Advice for taking a break from training?

Stop training for a little bit. Do some rides just for fun, and only if you want to. What got you into cycling? Maybe do some easy rides with the community (our local race team does "nacho rides"), or just some chatty no-drop rides. Maybe, if you really enjoy the tactics side of racing, help mentor some juniors (or even just new racers) associated with a local club with skills drills or practice races or something. Drive somewhere pretty, and ride your bike there. Do a tour. Rent a tandem, and drag a pretty lady (or guy) along on an adventure much longer than they bargained for. Mountain bike.

Maybe you just don't even want to look at a bike right now. That's fine. It happens to a lot of people (Coryn Rivera took off eight months due to burnout, and she's doing just fine). Then find something else active to do, something that'll still release those post-workout endorphins that we're all addicted to. Run. Climb. Hike. Swim. Don't do it for fitness; when I do that, I just count down the minutes, and that ruins it. Do it for fun.

Honestly, to me, it sounds like overtraining. This happened to me pretty badly one season. If you have any of the symptoms (sugar cravings, weird sleep habits, and the harder I trained, the weaker I got), you should take some serious time off. Continuing to train through it will cause long-term damage.

Also, fitness-wise, I had to take off six months due to a horrible knee injury. I felt like I'd never, ever get my fitness back, but in just a few months after returning to the bike, I had already surpassed my previous top form. It's much easier to get back in shape after a hiatus than to get in shape the first time.

/r/Velo Thread