Jumping, sprinting, hitting, skating, dunking, etcetera, etcetera. Just about on a nightly basis, you can turn on your tv to bear witness to amazing feats of athleticism done by our sports heroes. The number of games played has expanded over the years, putting more physical and mental demands on athletes. Warming up before your workout, hydrotherapy, good sleeping habits, clean eating, supplements, and more are the little tricks and trades that I use to optimize my performance. If you’ve been around the fitness game for a while, you’re probably familiar with all the above-mentioned strategies used to help athletes recover so quickly. What you may not be familiar with is the method by which these strategies are utilized and why. Read on, and I’ll share with you the process I take to recover after my workouts.
Why is it important to recover after exercise?
- Better performance gains
- Better adaptation
- Regenerates the central nervous system
- Fewer injuries
I take my recovery days as seriously as my workout days. Why? It’s simple. I get better performance gains, better adaptation to the training stimulus, and fewer injuries. I see many athletes and weekend warriors make the mistake of not actively recovering after workouts. People tend to stretch for 3 minutes, and off they go to the bar for pizza and wings. That doesn’t cut it! Recovery is just as important as your hard days.
“… rest and recovery is also an important aspect of an exercise program because it allows the body time to repair and strengthen itself in between workouts. It also allows the athlete to recover, both physically and psychologically.”
Kris Swartzendruber, Michigan State University Extension – October 8, 2013
I was notorious for doing too much and not allowing myself time to heal when I was a young athlete. I thought the more work I did, the better I’d be. I didn’t understand the intricacies of training. Now that I’m older and a little wiser, I understand what was being taught to me about adaptation to the stimulus. Do you want to build muscles? The gym is not where it’s going to happen. Ok… I’m parsing words here a bit. Technically, the gym is where you break down the muscles and away from the gym is where you build your muscles in the form of recovery. To build up resilience, you must allow the body time to adapt to the stimulus. Over time, your body will adapt to the stimulus with more efficiency and then be able to apply more stimulus.
At the beginning of the season, after a break, those first sets of workouts are tough. I plan that into my schedule and allow my body time to adapt to the changes. As an older athlete, listening to my body is a well-developed skill, and there is no shame in cutting the intensity back a touch to be able to “ live to fight another day”.
How long does it take for your muscles to recover after working out?
Light workout – 24 hours
Hard workout – 2-3 days
Very hard workout – even longer 3 +
3 Levels of Muscle Recovery
- Breaking down – According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health In an article written by Thomas Laumonier and Jacques Menetrey titled, Muscles injuries and strategies for improving their repair
”Muscle regeneration usually starts during the first 4–5 days after injury, peaks at 2 weeks, and then gradually diminishes 3 to 4 weeks after injury. It’s a multiple steps process including activation/proliferation of SC, repair and maturation of damaged muscle fibers and connective tissue formation. A fine balance between these mechanisms is essential for a full recovery of the contractile muscle function.
Thomas Laumonier and Jacques Menetrey
- Regeneration phase – Proteins in your body start to repair damaged tissue. Divided cells are fused with other muscle fibres to repair and regenerate.
- Remodelling -for the new tissue to function properly, it needs to be oriented correctly within the repaired area. Naturally, the tissue grows back randomly, similar to a pile of logs. The goal is for that area to blend seamlessly with the other tissues forming a nice smooth area.
For me, recovery means I can feel as best as I can and, more importantly, be ready to compete as soon as possible. We all remember back in the 2014 NBA Finals, Lebron James cramps up during a pivotal part of game 1 versus the San Antonio Spurs. A low point in his decorated NBA career. But according to Adam Borestien, the chief nutrition officer from the “Ladder”, that was a turning point for Lebron in his athletic career. From that point on, he started to invest more time and money to recover. According to Maverick Carter, organisation founder of LRMR, Lebron spends $1.5 million on his body annually. I’m not saying we have to go out and drop millions on our bodies, but we can learn a lot from this example. If you watch the trend of training, things usually trickle from the professional ranks down.
Eating Like an Athlete
- How depleted your glycogen stores are:
- – the more depleted, the longer it will take to replenish.
- The extent of muscle damage:
- – more damage, longer recovery. It could take 7-10 days.
- Amount and timing of carbs you eat:
- – higher the intake, the faster the refuelling and recovery.
- Training experience and fitness level:
- – experience and improved fitness levels lead to greater efficiency in refuelling and increasing glycogen storing capacity (as much as 20%).
When you approach training as a lifelong affair, it becomes second nature to consume healing foods, to treat your body right if only for the fact that you don’t want to feel crappy while you’re training. Now, I realize there’s more than one way to do things. For me, I get the best results when I follow some simple rules.
After a particularly taxing workout aim to replenish muscle and liver glycogen and replace fluid.
Length of time it takes depends on 4 factors:
Best time to refuel – as soon as possible as glycogen storage is faster during the first 2 hours post-exercise (150% faster!)
To improve recovery after exercise, 4:1 carbohydrates: protein ratio is a great option to help minimize protein breakdown and improve recovery. Using a nutrition app to make your own shakes makes it easier to achieve the 4:1 ratio. For me, a pre-made recovery drink is the easiest to make when trying to get it within 2 hours at the beginning of my day. “Klean” recovery is what I use, and it has made such a difference in my energy level for the next day’s workout. If that brand isn’t available, make your own. It’s amazing to do a hard workout back to back when needed…without feeling sluggish. If you have the time, it’s always best to make that recovery shake from scratch…that way, you are receiving phytonutrients and antioxidants that you can only get from whole food. Click here for my favourite 4:1 recovery shake recipe.
Contrast water therapy
Cold – 3-5 minutes (45-68 degrees Fahrenheit or 7 – 20 degrees Celsius)
Warm – 3-5 minutes ( 93 -106 degrees Fahrenheit or 34 – 41 degrees Celsius )
Total Immersion time: 20 – 30 minutes
How:
- Hot tub & Cold Tub
- Hot shower & Cold shower
Healing Benefits:
- Reduces inflammation
- Removes toxins from muscles
- Increase Growth Hormone
- Repairs cells faster
“The current evidence base suggests that contrast water therapy (CWT) is superior to using passive recovery or rest after various forms of exhaustive or damaging exercise. The benefits relate to a reduction in muscle soreness, and improved muscle function due to an attenuation of muscle strength loss and muscle power loss after exercise.”
by F Bieuzen . 2013
Hot/ Cold contrast water therapy is a form of hydrotherapy used to alleviate muscle soreness and inflammation brought on by physical exertion. Immersing your limb and or body into alternating warm and cold water closes and opens the blood vessels in your body, creating a pumping action flushing out lactic acid and other exercise-induced by-products that may reduce DOMS, EIMD, and other exercise-related realities.
Tempo Sessions / Mini workouts
- mid to light exercise lasting between 15 – 20 minutes
- HR no greater than 125-130 BPM
- 6 hrs pre/post-workout
How
- Runner- light jog
- Sprinter- 1000m – 800m turn around break down, talk pace
- Yoga session
- Brisk walk
- Bike
Healing Benefits
- It helps to clear lactate from your system
- Helps to alleviate DOMS
- Grooves motor patterns
- Increases tendon and ligaments density
- More concentric in nature
This may seem strange but believe me, this is something I use all the time. Small workouts did the next day. These tempo sessions or small workouts are meant to assist in the repairing of the muscles from an intense workout at least 6 hours prior. The key to tempo sessions is not to go too hard. The reason being, these tempos sessions are not meant to be workouts causing your body to have to repair more damaged muscles. It’s meant to promote healing. I don’t like to be doing anything over 20 minutes. My tempo sessions last a bit longer ( 30 minutes) during my heavy loading weeks.
I like to find a patch of grass or an open area and do light strides or drills with BW circuits in between. Incorporating drills into my session allows me the opportunity to improve my technique by grooving more efficient motor patterns. Or, I’ll get on a bike and ride that for 20 minutes. These sessions can also allow me to go to the gym and lift some lightweight to work on some of my deficiencies. The possibilities of what you can do are endless. Managing your heart rate is key. No greater than 125 -130 BPM.
Planning your workload
( 2-1 ratio) Hard weeks to recovery week.
There are a whole lot of fancy modalities and different training planes out there used by many people. More so in the performance world. Each person claiming their structure is the best. Whatever structure you decide to use, remember, it’s all about how well you adjust to the stimulus that determines how much more you can add. I’ll play around with my intensities and recovery weeks, depending on my goals at the end.
Currently :
- 1st-week medium intensity
- 2nd-week hard intensity
- 3rd week, recovery week
As a sprinter, my recovery week usually consist of:
- Half sets and half reps
- Dynamic stretching
- Pre-Hab / Rehab
- Rhythmic sprinting drills
- Tactical rehearsal
When I’m playing basketball or soccer every week, I tend to work out a little differently. I like to do general conditioning geared towards maintaining my structural integrity, speed, agility, and strength.
- Dynamic Flexibility
- 3 x 15m Acceleration Drills
- Lateral Cone drills
- Plyometrics
Sleep
- 8- 10 hours of sleep
- No screens 1 hour before bed
- Set the alarm for bed
- Use your bed for only sleeping
Sleep is critical to me. As athletes, we recommend that we get at least 8-10 hours of sleep every night. The benefits of a good night’s sleep are vital for overall health. Studies show that a well-rested athlete reacts better, is more accurate, is more attentive, makes better decisions, is more creative, and a litany of other benefits.
During heavy competition time, I didn’t always have the best time sleeping. Switching time zones, jet lag, competition anxiety, training schedules, injuries, and rehab schedules took a toll on my sleep schedule. I can remember one competition in particular where I didn’t get one minute of sleep. I’ve since developed some easy techniques to help with sleeping.
- Set an alarm for bed.
- Limit exposure to blue-enriched light when the sun goes down.
- Avoid looking at screens at least 2 to 3 hours before bed. If that’s unavoidable, purchase a pair of glasses with an amber tint.
- Expose yourself to lots of bright lights throughout the day.
- Limit exposure to media/social media before bedtime.
- ake naps if needed
I’ve heard conflicting views on naps. I personally use naps if I need to. When my body needs it, why fight it? It’s better than taking stimulants to force myself to wake up, which will undoubtedly lead to me becoming dependent and having to take something else to try and go to sleep. It becomes this cycle that I’m not interested in getting involved in. I tend to keep my naps short, 20-30 minutes tops. It’s meant to rejuvenate, not put me into REM sleep. The best time is in the early afternoon before 2 or 3; that way, it’s not too close to bedtime.
Integrated Support System (ISG)
It’s a good practice to put together a group of doctors and support staff you’re comfortable with to aid in your recovery process. I treat my body like a formula one car. At one time or another, I’ve used any number of these professionals. At a minimum, I would have a nutritionist, chiropractor, and massage therapist routinely being utilized. Your body’s always changing, and you’re constantly adapting to the training stimulus. I advocate a lot of prehab to get yourself into good habits
Rollouts / Balls / Stretching Bands /
Rollouts are the next best thing. I like to use it on my off-day workouts, 2 or 3 times a week. It helps to target problem spots. The same thing with a hardball, like a lacrosse ball, or bands help to stretch and pinpoint areas that are all gummed up by training.
Conclusion
I’m constantly striving to become better. Running faster, getting stronger, jumping higher is a lifelong commitment that never stops. The better I recover, the better I feel. The more I get out of my workouts, the better results I get. The key is to establish a routine that puts you in a position to succeed. Over the years, I’ve established a few tricks and methods that help me recover quicker. Watching what I put into my mouth, getting a good night’s rest, utilizing a good support team makes all the difference in the world.
References
Bieuzen, François et al. “Contrast water therapy and exercise induced muscle damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” PloS one vol. 8,4 e62356. 23 Apr. 2013, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062356
Jamie Fenn on Unsplash
Kris Swartzendruber, Michigan State University Extension. “The Importance of Rest and Recovery for Athletes.” MSU Extension, 2 Oct. 2018, www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_importance_of_rest_and_recovery_for_athletes.
Laumonier, Thomas, and Jacques Menetrey. “Muscle Injuries and Strategies for Improving Their Repair.” Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Dec. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4958098/#:~:text=Muscle regeneration usually starts during, fibers and connective tissue formation.
Saxton, J M, and A E Donnelly. “Light concentric exercise during recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage.” International journal of sports medicine vol. 16,6 (1995): 347-51. doi:10.1055/s-2007-973018
Vitale, Kenneth C et al. “Sleep Hygiene for Optimizing Recovery in Athletes: Review and Recommendations.” International journal of sports medicine vol. 40,8 (2019): 535-543. doi:10.1055/a-0905-3103
0 Comments