Most athletes and recreational endurance understand the concept of recovery and its necessity for training consistency, physiological adaptations, injury prevention and emotional stability. But do we really recover for long enough? Or get the necessary quality of recovery? And do we really trust the aspect of recovery in our plan? There are many instances of athletes who have suffered from ‘burn out’ or accumulated fatigue (triathlete Kevin Joyce and more recently tennis player Robin Soderling) and however fit these individuals may be, their performance will not only stagnate but potentially decrease.
Beyond the obvious strain on muscle and other tissues, training for endurance sports affects your immune system, hormonal balance, and metabolic state. Therefore we also need the correct quantity of high quality sleep in order to:
• Restore the immune system and hormonal balance.
• Repair the muscle damage caused by training.
• Maintain emotional balance.
• Maintain our coping thresholds or resistance to overtraining.
• Deliver optimal results from key training sessions.
• Deliver consistency to our training and performance.
• Maintain concentration and focus.
So how do we make sure we are getting the correct recovery?
In order to answer that, first we need to know about the different types of recovery.
1. Training Recovery
• Your training plan must be adaptable
As an athlete you must be able to listen to feedback from your body. Although occasionally pushing through workouts is a necessity, sometimes your body’s low state of energy or readiness is warning us of accumulated fatigue and we need to take a step back
• Proper fuelling
Proper fuelling pre and post work out will give the body a head start in recovery. (Covered in future blog)
• Recovery sessions
Sessions of light activity, (shorter and less intense) which allow the body to move blood around the body and enable the recovery process to occur.
• Complete rest days
• Recovery blocks
A good preventative measure against accumulative fatigue. A typical cycle may see a lighter week by manipulating load, intensity or volume once every four weeks.
• Self massage
The use of foam rollers to help relieve or prevent muscle soreness via the concept of myo-facial release. A 5-10 minute full body roll out may help, but note that this will not treat prolonged soreness or injury.
Sleep
• Do you feel you are getting enough sleep, but still feel tired?
Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia (to name but a few) can leave us feeling tired and lacking in energy. If you feel like you’re accumulating enough hours but still feel tired, it’s maybe time to look at what might be affecting your sleep
• Correct environment for sleep?
• Consumption of alcohol or too much caffeine?
• Do you have the ability to ‘switch off’?
• Have you left time for enough sleep in your programme? (You should be aiming for 8 hours sleep per night).
2. Naps and Meditation
Understandably, this is a luxury afforded to few! However, if you can find the time in the day to have a quick ‘power nap’ of 10-30 mins, alertness, wakefulness and concentration can be restored. But avoid longer naps that can disturb sleep patterns and leave you feeling tired or groggy afterwards.
Sevenoaks Personal Trainer
Blackheath Personal Trainer
