Progressive overload through planned training stress is an essential aspect of improving performance over time. That said, equally important and more often overlooked is having a dialled in recovery plan. Although there are many tools out there that anecdotally help enhance recovery including foam rolling, BFR, Normatec, muscle stimulation devices, etc, the research is clear about the recovery superpowers of having appropriate nutrition, adequate sleep, stress management strategies and a structured training plan. In this blog, we’ll be covering your true recovery superpowers.

Nutrition

Your first recovery superpower is nutrition. At the most basic nutritional level, metabolic fatigue produced by training sessions, intense or otherwise, results in energy deficits that must be replenished in order to optimally perform in subsequent sessions. This is the reason that having adequate caloric intake for your specific bodily demands is essential. That said, not only is it important to get enough calories but the timing and type of calories that you’re having play an important role in supporting muscular repair, replenishment of glycogen stores, reduction of inflammation, and fatigue reduction. Specifically, protein is the building block of muscle and connective tissues and supports metabolic adaptation. The recommendation is to achieve ~1.5g of protein per kg throughout the day in 15-25g increments. Ideally, within an hour of a training session you’re obtaining one of these servings. Carbohydrates on the other hand are a key fuel for the central nervous system and is one of the more versatile fuel options for muscular work. Again, providing your body with a dose of carbohydrates within a short period after a training session can work to quickly replenish glycogen stores.

Sleep

Sleep is the second, and probably the most overlooked, recovery superpower. Sleep is fundamental to life and provides vast benefits including improved sports performance, boosted immunity, and increased attention and learning. Importantly to athletes, sleep is a period when the body is releasing growth hormone at an increased rate and also a period when our nervous system “battery” is recharging. Sleep deprivation, generally defined as less than 7 hours per night but varies by age, on the other hand is associated with a variety of impacts on the cardiovascular, hormonal, and central nervous system. These broad ranging impacts can lead to reduced speed, coordination, power and reaction time, increased perception of exertion, reduced growth hormone and testosterone, increased cortisol, reduced muscle growth and increased injury risk to name a few.

Stress Management

Training stress is essential to development as an athlete; however, stress is stress is stress…physical, emotional, psychological, it all goes into the same basket. So when athletes are in a period of heavy physical training or performance it’s essential that they’re managing the other life stressors that may be impacting their nervous system. Our autonomic nervous system is split into two systems: sympathetic (fight, flight or freeze) and parasympathetic (rest, digest and recover). All stressors, regardless of cause, tend to drive the sympathetic nervous system. Given that the parasympathetic system promotes recovery and regeneration, it can be appreciated that being in a steady sympathetic state can impact recovery. There are many strategies that can be used to manage stress and promote parasympathetic nervous system stimulation. A few examples include: breath work practice, meditation, sleep hygiene practice and most importantly self-awareness of your ecosystem of stressors.

A Good Training Plan

Finally, we firmly believe that you can’t recover from a poorly planned and non-adaptive training program. It’s important for athletes to follow a structured training plan but it’s equally as important to have some means of checking in with yourself to determine how your body is adapting to your training plan. There are times when an athlete will need to dial back their training plan which can be challenging mentally for high achievers. That’s why having objective self-check-ins and de-load periods built into a training plan are essential.

In Summary

At the Movement we get asked all the time how to improve recovery and our recommendations always circle back to the foundational principles of nutrition, sleep, stress management and adaptive training plans. If you or someone you know has questions about recovery get them to reach out to our healthcare team.

Train hard, recover harder.