Why Recovery After Exercise Is Important Recovery after exercise is essential for the soft tissue's to repair & strengthen. This has greater importance after a hard training session. A muscle needs anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to repair & rebuild. Again working them too hard, too soon simply leads to tissue breakdown instead of repair. Never put in two hard training sessions on consecutive day's, unless working different muscle groups. The following are to help you get the most from recovery.
Warm Down. Cooling down after exercise simply means slowing down (not stopping completely). You should carry on moving around at a low rate for 5 to 10 minutes after a training session to help remove waste products from your muscles which will reduce muscles stiffness.
Static Stretching. This is used to stretch muscles while the body is at rest. (click here for more)
Refuelling. The amount of time it takes to refuel can vary. It depends on your levels of depleted glycogen stores, the extent of muscle damage. Your training experience & fitness, plus time scale & amount of carbohydrates you take on board. It takes longer to refuel if your glycogen stores are low compard to when your half full. The longer you train or compete means your levels will be lower, it could take up to seven days to completely top up your glycogen stores. The type of exercise you do will effect the amount of muscle fibre damage involved. Hard running would produce more muscle fibre damage, which then takes longer to replenish your glycogen stores, it could take up to 10days. The faster your carbohydrate intake is the faster your recovery & glycogen stores are. So eat something within 20min of finishing & a main meal within the next 2hrs. After this time replenishment slows & again after 4hrs of finishing exercise, slows again.
Hydration. How much fluid will depend on the amount you have lost during exercise. You'll need 1.2-1.5 litres for every kg of weight lost during exercise. The best fluid to drink is one that you enjoy (alcohol doesn't count) but so that the body retains the fluid your putting in, you'll need to replace the sodium lost through sweating. This is best done with a sports drink like Lucozade Sport, although plain water with ready salted crisps would work well. Alcohol can cause dehydration which could so down the rate of recovery from training & also injury itself.
Shower. Alternating hot & cold baths or showers, will help you to recover faster, reduce muscle soreness & prevent injury. The method is called contract water therapy & can be done in the following way. While taking your post-exercise shower, alternate 2 minutes of hot water with 30 seconds of cold water. Repeat four times with a minute of moderate temperatures between each hot-cold spray.
Sleep. While you sleep, wonderful things are taking place in your body. Optimal sleep is essential for anyone who exercises regularly. During sleep, your body produces growth hormone which is largely responsible for tissue growth and repair.
Shower. Alternating hot & cold baths or showers, will help you to recover faster, reduce muscle soreness & prevent injury. The method is called contract water therapy & can be done in the following way.
