Overtraining is real and requires sufficient recovery

I rode every weekday last week and through Thursday of this week. My friends have been so motivational that I almost kept my 6:30 pm ride this evening—but I just can't! 

Uncle! Mercy!

So, I canceled my class tonight and my next CYCLEBAR spin class isn't until Monday afternoon.

Why?

Because my muscles are deeply sore and I found myself counting minutes on the bike's monitor—and not having fun!

No, I'm not bored with spin class—at all! I'm just trying to not let my sedentary, unfit, lazy, body trick me into sloth.

My friends and my CYCLEBAR friends have had great advice for me: keep riding! The difference between an athlete and a non-athlete is working out on days when you don't want—in lieu of making excuses. To not break the good habit. And it's mostly good advice—80% or more of the time—but not this time.

There is such a thing as overtraining:

Overtraining occurs when a person exceeds their body's ability to recover from strenuous exercise. Overtraining can be described as a point where a person may have a decrease in performance and plateauing as a result of failure to consistently perform at a certain level or training load; a load which exceeds their recovery capacity. People who are overtrained cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. --Wikipedia

 So, it's time to rest. And by rest, I don't just mean sit on my duff add eat bonbons. I own running shoes, an old Concept2 erg, a treadmill desk, kettlebells, and a SkiErg.Passive recovery means stillness and inactivity. By contrast, active recovery means being active in a way that promotes recovery rather than intensity. --ACE

So, I'll try to hit some other muscle groups, do a lot of wide range of movement exercises, and maybe even hit the gym, be it the building workout room or XSport down the street.

The good news from all this? My pain isn't the gimpy pain you might get when you start a new workout; rather, it's deep muscle soreness. The good kind that feels really good to massage, but also the kind I need to massage and allow to recover, to heal.

 If you'll look at my performance, you'll see that my class ranking, my peak power, and even my pace and distance, have all plummeted.