It is vital to strike the right balance between training, competition, stress and recovery, writes GILES WARRINGTON
LAST WEEK we looked at the important function that recovery plays as part of the training process. Recovery is one of the key principles of training and should form a central element of any exercise programme – work alone is not the solution to maximising the physical fitness gains from training.
Despite this, many athletes train hard but ignore the importance of post-training recovery unless they suffer from illness or injury.
Analysing the impact and effectiveness of different recovery strategies has become a hot topic in the sports science and sports medicine community. In recent times, a wide range of recovery methods have been adopted by elite athletes to attain a balance between training and competition stress and recovery.
Some of the commonly used recovery strategies include active recovery, massage, hydrotherapies, ice baths and stretching.
Active recovery is often an undervalued and underused post- exercise recovery strategy. The benefits of active recovery in promoting the clearance of waste products associated with muscular fatigue such as lactic acid are well established.
The end of a training session is the ideal time to utilise active recovery strategies which may incorporate low intensity aerobic exercise (jogging or cycling) and possibly some light stretching. Active recovery might also be integrated into the session itself to promote recovery between repetitions.
Massage is used extensively by athletes during training. Despite any clear scientific evidence to support its effectiveness, it is commonly believed to reduce muscle soreness, promote blood flow and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles.
Massage may also have some psychological benefits as it promotes relaxation and reduces tightness.
A broad range of water-based therapies are used to promote recovery. These include pools, showers, baths, spas, float tanks and saunas. It has been suggested that alternating exposure to hot and cold water (ie warm spa and cold shower) can promote blood flow to the muscles and flush out waste products such as lactic acid.
Evidence has suggested that underwater massage and stretching may also reduce delayed onset of muscle soreness.
The use of ice baths as a post- exercise recovery strategy has become ubiquitous particularly in team sports such as Gaelic games, soccer and rugby. Despite their popularity there is limited and conflicting evidence to support the benefits of ice baths for promoting post-exercise recovery and also subsequent performance outcome.
Furthermore, evidence suggests that ice baths have no added advantage over active recovery strategies.
Stretching is a long-established modality used pre- and post-training and at other times.
The primary function of stretching is to improve the range of motion about joints but research investigating its effects on injury prevention and performance are conflicting and controversial.
The mechanisms to explain how stretching may enhance the recovery process remain unclear but it has been suggested that stretching may reduce swelling and muscle soreness.
Although the scientific evidence to support the benefits of many commonly used recovery modalities is limited and, in some cases, contradictory, athlete testimony regarding their use is often very positive.
There is a strong possibility that some of the potential benefits observed are purely a “placebo effect” in that athletes perceive them to be beneficial.
The bottom line is that, so long as any recovery strategies used are safe and not likely to compromise physiological function and health, and the athlete believes them to be working, then their use should be encouraged.
Dr Giles Warrington is a sport and exercise physiologist and lecturer in the School of Health and Human Performance at DCU