| What is recovery from strenuous sports | | | | activities such as travel to the competition venue. |
| performance training about? People who exercise | | | | What are the steps I should take to recover |
| regularly and play sports often spend a lot of | | | | properly? |
| time preparing careful sports performance training | | | | Ensure that you take account of your macro and |
| programmes. These focus on positively building all | | | | micro needs. Maintain an awareness of these using |
| the areas of fitness and technique important to | | | | asports performance training /race calendar that |
| the successful conduct of their favorite activity. | | | | allows you to visually assess the training and |
| Some enthusiastic runners, cyclists and triathletes | | | | competition phases you are going through. Akin to |
| plan their year's activities around participation in | | | | the periodisation approach to training, this will help |
| races (marathon, triathlon, etc) or hoping to | | | | you to plan for recovery periods and make these |
| perform maximally at each race. In the haste to | | | | an integral part of your sports performance |
| go faster and stronger, an important aspect of | | | | training plan. Now consider the elements of the |
| training is often neglected: sports recovery. From | | | | recovery: nutrition, structure regeneration, |
| the experience of successful athletes though | | | | inflammation reduction, hormonal, and mental. |
| (particularly those in endurance sports) more time | | | | Make plans for each of these. |
| spent on sports recovery leads to improvement | | | | Nutrition involves replacing the resources that you |
| in the quality of sports performance training as | | | | have used up in your prodigious attempts to go |
| well as optimal results in competition. | | | | faster and stronger. This includes particular |
| What is Sports Recovery? | | | | emphasis on replacing the following nutritional |
| Exercise at all levels of intensity acts to do one | | | | components: carbohydrates to re-build muscle |
| thing to the body: it depletes it. The depletion | | | | glycogen for muscle recovery, and minerals and |
| involves your energy stores (muscle glycogen, | | | | electrolytes to make up for loss in your sweat. |
| blood glucose and fat products in your blood), | | | | The best time to re-build glycogen stores is within |
| hormones, and muscle structures. In other words, | | | | the first 3 hours after sports performance training |
| you use up the body's valuable resources as you | | | | as this is when the rate of glycogen storage is |
| exercise and something must be done to replace | | | | highest. Such storage remains elevated in the |
| them. | | | | next 21 hours but not at the same rate as during |
| In order to return to training and to continue | | | | what has been called the "critical re-energising |
| conditioning your body to meet your exercise | | | | window." There is scientific evidence to suggest |
| goals, it isimportant to create time and take | | | | that the very first hour after your exercise bout |
| active steps to bring about a re-building of the | | | | is actually the time that your body responds best |
| depleted body resources. This is what sports | | | | to glycogen replenishment. |
| recovery is all about: the conscious action to help | | | | However, for some athletes, there are barriers |
| the body return to its optimal exercise state. This | | | | that need to be overcome to meet this |
| is especially important if you are intending to | | | | immediate post-exercise nutrition need. This |
| exercise intensively or for long durations soon | | | | includes not feeling hungry or not having the |
| after an exhausting bout. This could be endurance | | | | correct nutrition available. |
| programme training, multi-stage bike race, or | | | | Positive steps must be taken to overcome these. |
| sports competitions that are only 2-4 weeks | | | | Have nutrition available. If you can't stomach |
| apart | | | | eating, then drink your nutrition (energy drinks, |
| Why bother with Sports Recovery? | | | | carbohydrate mixes). Find nutritional sources that |
| In the very simplest terms you need to bother | | | | agree with you, and use these. |
| with sports recovery to keep you physically | | | | If you are quite lean (meaning your body fat |
| exercising at the level that you want to. Even | | | | content is low), you should also ensure that your |
| more importantly, to allow the body's systems to | | | | energyreplacement includes a balanced diet that |
| re-charge sufficiently that your mental edge | | | | has FAT and protein in it. Your overall energy |
| remains honed to that fine sharpness you desire. | | | | needs are higher than someone who has not |
| A blunted edge comes about from insufficient | | | | discovered long distance runs or triathlon training |
| recovery and can come back to haunt you in | | | | yet (poor people). So meet your higher energy |
| these ways: staleness, loss of interest, reduced | | | | needs and balance the sources of your energy: |
| physical ability, decreased sports performance | | | | about 50-60 % from carbohydrates, 15% from |
| training tolerance. Yes indeed, the first steps | | | | protein, and up to 30% from fat. |
| towards over-training. | | | | Reducing your physical exercise is a good idea for |
| A good approach to sports recovery will ensure | | | | 4-5 days after a punishing race. This does not |
| that the quality of your sports performance | | | | meanjust lying around doing nothing, although that |
| training and competition is high. This will contribute | | | | may be the order of the first day or so after |
| to you feeling satisfied with your efforts and | | | | competing. You will want to spend time actively |
| achievements, and bring about continued | | | | stretching those tired and tight muscles, and by |
| confidence in your chosen endurance sport. Good | | | | the 4th or 5th day, a light spin on the bike or |
| recovery also enables you to exert a greater | | | | some easy laps will help to keep your mind happy |
| overall sense of control of your sports | | | | while you rest the muscles, tendons, joints and |
| performance training destiny! | | | | bones of your body. This is what is called "relative |
| When should I think about Sports Recovery? | | | | rest" with components of "active recovery." |
| You should consider sports recovery at both | | | | The sports recovery period is a useful time to |
| macro- and micro-levels. An example of a macro | | | | catch up with equipment maintenance matters. |
| level would be a period of sports performance | | | | And in the long run, these really do matter. Clean |
| training preparation time (e.g. a week or month), | | | | the sea water out of your running shoes, wash |
| or the period between competitions on your race | | | | your bike and take it to the shop for a tune-up, |
| calendar. A micro-level consideration would be | | | | wash those hard-worn heart rate monitor straps |
| after a single very hard or exhaustive work-out. | | | | and, so on. |
| At the macro level, the depletion of resources will | | | | Finally, there is massage. Do I detect some glee |
| have arisen as a systematic and progressive | | | | out there? The aim of massaging tired aching |
| wearing away that parallels your rigorously | | | | muscles is to relieve the tension that has built up |
| planned training program. It is not the single | | | | in the muscles, as well as to assist in the removal |
| mind-blowing training session that is involved here | | | | of chemicalsubstances that build up during |
| but rather the accumulated effect of all the | | | | exercise and as a result of cell activity. So, just as |
| sessions combined, and possibly inclusive of the | | | | top cycling teams bring their own masseuses to |
| race. While a single sports performance training | | | | races (especially cycling tour competitions), you |
| session may leave you feeling fatigued, the | | | | can help your body along with some judiciously |
| depletion of body resources over a period of time | | | | administered massage. And if aches or pain |
| (it can be as short as a week or as long as | | | | persist, perhaps there is an injury that needs |
| months) will leave you feeling that your ability to | | | | some attention from your sports doctor. The |
| physically exert yourself is a little blunted. Your | | | | recovery period is a great time to have this |
| legs feel heavy and tired, and are unable to | | | | managed, to deliver you in optimal shape as you |
| sustain prolonged effort in the way they used to. | | | | return to training again. |
| The micro recovery level answers the body's | | | | All in all then, sports recovery is not something |
| aching need following that supremely challenging | | | | which every athlete thinks about, and some do it |
| sportsperformance training session, back-to-back | | | | betterthan others. It's something you should |
| training sessions in some training camp, or the | | | | invest your effort into as much as you do your |
| actual hugeeffort put into a competitive event | | | | sports performance training preparations. It is an |
| (e.g. marathon running) . The latter involves not | | | | integral part of restoring your body to a condition |
| just the event itself but also the mental stress, | | | | which allows you to enjoy regular and continuous |
| increased adrenaline surges, and even mundane | | | | challenging training and competition. |