Recovery After Training
Over many years of training, I’ve learned that recovery is not lost time, but a productive part of the training process.
Physical training puts the body in a catabolic state, where things are being broken down. The purpose of training stress is to provide the stimulus for growth, but training is not the growth itself. It is when we stop training, rest, and re-fuel that our bodies enter an anabolic state, which is where things are being repaired and put back together. This “anabolism” after training occurs when we replenish depleted fuels and lower our activity level to give the body a chance to repair damaged muscles and regenerate other organ systems. It is important to understand that recovery does not pertain only to the exercising muscles, but also the central nervous system and endocrine system (especially the adrenals).
The volume and intensity of training represent the potency of the signal sent to the body to become stronger, but remember that the result of physical training is fatigue and micro-damage (which is required at some level to get stronger). The only way to lower fatigue and micro-damage is to give the body time to recover, through passive or active rest.
The time horizons of recovery vary from person to person, but are also dependent on training history as well as the behaviors that athletes take from the time they end their session to the time they start their next. Typically, we return to our performance baseline that we were at from the beginning of our last training session in about 24-48 hours. This means that after we create training stress and fatigue, it is not until about 24-48 hours after that we are back to the level of fitness we had we started in the first place.
Super-compensation is where the magic of training adaptations take place, and is what all athletes are searching for to become better as a result of their hard work. This is where we not only return to baseline, but our abilities actually increase above baseline, giving us a new higher level of performance and homeostasis. The time horizon for super compensation is a little bit longer and typically takes 48-96 hours. To avoid overtraining and continue to see progress in training, it is best to not start your next intensive training session until you have reached the super-compensation phase, or at least returned to baseline (functional overreaching should be used carefully). This means you should not be training hard until about 24-96 hours after most of your hard sessions.
To recover from a workout, there are many actions you can take. The most beneficial actions you can take to enhance recovery fall on the basics…sleep, rest, nutrition, hydration, stress management, and active recovery.
There are a lot of recovery gizmos and tools out there (which I won’t go too deep into), but it is worth noting that none of these methods have actually been scientifically proven to speed the rate of recovery physiologically speaking. The main benefit from recovery tools may come from the fact that they make athletes feel better psychologically from using them, and that they keep you off your feet and give your muscles a chance to relax. Muscles recover best in a resting state whether you are awake or asleep, and that is the main factor promoting recovery. Sleep provides resting muscles the best environment for recovery as anabolic hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone are highest. I highly recommend the book “Good to Go” by Christie Aschwanden to learn more about active recovery methods.
If you feel some soreness, remember that this means there is inflammation present, you did enough work to break the body down enough to elicit a repair response, and this can actually be a good thing if it leads to supercompensation. If the soreness is too extreme and your performance is dramatically decreasing, you are going to benefit from recovery more-so than you are from training. There is a time and a place to train through tired legs, but only take it so far and think about where you are in your training plan / race calendar to decide whether more training or more recovery will be more beneficial for your race day performance…when it counts!
Here is a list of actionable steps to take to support recovery from training sessions:
The Main Pillars of Recovery: Sleep - Rest - Nutrition - Hydration - Stress Management
Spend some time off your feet
Match energy intake to energy needs
Ensure adequate carbohydrate intake to replenish glycogen
Ensure adequate hydration with fluids and electrolytes
Take naps (if needed) around 11am or 1-4pm
Turn the brain off, focus on other things other than sport
Plan rest days to not have too many errands or demanding tasks within the day
Legs-up-wall pose
Lower stress load both physically and mentally
Spend time with friends and family for social connection
Avoid alcohol
Try to spend time with training partners immediately after training sessions to de-compress
Time - for the body to run it’s course
Primary Nutrients for Recovery:
Carbohydrates (glycogen replenishment)
Protein (muscle repair)
Water (fluid balance)
Sodium (fluid balance)
Fats (hormones, nerve myelin, and joint inflammation)
Antioxidants
Phytochemicals (plant nutrients)
Low-Cost Active Recovery:
Zone 1 activity less than one hour
Foam rolling
Static stretching
Yoga
Sunlight
Cold
TIME!
Summary:
This was just a brief overview of what I have learned about recovery from training. The main takeaway is that the basics and time are the most effective for recovery, and that it takes an understanding of how to listen to your body to stay in the sweet spot of adaptation. The most researched time horizons include 24-48 hours to return to baseline after hard training and 48-96 hours for super-compensation to occur. It is important to keep tab on where you are in the stress/recovery cycle on a daily basis to avoid overtraining and to continue to see progress from your hard work. At the end of the day, the best way to recover is to rest, unplug, and stay off your feet!
Photo Credit: https://www.irunfar.com/a-million-modalities-the-science-of-exercise-recovery