was enjoying the 2 months of strength work I was doing as a precursor to the CX season, but I think it was too 'blunt' e.g. I just did big glute moves like squats and hip thrusts. I think I need to start again with all the stability and core stuff. I'm also buying into the 'patterns of movement' and 'activating muscles' theories, I don't feel that e.g. my hip abductors are especially weak, but that they just don't engage when I'm pedalling, so my low back takes all the strain etc.

Basically I feel less and less natural sitting on a bike these days which is sort of why I wanted to hit the big 'reset' button a wee bit.

If there’s something about your gravel/CX setup that is causing this long term discomfort then it could be a setup/fit issue

Maybe look at disc brakes, need next to no effort to use.

To a degree I would think it depends on whether or not you actually enjoy riding. If you do (at least enough to ride through the UK winter) then maybe sack off the CX racing and take things a bit easier just riding because you get something out of it. Do some different routes if possible rather than just bashing out the same old ones because you feel you should be training. I've certainly fallen victim to the biking rut before after getting a little obsessed with my average number of rides on Strava. As Scotroutes said above, a different type of riding / n+1 is always a good option.
Beyond that, good, experienced personal trainers who understand cycling appear to be of huge value and I can personally recommend taking up yoga / pilates etc if you haven't already tried. Yoga classes have really highlighted and helped to address my lack of mobility & flexibility in certain areas which, in hindsight, had been causing many little twinges.

If you aren't that bothered with the cycling then probably take a break over winter, do other stuff as you suggest to keep fitness and come back to it or not recharged i the spring.

If you aren't already, then perhaps some single speeding?
It certainly gives me much more of a full body workout than spinning gears in the saddle.
Even the getting off and walking part helps as it breaks up a ride and will move muscles differently.

Maybe look at disc brakes, need next to no effort to use.

Oof, really crow-barring that little joke in there aren't you? 😂 It's probably all the grimacing and jaw-clenching that I do every time I apply my (disc) brakes and they screech at me which is causing referred tension into my low back...

maybe sack off the CX racing and take things a bit easier

This is the bit I'm struggling with most! I've gotten this far, first race this weekend, bike race-prepped and hanging in stand, and yet I'm realistically having to admit I'm in no fit state for racing... 3 races in 6 weeks, I guess I could just take it really easy in between and focus on maintenance and strength work, then dial it right back at end of November (and resist temptation to enter any more races...).

If you aren’t already, then perhaps some single speeding?

Is very tempting, my 'favourite' bike is a singlespeed that I have barely ridden in three years. It would even gravelise quite well. Buuuuuut I'm pretty sure it's the low cadence/high torque stuff that I'm least well able to deal with at the moment, e.g. heavy mud CX courses... 🙄

I'd imagine you're just unbalanced if most of your training has been on the bike. That's always going to lead to aches, pains and 'niggles'.

I'd choose strength training over physio any day, unless you have a specific injury. Big, compound movements will work wonders. Stick with free weights, kettlebells or calisthenics to make sure you get as much activation as possible, strengthening surrounding muscles, ligaments and tendons.

That way you shouldn't really need to do any specific core work.

I've moved my gym routine to home with nothing more than two sets of parallettes (one high set, one low set) and a proper pullup bar.

Almost every exercise on those has the benefit of addressing core strength and stability.

IANA(anything)

Bike fit and a trip to the physio. No need to do anything drastic like taking 3 months off the bike.
Any good physio who is used to people who exercise will plan a programme around that exercise and the goals you have. Certainly the one I go to would know full well that if he told me not to ride/run for 3 months he would be ignored, a good programme would with with your goals.

I’m pretty sure it’s the low cadence/high torque stuff that I’m least well able to deal with at the moment, e.g. heavy mud CX courses

You need to skip the Fife race then and just do Camperdown 😉

Am I detecting you have burnt yourself out mentally training a lot riding and you are feeling the mental fatigue as well as physical. I was similar after 5years of Ironman training. I just didn't want to do it and fancied doing something else.

If not keep going with the riding and work on your mobility etc, possibly like you say with some advice from a good sports physio.

Do you do any stretching/yoga stuff before and after riding?
I got into body balance and found it really helped with my flexibility and core strength.

Sorry to say, you are knackered for this race season now anyway. What you need to decide is if you want to be in a good place for next year?
Definitely do the races you’ve entered but accept you are doing them for fun. Only ride if you enjoy it and forget any riding as training. Stop using a gps/Speedo/Strava for the mean time too.
A few months off will do no harm to your long term fitness at all. Cycling should be fun, if it’s not then why bother?

Gym work (of the right kind) will definitely help. Your local cycling club should have a good idea of decent sport physios with an interest in cycling or other suitable trainer. Yoga is also good if you can get over the old grannies being way more flexible than you. Harder than it looks too.

"I’m also buying into the ‘patterns of movement’ and ‘activating muscles’ theories"

Look up the "be activated" work of Doug Heel, I did a course with him years ago when I was a sports masseur, and found it a useful tool to get the basics back in place. Ideally find someone local to treat you / teach you the method.

I'd go take a visit to a physio. A lot of lower back/hip issues are around the muscles in and around your hips and a lack of flexibility. A guy I work with is an expert in lower back pain, and much stems from lack of flexibility/tight tendons etc.

If its hips, lower back and possibly knees then shorten your cranks. Plus a bit of Yoga for cyclists from Adrienne on Youtube. Sorted me out and made me faster on the bike. Dropped from 175 crank arm to 170 and I am 6ft1 and have a long leg!

Do you do any stretching/yoga stuff before and after riding?

I was going to ask / suggest this. If I ride a lot without Yoging I feel like a hunched up mess. Do some gentle sessions a couple of times a week. And I do mean gentle - it's tempting to "go deep" on some stretches but I've certainly caused myself more grief that way.

Thanks folks.

Step one complete at least, visited my old bike fitter for a 'redial' although with so much water under the bridge since last fit it should really have been a full new fit... 🙄

Interestingly he actually set bars up lower and saddle further back! I'm not going to explain his theory for doing so here as I understood it at the time and don't want to see it torn apart by the STW forumites 😁 It felt good in the shop so only time will tell if it works out on the trails and roads.

As was phrophesised though, I've woken up on the eve of my first race with my upper back in such spasm that I can't breath properly! If I ever needed a firmer sign to just back off the bike for a while and rebuild then this was it. Oh, and also there's an article on Cycling news about Wout van Aert taking three weeks off so if it's good enough for this year's winningest man in the peloton then it's definitely good enough for me. Two week's rest minimum and maybe trying to get into a yoga routine before I start gentle strengthening and going out for easy spins on the bike again.

Am I detecting you have burnt yourself out mentally training a lot riding and you are feeling the mental fatigue as well as physical.

This is fair, but it's not mental fatigue from training, in fact this year I'd gotten into a good place with training, had adapted sessions so that if possible I could do them outdoors in a 'fun' way (chasing suitable distance segments on favourite roads and tracks mainly) and most weekend rides were just long explorative routes with a couple of efforts (segments again...😁) for fun but mostly chilled. Overall hasn't really felt much like training. Any mental fatigue has just come from tying myself in knots trying to find a workable combination of physio time, running time and riding time!