You Only Benefit From The Training You Are Recovering From…

No matter how small or large your fitness goals may be, recovering from exercise should be a vital aspect of your fitness routine to ensure you are receiving the most benefit from all your efforts. Detailed below are some useful tips you can incorporate to help maximise your recovery, prevent injuries, and therefore improve your overall health.

The Physiology of Muscle Recovery
The physiological process of muscle recovery is complex. After strenuous exercise, particularly eccentric resistance training, muscle tissue damage and microscopic tears in the muscle fibres occur. This causes intramuscular inflammation, which is a helpful response by the body to help encourage healing, adaption, and to return the body back to its normal homeostatic state. As a result, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which entails achy and sore muscle post exercise, can occur. After this inflammatory response, muscle repair and regeneration occurs (approximately 48-72 hours post exercise), where the body produces more protein (protein synthesis) to rebuild muscle fibres. Overtime, this leads to muscle growth, hypertrophy, and therefore improved strength. It is important to note that after an initial bout of exercise induced muscle damage and soreness, subsequent bouts will not be as severe and will repair and heal quicker. This is known as the “repeated bout effect”.

Sequential cycle of muscle healing phases after laceration. Histological images adapted from Menetrey et al, Am J Sports Med 1999. (sp: superficial portion, de: deepest part)
The Importance of Nutrition for Recovery
Consuming the right nutrients at the correct time is important for allowing the above processes to occur efficiently and effectively. Carbohydrates are important for replenishing muscle glycogen, which is the main fuel used by our muscles whilst exercising. Therefore, early intake of carbohydrates after exercise helps to replenish glycogen levels. In addition, protein intake post exercise assists with muscle repair and growth, and is therefore vital to achieve strength benefits. Finally, as healthy fats are used during periods of low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise which lasts around 30-60 minutes, consuming fats post exercise can also be of benefit and may have anti-inflammatory properties.

Active Recovery
Light exercise such as walking or cycling, and gentle stretching, can help promote blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, which in turn can assist with removing metabolic waste (e.g. lactic acid) produced when exercising.

Cold Immersion
There is evidence that cold immersion techniques can assist in recovery from endurance training and post competition as it reduces inflammation and swelling, pain, and muscle spasms. However, some research suggests that it can inhibit strength training adaptations, as it reduces inflammation which is a necessary component for muscle recovery. The most evidence-based protocol is 10 degrees for 10 minutes.

Other Recovery Strategies
– Staying hydrated is important for transporting nutrients to muscles and removing waste products.
– Getting the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night can assist with recovery.
– Massage therapy, foam rolling, and stretching may also be of benefit to help release muscle tension and soreness, and improve blood circulation. Although, there is mixed evidence regarding stretching and whether it is beneficial.

Conclusion
So many factors can directly affect your recovery and therefore the benefit you are receiving from you training. Train smarter not harder!

References
Ivy JL. Regulation of muscle glycogen repletion, muscle protein synthesis and repair following exercise. J Sports Sci Med. 2004 Sep 1;3(3):131-8. PMID: 24482590; PMCID: PMC3905295.
Ortiz, Robert O. Jr1; Sinclair Elder, Amanda J.2; Elder, Craig L.2; Dawes, J. Jay2. A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Active Recovery Interventions on Athletic Performance of Professional-, Collegiate-, and Competitive-Level Adult Athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 33(8):p 2275-2287, August 2019. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002589