Recovery after Exercise
Recovery after exercise is a fashionable topic in sport. Everyone has heard of it, most people feel they should do it but not everyone knows how. But before we get to the how, the first and biggest question is why …
The easiest answer is that the more effectively you recover from your session the more successful, enjoyable and beneficial the following session should be. Successful recovery programs not only help you maintain your performance and training intensity but also help to prevent injuries.
There are many concepts out there that claim to be the one to help you recover the fastest. However, what seems to work best is to fashion all the different concepts into a strategy.
Everyone seems to be training outside at the moment and whether you’ve starting running during your lunch break, cycling out into the Kent country side or continuing during the extended marathon season, you need to recover effectively so you can escape the house again soon after!
Using Marathon training as an example, most people are out on Sundays undertaking their longer runs. Assuming that most runners will then train again on Tuesday, this gives you 48 hours to turn yourself round and get ready for your next session. This is not a long time if you’re training at high intensity.
Physiologically muscle recovery needs at least 48 hours to take place efficiently after heavy loading. Bone, joint and tendon recovery takes even longer. The problem is if you don’t let this process take place properly you run the risk of a negative training effect.
The challenge is to get enough work done consistently through the week to get fitness gains without making life miserable and losing quality sessions due to exhaustion. In order to do this you need to recover effectively.
There are hundreds of adjuncts out there that promise you the world and make you feel 100% fresh after you’ve trained. Unfortunately there is no one thing that is actually proven to do so. Instead there are a number of things that combined will accumulate to get you to as close as to 100% as possible. These will form your Recovery Strategy.
Hydration is probably a sensible place to start. This is unfortunately very difficult to monitor and measure. A suggestion is to weigh yourself before you head out. The amount of body weight you lose can be linked to how much fluid you need to replace afterwards.
The relationship is something close to 1kg of body weight lost equates to 1L of fluid needed afterwards. So assuming you weighed 70kg before and weighed 67kg when you get back you would need to drink at least 3L of fluid. This should be consumed slowly and not be too high in
Above and beyond the usual isotonic and “shake” based suspects, Cherry-Active and beetroot juice are some of the most scientifically supported products and there’s loads of anecdotal evidence for good old semi skimmed milk too. Incidentally chocolate milk always comes up trumps in exercise based trials!
Following on closely from hydration is the topic of food and nutrition. What to eat after is very hard to list. I’ve seen first-hand that professional football changing rooms are full of Domino’s pizza boxes after matches so it’s not always about quality.
However I would say that when you eat is very important. There is a 20 minute window post-exercise when your body is going nutrient crazy. This is the window when your body is looking to absorb as much as it can, ideally low Gl carbs and protein.
Food and well prepared meals will always be the best option but unfortunately this isn’t always possible which is where recovery shakes come in. They give you a dose of carbs and protein which is quickly absorbable after you stop. However, these will never be as nutritious as real food.
Having refuelled, next we need to start thinking specifically about your legs. Postural draining is a good idea at this point. The principle behind this is to drain anything fluid based away from your legs back towards your organs to be replenished. You can do this by spending 5-10 minutes laying on your back with your legs propped against a wall or side of the sofa.
After you’ve drained some of the pooled blood and lactate from your muscles, you can then shut them down. Most people will have heard of this in the form of ice baths.
The evidence behind ice baths is very variable. Some studies say they work better when alternated with warmth (contrast bathing), others indicate cold on it’s own is sufficient. However it seems to be a very personal thing. If you wanted to find whether they work for you, get in your bath and fill it up with cold water to submerge your legs for 10mins. Obviously during this time it’s a good idea to keep drinking and eating to continue your refuelling and also take your mind off the cold!
Once you’re done with shutting down your legs, now is the time to get your compression clothing on if you have any. Again, there is no good evidence to support compression garments to aid your recovery but plenty of people feel that they are beneficial. The idea is to keep these on for as long as 24 hours after exercise so get comfy!
So far we have discussed things that you can apply within the relatively short period after you’ve finished exercise. However all the best evidence for recovery says that what you do over the next 24 hours is the really important bit.
The concept of active recovery is not a new one to most people interested in sport. The goal which is supported by loads of good science and evidence over the last few years is to spend 20-30 minutes performing low to moderate intensity exercise within 24 hours of your training session.
This is ideally done in a swimming pool as the joints are unloaded and the hydrostatic pressure of water increases the return of fluids to the centre of the body. If a swimming pool or even a kids paddling pool isn’t an option then a bike is the next best thing.Think Chris Froome sat on a bike doing an interview after a stage of the Tour de France.
Finally, the number one most effective recovery modality there is to go to bed early. Sleep ideally in excess of 8 hours, is the number one priority to get you flying again. This may be a nap or going to bed earlier but the other phases of your recovery will be somewhat in vein if you don’t sleep enough.
So to give yourself the best chance of keeping your legs fresh and injury free when you’re exercising more than normal unfortunately there isn’t one magic device. The corner stones are to get plenty of sleep, eat and drink as much as you can and get an active recovery done, after that it’s whatever makes you feel good! Happy training.
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