The magic of recovery!

It's the magic tool to staying injury free. You can train all you like as hard as you like for as long as you like, but if it's one thing I've learnt the hard way you need to let that body of yours recover!

I'd like to share with you what I think we should be doing for recovery.

I'll go deeper into each one of the points over the next few weeks but for now I'm going to just touch with the basics

Remember that there isn't one magic cure for recovery or fixing those injuries. It's a mixture of all these things plus many more. Your body will heal itself over time.

First up...whenever your not training you should be recovering.

How do you recover? hmmm I'm glad you asked!
Recovery isn't anyone thing in particular. It starts as soon as you've stopped your workout.
Your warm down is recovery. You do a spin class then the cool down at the end is vital! The race that you just did...then the 5-15min easy running after is your cool down.
Then what? Well it all depends on what you're training for.
Examples of recovery are

• Sleeping
• Nutrition
• Massage
• Self massage
• Ice Baths
• Gym workouts (yes the gym is part of recovery!)
• Yoga
• Steam room/Sauna
• Cross training
• Rest days

Now I'm not going to go to deep into each of these but I'll explain a little on each one. Remember there is alot more to recovery than these points

Sleeping - Whats that correct amount of sleep? It all depends on how much you have been doing & what your training for. For most people it's between 7-9hrs. It also varies depending on you age. Kids & teenagers tend to need more sleep than adults.

• Nutrition - What should we be eating? Well I'm not going to into this one much as it really does vary on each individual. Basically if you eat it then feel bloated/crap/tired...etc...etc....etc than simply don't eat it! We all know that too much food leads to alot of problems. Even too much healthy food will lead to problems. It's all about balance.

Also it depends on what sport you are playing. A sumo wrestler will require much different energy needs than a ballet dancer.

Nutrition/fuel for the body has to
refuel the muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrate) stores
replace the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat manufacture new muscle protein, red blood cells and other cellular components as part of the repair and adaptation process.

• Massage - Maintenance to prevent injuries, it's shown to shorten the recovery time between workout by increasing blood flow, reduces spasm & tightness in the muscles, releases the fascia and ensures the muscle fibres repair in a strong & flexible manner. How often should you get massage? Again depends. Depends if you are doing heavy training, light training, when you competition is, if you have any niggles or injuries. A general guide is for best results - once a week to once a fortnight. Some people find once a month suits them better but always remember...ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING!

• Self massage - This is where it's great to have a bunch of massage tools at home. Things like golfballs, tennis balls, baseballs, rolling pins, foam rollers. The great thing about self massaging is you can keep things loose until you see the massage therapist. If you have just done a hard session & notice your calves or back is tight then you can target that area straight away.

• Ice Baths - Brrrrrrr!!!!!! well it's not as bad as you think. After any long hard sessions an ice bath can do wonders for your recovery! Simply fill your bath with cold water, get in then add 1 or 2 bags of ice 5kg-10kg and sit in there for 15-20min. After 3 or so min it gets easier. Once you are done go have a warm shower. Have an ice bath and your body will thank you the next day

• Gym Workouts - This is all about active recovery. You don't need to kill yourself everytime you go into the gym. When I get in the gym the stretch floor is my friend. You will find that you simply do more in the gym than you would if you were at home. Mainly stretching workouts & if your gym has one grab the foam roller. It's quite easy to spend 60min doing a stretch & foamroller session

• Yoga - What can I say about yoga ? It's sensational for strength & flexibility. Start doing 1-2 yoga sessions each week and see for yourself the difference in you sport. There is just too much to go into with yoga. Try it for yourself!

• Steam room/sauna - again another fantastic tool. Some of the benifits are
  
  •relief from muscle soreness
  •relief from stiff joints
  •immune system enhancement
  •lymph detoxification
  •blood circulation improvement
  •sinus congestion relief

• Cross training - Well this is any activity that you do other than your primary sport. This will keep you fit while resting the muscles of your sport. Also perfect if you are injuried.

• Rest Days - Vital!!!!! Now it doesn't mean to do nothing. Far from it. A rest day is simply a day off from your sport. This is where you will give your body a chance to get stronger/faster/leaner!

There is so much more to this little bit than I've wrote about for recovery.

Simply if you want to be the best you can it is a MUST DO!