Recover like a Professional Athlete
Why is Recovery an essential component of High Performance?
When we train or compete, we place our body under physiological stress. This physiological stress that the body experiences is the stimuli that causes the adaptation in the body – whether it be muscular, cardiovascular, or neural. These adaptations are what lead to an advancement or progression in our physical performance outputs. When we put our bodies in this stressed state, the body’s physiological systems become compromised and they cannot function at full capacity.
Have your legs ever felt like jelly after a heavy squat set or a set of interval runs? That is an example of a compromised muscular system. The muscular system is no longer able to work efficiently and produce the same outputs as it previously could, while you experience that "jelly leg" like feeling. Even though the heavy squats or interval runs have stimulated performance adaptations, you can’t actually see the strength or power adaptations because your legs are jelly and your body is unable to optimally function. This is aprime example of how efficient rest and recovery can be a game changer, particularly for Athletes.
High performing Athletes are required to show up and put in the work. They diligently follow their training program, they diligently follow their meal plan, they put in the mental skills work and they understand that sleep and hydration play key parts in their performance. They control what they can, and avoid sweating about what they can't. It is no coincidence that top performing Athletes follow a tailored recovery program to ensure that they are always ready to perform at their best. If you had access to the same recovery information that they did, would you continue to leave it to chance and hope for the best, or would you use it to develop and implement your ongoing recovery plan to ensure that you too are always able to perform at your best?
In order to be able to functionally use the adaptations that were stimulated in training, rest and recovery is not simply a great idea, it is absolutely necessary. Whilst your body is resting, the physiological systems repair and regenerate to return the body back to homeostasis, and create the adaptations that were stimulated during the training session. The duration of rest required to optimise the physiological adaptation and return the body back to homeostasis is highly dependent on the intensity and type of training stimulus. The muscular system can require 48-72 hours to recover from a large muscular stimulus, and the nervous system can likewise require 48hours to recover from high neural fatigue.
The type of recovery that is completed during this rest period can also:
speed up the recovery process.
enhance the adaptions, stimulated.
delay or inhibit recovery from occurring
decrease the adaptations stimulus
The goal is to achieve both 1 and 2 and prevent 3 and 4 as much as possible.
Would you like access to the ultimate Recovery cheat sheet? Below is your guide to ensure your are giving yourself the best opportunity to recover adequately to boost your training adaptations and physical performance. Enjoy!
The Ultimate Guide to Recover like a Professional Athlete
Post Strength Training Do's & Don'ts
DO’S
Infrared sauna exposure can aid in increasing growth hormone secretion and muscular hypertrophy adaptations.
Consume sufficient protein to aid in muscular recovery and repair.
Active recovery such as a walk, light jog or ride can help flush out any metabolic by products.
Compression garments can aid in flushing out soreness causing metabolic by-products and in muscle relaxation.
Massage can promote increased blood flow, the removal of metabolic by products, and the reduction of muscle tension.
DONT’S
Use Ice baths. Avoid ice baths or prolonged ice/cold exposure as it can down regulate strength adaptation pathways.
Stretch. Stretching is not always advised as small muscular tears commonly occur during eccentric training and stretching these affected muscles could delay the muscular recovery process.
Post Endurance Training Do's & Don'ts
DO’S
Wet Zone! Water immersion therapy/ Contrast Bathing etc is highly recommend as contrast therapy aids in the removal of lactic acid and other metabolic by products, and reduces cardiovascular stress. Rotating between 1 minsubmergedin warm water and 1 min in an ice bath for at least 15 minutes is a great go-to protocol.
Ice bath plunge for 10-20 mins to reduce cardiovascular stress.
Compression garments to improve circulation and flush out soreness causing metabolic by products.
Infrared sauna use to sweat out metabolic by products and stimulate mental and physical relaxation.
Active recovery such as a walk, light jog or ride can aid in the removal of metabolic by products.
Consumesufficientcarbohydratesto replenish fuel stores to aid in muscle recovery and tissueregeneration.
REHYDRATE!
Stretching can aid in reducing muscle soreness if you are experiencing tightness.
Massage can promote increased blood flow, removal of metabolic by products, and reduction of muscle tension.
DONT’S
Infrared sauna use is not recommended after an extremely fatiguing endurance session or a session completed in the heat as it can increase cardiovascular stress and delay recovery. It is important to discuss your condition upon arrival to work out the best recovery protocol for you.
Post Contact/Combat Training Do's & Don'ts
DO’S
Cold bias contrast therapy to flush out metabolic by products and reduce bleeding/bruising and inflammation. Rotating between 3 mins in ice bath, and 1 min in spa for at least 20 minutes, is a great protocol to start with.
Ice bath plunge for 10-20 mins to reduce bleeding/bruising and inflammation.
Compression garments to improve circulation and flush out soreness causing metabolic by products.
Active recovery such as a walk, light jog or ride can help flush out any metabolic by products
consume sufficient carbohydrates to replenish fuel stores and protein isessentialto aid in muscular recovery and repair.
REHYDRATE!
Stretching can aid in reducing muscle soreness if you are experiencing tightness.
Massage can promote increased blood flow, removal of metabolic by products, and reduction of muscle tension.
DONT’SInfrared sauna use or prolonged periods in the spa are not recommended as it can exacerbate bleeding/bruising and inflammation which can increase muscle soreness and prolong recovery time.
Massage muscle groups that are experiencing bleeding as it can increase bleeding/brusing and muscle soreness, and prolong recovery time.
If you found any of the above information helpful, please tag us when you complete your Recovery protocol!
If you didn't find the above information helpful to your personal recovery requirements, drop us an email and we will put you in touch with a sports scientist to help you maximise your recovery experience.
By Karla Bulte
