PhysioFact by James McEwan: Recovery
As a physiotherapist who treats many patients who break down with injuries, thus limiting their exercise program, I am constantly reminded of the most important aspect of exercise and training.
RECOVERY
It is one of the most discussed topics amongst professional athletes and sporting teams, yet limited scientific evidence is available. Most information is anecdotally from coaches and athletes, with a good mix of urban myth added to the theories.
The living legend of cycling Lance Armstrong agrees “Recovery…..that’s the name of the game….Whoever recovers the fastest does the best.”
Resistance training is a fundamental exercise regime for all aspects of living healthy and making positive changes to your body. The beauty of the human body is it has an amazing management system which responds to physical stress by adapting to cope with it better. Lifting weights will be hard work at first but will lead to increased lean muscle mass and strength gains over time. Yet, the body does not get fitter through exercise; it gets fitter through recovering from exercise.
So what is recovery? Lazing poolside sipping on cocktails and eating bar snacks? Not surprisingly the answer is NO!
The fundamental aim of recovery is to maximize performance and minimize potential for injury. Specifically the recovery process is aimed at:
- Restoration of function
- Neuromuscular recovery
- Tissue repair
- Resolution of muscle soreness
- Metabolic recovery (energy stores)
- Psychological recovery.
There are a few strategies for recovery based on the idea that there are many ways to fatigue the body’s systems through exercise.
During a period of exercise you will challenge and reach fatigue metabolically (run out of energy), physically (tissue damage), neurologically (nerves rewiring as we learn a new or forgotten skill), psychologically (harder than we thought it was going to be), and environmentally (time of day, hot/cold).
An idea put forward by Nick Grantham is using 4 levels of recovery strategies.
Level 1 includes sleep/rest (passive and active) and nutrition. Sleep is by far the most important and essential for recovery from exercise. Active rest includes walking, stretching, cross training, low intensity swimming and floating. Nutrition means both fluid and fuel intake. Avoid caffeine, keep hydrated before, during and after exercise and refuel within 45 minutes of exercising.
Level 2 includes periodisation of training, reactive programming (modify the program to allow for longer recovery if needed), cooldown and stretching.
Level 3 includes recovery pool work, compression skins, ice baths/contrast bathing.
Level 4 includes flotation tanks, relaxation meditation and Omega wave (high tech electrical analysis of the body to tell which body system is recovered and ready for more exercise).
This may seem complicated, but as in all things related to exercise, there is no shortcut! Forgetting the basics of sleep, nutrition and progressive training will only end in injury and broken dreams.
Recovery needs to form the cornerstone of a structured training program to achieve maximal physiological adaptations while reducing the risk of injury or illness. It is essential to incorporate level 1 & 2 strategies into your exercise regime, for example:
- Allow 5 minutes at the start and end of your sessions for warm up and cool down
- Get a good night sleep after your workouts
- Perform some light exercise on the days between EFM sessions, such as a light walk
- Inform you fitness coach prior to starting your session if you’re feeling fatigued from prior sessions so that they can tailor the daily program for you.
Ask your coach for help or email physio@efm.net.au with nay questions.
James McEwan
Physiotherapist
