Tips & Guidance

Understanding Recovery

Anyone who plays a sport will understand the importance of recovery, it is a vital part of exercise, but it isn’t always easy to ensure your recovery is sufficient to energise your body, maintain and grow muscle as well as staying healthy and without injury.

So why is recovery so important? Overall, the main benefit of recovery is to helps with reducing soreness following exercise which allows you to exercise more frequently. Recovery also allows for energy levels to restore quicker in the body meaning the feeling of fatigue is not prolonged. For team sports like football, netball, or lacrosse it is important to recover between matches to allow for optimal performance along with possible muscle growth that may occur from training sessions and in between matches. After training sessions simple recovery can be done immediately such as stretching, which helps to aid the muscles to not be damaged, a simple yet effective and important aspect of all exercise. It is important to remember that recovery is vital regardless the length or intensity of training, so matter if you’re having a quick thirty-minute workout in the gym or you’re training three times a day, recovery is crucial.

What are the risks of no recovery or poor recovery? The effects of not taking time to recovery properly ultimately will hinder muscle growth and ability to exercise at an optimal level. Studies have found that overtraining syndrome affects roughly 60% of elite athletes and around 30% of non-elite endurance athletes. Overtraining occurs when an athlete does not recover properly not allowing their body to reenergise and recover. The study suggest that the ill effects of overtraining syndrome can include a steady increase of body fat in a person, and they are also at a higher risk of dehydration, again effecting recovery as well as mood disturbances.

The Pyramid of recovery – baselevel

The Pyramid of recovery shows how there are levels of recovery highlighting their importance and how each one aids another. The baselevel of the pyramid is the infrastructure of being able to recover it includes, nutrition, hydration and the importance of sleep and rest.

A proper, well rounded nutritious diet allows for muscle growth and energy within the body. Refuelling after exercise or training is vital, it is best to refuel within the first 4 hours following exercise and to eat between 0.8-1.2kg of bodyweight. The food that work best when refuelling are those with high GI such as breads, potatoes, and rice or alternatively this could be done with a carbohydrate drink such as Lucozade. When exercising the liver loses glycogen as it uses it in the body to optimise a workout, subsequently the liver and skeletal muscles need their glycogen levels restoring. This can be done with CHO rich meals, prepare a rice-based meal with a healthy portion of protein such as red or white meat or for vegans and vegetarians lentils and chickpeas, the size of this portion depends on how much exercise has taken place. Protein is important for repairing muscle damage and can also be a catalyst for weight loss, it is suggested by nutrition professionals that 20-15g of protein should be consumed within 2 hours to exercise completion to maximise its effects.

Another component in the base level of the pyramid of recovery is hydration. Often overlooked in sport as many believe that drinking the recommenced 2 Litres a day is sufficient but when exercising also there are ways to adapt hydration to help recovery. It is suggested that the proper amount to replace with water is the amount of bodyweight lost with 125-150% of fluid. Another way to ensure you are hydrating with the correct amount of liquid is to use the sweat calculation method, it’s simple and quick yet effective. It involves weighing yourself before exercise preferable in the morning then weighing yourself after exercise and compare the difference, for every kilogram of bodyweight lost drink a litre and a half of fluid.  Drinking the correct fluids is also crucial, soft drinks and coffee is not rehydrating, no matter how tempting the caffeine kick may be. Drinks which are best for the body post exercise are water and isotonic drinks. Alcohol has negative effects on recovery and should be avoided after intense training.

The final element of the base of the recovery pyramid is sleep and rest, giving the muscles that have been working a rest and allowing the body to replenish energy stores. Ensuring a minimum of 7 hours sleep each night and a recommended 8-9 hours is attained also including types of other rest such as napping, meditation and yoga to benefit rest periods. It is proven that sleep is the best psychological and physiological recovery tool humans have and with that it should be taken full advantage of. Sleep deprivation has been shown to have negative effects on performance, mood state and metabolism and immune cognitive function not only effecting your sporting life but also studies and day to day life.

Poor sleep can evolve from stress’. Training and competition times tend to often be late or early in the day along with a commute this adds to stress and anxiety which may contribute to poor sleep-in athletes. In athletes studies suggest that a single week of improved prolonged sleeping can results in huge improvements in a range of performance athletes as it gives extra time for muscle repair and growth. Poor sleep can also result in fatigue, low energy and poor focus which can increase a higher risk of serious injury while exercising. To attain the correct amount of sleep, good habits each night such as low or no screen time 1 hour before sleeping, sticking to a strict schedule, having naps if needed.

Overall recovery is indispensable, and having good habits like a healthy diet, a good sleep pattern and integrating stretching, warmups and cool downs into your exercise routine will all benefit recovery.

Recovery Techniques

There are several methods to help your body recover from intense physical activity, below are some you may want to consider but you should consider what is the correct recovery technique for your physical activity habits. The below options include ice baths, cold water immersion, compression garments, foam rollers, and supplements. These methods can help to reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and speed up recovery time, allowing you to return to your next activity with less soreness and fatigue.

Ice baths:

Ice baths involve sitting in a tub filled with cold water and ice for a few minutes, usually between 5-15 minutes. The cold temperature constricts blood vessels, which helps to reduce inflammation and soreness in the muscles. Ice baths are commonly used by athletes after intense training or competitions to speed up recovery and reduce muscle damage.

Cold water immersion:

Cold water immersion is like ice baths but involves immersing the body in cold water without ice. This technique also helps to reduce inflammation and soreness in the muscles, but it's not as effective as ice baths. Cold water immersion can be done in a pool, lake, or even a cold shower.

Compression garments:

Compression garments are tight-fitting clothes that apply pressure to specific areas of the body, such as the legs or arms. They help to improve circulation, reduce muscle soreness, and prevent injury. Compression garments are commonly used by athletes during and after workouts to enhance performance and aid in recovery.

Foam rollers:

Foam rollers are cylindrical pieces of foam that can be used to massage and release tension in the muscles. By rolling the foam roller over the muscles, you can break up knots and tightness, which helps to improve flexibility and reduce soreness. Foam rollers are commonly used by athletes before and after workouts to enhance performance and speed up recovery.

Summary

In summary, ice baths, cold water immersion, compression garments and foam rollers are a few of many recovery techniques which can be effective methods for sports recovery. Each technique offers unique benefits, and athletes often combine several methods to optimize their recovery. By incorporating these techniques into your workout routine, you can improve your performance, prevent injuries, and reduce soreness.

Recovery is essential in sport. However certain factors can inhibit the process of recovery and cause serious consequences to sport performance and your body.

Alcohol

The consumption of alcohol severely slows down the repair process rate of exercise induced muscle damage. The reduction in protein synthesis, the process which generates cells aiding repair and recovery is largely affected by alcohol. Alcohol promotes fluid loss and muscle cramp. While it may be tempting to go for unhealthy options when hungover and think little of it, it has a drastic effect on your body’s nutrition needs. You’re likely to eat low nutritious value foods the day after drinking, skipping high protein rich recovery meals, ultimately stopping stimulation of muscle protein synthesis. Lastly alcohol reduces the quality of sleep, REM sleep is the most important state of the sleep cycle, which is associated with dreaming, this stage is usually interrupted with alcohol in the system. The lack of REM sleep has consequences such as difficulty concentrating, fatigue while also being linked to diabetes.

Overall, the negative effects of alcohol are largely.

• Inhibits muscle repair and growth
• Increases inflammation
• Dehydration
• Poor nutrition choices
• Lack of sleep quality

Smoking

Smoking also has negative effects on not only general health but recovery. Smoking heavily impairs the insulin dependent portion of muscle recovery from glycogen- depleting exercise. Smoking damages the lung capacity and the amount of oxygen that can be given to the blood stream. Smoking also disrupts the nervous system, it makes it difficult to have normal neuromuscular functioning which ultimately effects athletes performance.

Overall, the negative effects of smoking are.

• It inhibits replenishment of energy stores
• Oxygen delivery
• Hinders the links between nervous system and muscles
• Permanent damage to organs

Stretching tendons, ligaments, muscles, and other tissue helps not only with recovery but also the prevention of injury as it loosens muscles they become more pliable. Stretching also helps before exercise with delivery of oxygen to the muscles, along with after as it removes toxins such as lactic acid. Types of stretches:

Static 

• Holding a stretch for 10-20 seconds

Dynamic 

• Active movements that are not held, but cause a muscle to stretch 

Ballistic  

• Bouncing motion to push muscles/joints past normal range of motion
• Muscle unit moved to a place it is stretched and then a concentric force is applied against an immovable object. The contraction is then relaxed, and a controlled static stretch is done for approx. 20 seconds.

PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) 

• Muscle unit moved to a place it is stretched and then a concentric force is applied against an immovable object. The contraction is then relaxed, and a controlled static stretch is done for approx. 20 seconds.

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