Recovering right

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By definition the role of recovery is to restore the physiological and psychological processes, so that you can perform, train or work at a similar level. There are a number of different areas that need to be addressed in order to fully recover from training, performance or just a day at work. The obvious answer for recovery is to sleep, which is the single most effective way of allowing full physiological and psychological recovery from strenuous exercise and work. Other than sleep there are a number of other things that can be used to allow for full and faster recovery including diet.

 

Carbohydrates

An important goal of the athlete's everyday diet is to provide the muscle with substrates to fuel the training program that will achieve optimal adaptation for performance enhancements. Athletes should aim to achieve carbohydrate intakes to meet the fuel requirements of their training program and to optimize restoration of muscle glycogen stores between workouts. It is valuable to choose nutrient-rich carbohydrate foods and to add other foods to recovery meals and snacks to provide a good source of protein and other nutrients. These nutrients may assist in other recovery processes and, in the case of protein, may promote additional glycogen recovery when carbohydrate intake is suboptimal or when frequent snacking is not possible.

When the period between exercise sessions is < 8 h, the athlete should begin carbohydrate intake as soon as practical after the first workout to maximize the effective recovery time between sessions. There may be some advantages in meeting carbohydrate intake targets as a series of snacks during the early recovery phase, but during longer recovery periods (24 h) the athlete should organize the pattern and timing of carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks according to what is practical and comfortable for their individual situation.

Carbohydrate-rich foods with a moderate to high glycaemic index provide a readily available source of carbohydrate for muscle glycogen synthesis, and should be the major carbohydrate choices in recovery meals. Although there is new interest in the recovery of intramuscular triglyceride stores between training sessions, there is no evidence that diets which, are high in fat and restricted in carbohydrate, enhance training.
 
 

Water therapy

Water therapy can also be a useful tool for enhancing the recovery process from high level training and performance. There are two main types of water therapy that has been shown to be a valuable tool in some areas of recovery that include both contrast water therapy and cold water immersion. Contrast water therapy works of the theory that alternating the body between hot and cold water causes vasodilation of the blood flow in the body followed by vasoconstriction resulting in a pump effect. The exact mechanism for contrast therapy and cold water immersion and the reason why they works is still relatively unknown, however, we do know that it works. The following guidelines are from published scientific research and are used by elite athletes and sport scientists around the world:
 
Contrast Water Therapy (Spa/Plunge)

Ideally used at the end of a training day - do not use if you have damaged muscles, a very recent injury or bruising.

• 2 minutes hot (38°C to 40°C)
• 2 minute plunge (12°C to 15°C)
• Repeat 4-5 times
• Always finish on cold (plunge)
• Re-hydrate before, during and after session

Cold Water Immersion (Plunge)

Ideally used following a heavy weights session, between training sessions or during the acute phases of muscle injury, soreness or bruising. Try to build up a total of five minutes in the plunge pool.

• 15 minute cold water (12°C to 15°C)

OR

• 1 minute cold (12°C to 15°C)
• 2 minutes out of water (air temperature)
• Repeat 4-5 times