Recover Right

As an athlete, you put a lot of effort into training. Whether it’s to race or just get in shape, you probably have a training plan to help you achieve your goals. But is your plan complete? Do you allow your body to recover from difficult or prolonged training?

Recovery is a hot topic with elite athletes and the reason Olympic governing bodies build expensive recovery centers to assist their Olympic hopefuls. The unity of training and recovery are essential to overall performance.

Overuse injuries are not uncommon in runners and triathletes due to the stresses applied to their muscles and bones during the repetitive motions inherent in any endurance sport. But injuries can be prevented if soft tissues (e.g. muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, etc.) are allowed periods of recovery in a training plan. Physiological healing is the restoration of broken-down tissues to normal function. For athletes this healing also includes improved capacity to perform because the broken down tissues are strengthened during the recovery phase. Maximizing the benefits of recovery requires a cool down period after workouts, soft tissue therapy, cold therapy and proper nutrition.

Cool Down
The first step for recovery is a proper cool down period immediately following exercise. Some refer to this as a warm down. The body does not respond to sudden changes very well, so a gradual decrease in activity is key. After stress has been put on the body, a slow 5-10 minutes of jogging or walking allows the body to naturally cool down.

Ending the cool down with five minutes of light stretching helps further relax muscle tissues. This type of cool down brings the body to equilibrium sooner, leading to a faster overall recovery.

Soft Tissue Therapy
Massage therapy has become quite popular with athletes. It helps heal damaged tissue and flush the body of toxins, promoting healing in the legs and minimizing further damage and soreness. If a therapist is not available, tools such as the Normatec MVP, a systematic compression device, can serve the same basic purpose. However, the cost of such devices can be substantial for the weekend warrior.

A cost effective alternative, one that is often called “the runners best friend”, is the foam roller. With the help of a foam roller you can effectively self massage almost all the leg muscles and even work on some of the muscles in the back and upper body as well. By simply rolling back and forth with slow gentle ovement of 1-2 minutes per body segment you can help restore muscle function and assist the body in repairing damaged muscle.

Massage sticks can also be used to assist athletes in treating themselves. A wise physical therapist I know says that the best tool an athlete can have is simply an old fashioned rolling pin. It is important when using these that you use firm and slow strokes to allow tissues to relax and release trigger points. Finish with smooth, longer strokes to stimulate the flush of toxins and increase blood flow to aid the lymphatic system.

Cold Therapy
Cryotherapy, or “cold therapy”, constricts blood vessels and decreases metabolic activity, which reduces swelling and tissue breakdown. While on medical staff for the USA Track team in Berlin last summer, the first thing we did upon arriving at the hotel was set up portable kiddie pools for ice baths. Icing for 10-15 min in 50-59 degree (F) water will do wonders for recovery.

You can find or make an ice bath almost anywhere. Any tub or kiddie pool will work, but you can also look for other bodies of cold water. In college my roommate and I would take our cereal bowls to the canal across the street, where we would soak and eat after our morning runs. We definitely got some funny looks from people driving by. If they only knew how well our legs felt after that time in the cold water, they might have stopped to join us.

Another form of cryotherapy, ice massage, is a useful treatment when targeting small areas such as plantar fascia or shin splints. Ice cups and ice bags are inexpensive ways to incorporate ice massage into your recovery. Make ice cups by freezing paper cups filled two-thirds of the way with water. Once frozen, tear off the top of the cup and massage sore muscles with the exposed ice, moving in a circular motion. Ice bags or even small bags of frozen veggies, while not technically ice massage, are great for bringing relief to small areas of the body.

No matter what method is used, never ice for more than 20 minutes. Prolonged exposure to ice can damage skin tissue and increase the risk of frostbite.

Nutrition
Nutrition is the final ingredient to effective recovery and is essential in helping the body restore broken down muscle and connective tissues. Post-workout or post-race hydration refuels the body’s cells, while protein and carbohydrates help replace muscle glycogen.

Patrick Shane, women’s distance coach at Brigham Young University, reminds his athletes that they should have at least 150 calories within 15-30 minutes of a hard workout and a good meal within 2-3 hours of the workout. A very popular recovery drink with the BYU track team is chocolate milk because it has the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and calories to help refuel the body. Plus it tastes delicious.

Incorporating cool down, soft tissue therapy, cold therapy and nutrition into the recovery phase of your training plan doesn’t take a whole lot of effort. Begin by choosing a few things that you can do today to help you recover from hard workouts or races. Little by little, as you make recovery a more integral part of your plan, your body will be getting the extra care it needs to help you achieve your fitness and/or racing goals.

Dustin Williams is the head athletic trainer for both the BYU men and women’s track and field team. He earned a Master’s degree in athletic training from Utah State University. Williams also assists USA athletes going for gold in the sport of bobsled, skeleton, luge, track and field, and paralympic goalball. To date Dustin has completed 10 marathons, and finished his first Ironman last year. After coming out of the swim leg dead last, he passed over 1200 people to finish 966th overall.