By Hugh McMillan - Resident MSC Frother with an abnormally keen interest in training, science and the human body.
No doubt many of you eagerly watched the recent snowfall with glee. For some, it might have been the push you needed to start doing a little pre-season preparation, for others it will have further motivated your already entrenched preparation. Regardless of which camp you fall into, there are a few things you can do to get the most out of your time; both on, and off the slopes.
In this article, I wanted to provide for you, a couple of tried and true strategies you can use to improve your recovery. Either in leading up to a trip, or in between days on the slopes.
You may find some of these points rather “obvious” however I challenge you to see how many you actually check off each day at the end.
For those of you who just want a short summary, please see the points below
Pithy points:
Recovery is a vital and often least considered component of a training program;
More effective recovery allows a greater training load and ultimately better performance;
Lifestyle factors such as quality and quantity of sleep, stress, relationships and general lifestyle management can negatively impact your recovery; and
Identifying which lifestyle factors are negatively affecting yours, and correcting them appropriately, will do wonders for your performance, short term and long term.
When was the last time you wrote yourself a “recovery program”? As athletes we spend hours fine tuning our training strategies, but often give little more than an afterthought to fine tuning our recovery strategies.
Interestingly, the effectiveness of a person’s recovery is perhaps one of the single most important factors in training. If we recover faster and more efficiently, we can train more, maintain a higher training load and ultimately perform better. For a skier, or a boarder, that means being able to go harder, day after day on the slopes. It is worth giving some serious thought to.
[Note: This article will use the term athlete. If you are reading this article because you want to perform better at your chosen discipline, even if you are a beginner, then you are an athlete. A common limitation which holds people back in their sports, even when they just do it for fun, is the thought that they are not an athlete and that they shouldn’t treat themselves as one.]
It’s all about balance
A major goal of any training program is to bring about optimal and improved performance. In order to achieve this, optimal performance must balance optimal training stress against optimal recovery (Jerrfreys, 2005). Optimal recovery is considered:
“inter- and intra-individual multilevel process in time for the re-establishment of performance abilities” (Kellman & Kallus, 2001).
Put more simply, recovery is the re-establishment and improvement in maximal performance ability between training sessions or events.
Optimal recovery processes
It is said that optimal recovery processes should be and are:
Multi-dimensional processes which involve more than one system; that
Variance will exist in recovery strategy between individuals due to fatigue type, training stress, non-training stress and inherent capacity to cope with these stressors;
Recovery is a proactive process and a vital inclusion in any training plan; and
It must consider both short and long term needs. These include restoration of performance between training sessions and the athlete's tolerance to stress and training load over the long term.
Notwithstanding the need to improve performance over the course of the training program also. That goes without saying!!!!
Therefore, when designing any recovery program we must consider how to include the aforementioned factors. To contrast however, it is also worth considering some of the common causes of under-recovery. Or those which limit an individual's performance.
Common causes of under-recovery
There are a number of lifestyle factors which limit recovery. Unlike age and genetics, these lifestyle factors are most easily altered and include:
Quality and quantity of sleep;
Level of performance stress;
Level of academic, work or monetary stress;
Primary relationship quality (such as with immediate family, close friends etc.);
Secondary relationship quality (teammates, classmates etc.); and
Quality of lifestyle management.
A step towards building a nicely tuned recovery strategy involves identifying which lifestyle factors may or may not be having a negative impact on your recovery and ultimately, your performance. A simple, yet effective way to do this is through a training log.
Identifying factors: Keep a training log
Keep a training log which looks at both indoor and outdoor training. Rating the level of exhaustion experienced and perceived performance during sessions. Do this for one or two weeks. At the end of the time period look for those sessions where you felt your performance was poor and your exhaustion high. Consider which of the previously mentioned factors may have impacted on your own training.
Designing your Recovery Program, What should a recovery program include?
Strategy 1: Training program:
This is an important point, albeit somewhat obvious, that a correctly designed training program will be a precursor to a good recovery. That is, the recovery program will only work if the athlete’s training program is appropriate to their ability and experience.
However, regardless of their ability, the recovery program must incorporate rest days. A large body of research suggests that active sessions are best. That is, light aerobic activity and stretching, immediately after the game/performance/session and the day after a hard training/performance session.
Therefore:
“Include a light aerobic session the day after any hard training or performance. Aim to perform an activity which involves the entire body.”
Strategy 2: Nutrition and hydration
Nutrition
It is generally accepted that for athletes to garner the greatest benefit from their sessions we must consume some form of protein and carbohydrate rich meal within 30 minutes of exercise completion. However, given the caloric requirement and blood volume requirements required to digest food it’s important this meal be easily absorbed to allow:
A greater volume of blood to be directed to structures which require it; and
The greatest energy expenditure to occur in these structures.
This is where smoothies and shakes come into their own. It allows a large amount of useful nutrients to be delivered to the gut without the need for lengthy digestive processes to absorb it.
Therefore:
“Consume a protein and carbohydrate rich smoothie or shake within 30 minutes of finishing a training session or performance.”
Following this, maintaining a protein rich, primarily plant based whole-food diet will help you recover adequately and maintain good health. Some quick and dirty guidelines might be, eat:
A large variety of non-starchy vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes and seeds. Some unrefined starchy vegetables (such as sweet potatoes etc.) and some unprocessed lean meats where you see fit.
Hydration
Hydration… This is another incredibly important component of one’s recovery and something that is also often given an afterthought (at least when it comes to strict planning). As a baseline, men require about 3.5L/day of water and women 2.5L/day for adequate hydration. This does not consider fluids lost during activity. Paying attention to urine colour can be a reasonable indicator of hydration. It is important to note that this should be consumed over the course of the day and not in one go. Consumption of vast amounts of fluids in one sitting can cause death...
Strategy 3: Sleep
Sleep is an incredibly important component of any recovery program. Notably, this is where the large part of your body and mind’s recovery will occur. We must also emphasise both quality and quantity. Ever noticed that you can have 9 hours sleep and still wake feeling rubbish. This might be the result of poor quality sleep…
As humans, our sleep cycle looks loosely like this:
We sleep in 90 minute cycles
Stage 3,4 and REM occur at the end of each cycle
Stage 3 and 4 are vital for physical restoration and REM vital to neural restoration.
If disturbed, the process will restart. Therefore, it is important, where possible we optimise the environment to allow the entire cycle to occur.
Therefore:
Athletes should look for 8-9 hours per night of quality sleep and never less than 7….
Keep the room dark and cool. No laptop lights, phone lights, alarm clocks etc;
Limit screen time where possible (1-2 hours before bed) as well as reducing bright lights;
Avoid protein rich, large meals or alcohol at least two hours before bed. Caffeine should not be ingested after 2pm in the afternoon;
If you do not fall asleep within 30 minutes of retiring to bed, get up and do some gentle relaxation work. This could be meditation, reading etc; and
Where possible, keep as regular sleeping hours as possible. That is, go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time. Getting up at the same time every day will do wonders for your sleep patterns.
Strategy 4: Post-workout, post-game, post-performance;
The following section has been adapted from Calder, 1996 and provides a breakdown as to how you might approach your post-performance...
Immediately following session completion
Cool down with some gentle exercise;
Start rehydrating!! (water, 250mL every 15 minutes);
Eat and drink carbohydrates and protein, in a 4:1 ratio. Blending your own smoothies can be an excellent way to achieve this; and
Stretch.
15–20 min after your session
Consider a hydrotherapy tool if available. This might be contrast showers or hot tub and ice plunge;
Self-massage (use predominantly shaking techniques to stimulate neural recovery); and
Continue the rehydration protocol.
Within the first hour
Continue to rehydrate;
EAT! and
Start to unwind.
In the evening
Relax as you feel appropriate. Read, socialise, watch television, see a movie; and
Continue to hydrate and refuel as appropriate.
Before bed
Use relaxation skills to switch off; and
Follow the usual sleep guidelines.
The next day
Recovery session as per protocol.
Strategy 5: Relaxation
It is important an athlete works to develop their ability to relax and refresh after any performance or training session. Wins and PB’s can have us feeling high whereas a loss or poor training session can have us feeling very low. One must recognise that this is normal and not a reflection of our long term performance or ability.
A few simple strategies you can take here include:
Use relaxation strategies that induce a state of happiness. Preferably these are those that take your mind off your sport and training and that are within your own control (not another person’s);
Ensure you have set both long and short term goals; and above all
Maintain a positive outlook.
Recognise that you will always have ups and downs and that failure is a normal part of success. Be objective, seek to improve yourself always and most importantly, make it fun!
Summary
Of course, there is so much more that could be said on this topic and we have only just scraped the surface. However, we hope that we have been able to prime your thinking a little in giving a little more consideration to your recovery, and provided some tools to do so. Ultimately, more effective recovery allows you to adapt to a greater training load and with that better performance. To do this, it’s vital you consider the impact lifestyle factors such as quality and quantity of sleep, stress, relationships and general lifestyle can have and that identifying which lifestyle factors are negatively affecting yours, and correcting them appropriately, will do wonders for your performance, short term and long term.
Use the checklist below to keep tabs on your progress or after a hard day / weekend on the slopes.
How many did you tick today?
Is my training program specific to my goals and appropriate to my experience and ability?
Did I get at least 8 hours of sleep in a cool, dark room last night?
Am I eating clean at least 6 days per week? That means no sugar and refined foods, plenty of non-starchy vegetables, quality proteins, legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds.
Am I taking 20 grams of easily digestible protein and 80-100 grams of carbohydrates within 30 minutes of finishing each heavy workout?
Have I drunk 3.5 L (men) or 2.5 L (women) of water today?
Did I complete an active rest day after my hard training day(s)?
Did I take 10-15 minutes of time to switch off, meditate and relax today?
Most of all, am I having fun and being positive?
REFERENCES
Calder, A. Recovery: Revive survive and prosper. In: Smart Sport: The Ultimate Reference Manual for Sports People. H. Gascoigne, ed. Canberra: RWM Publishing, 1996. Chapter 7, pp. 1–17.
Jeffreys, Ian. "A Multidimensional Approach To Enhancing Recovery". Strength and Conditioning Journal 27.5 (2005): 78-85. Web.
Kellman, M., and K.W. Kallus. Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes: User Manual. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2001.