Recovery for Athletes: 4 Practices to Consider

*Note: These practices apply to you even if you’re not a serious athlete, or even an athlete at all, but looking to improve your fitness and/or health in a more general sense*

There are many factors that contribute to performance as an athlete. How often you train, how hard you train, and how smart you train are possibly the most important variables to consider. Obviously, these are subjective with regards to what particular sport or exercise you’re doing, but the principles behind them hold true.

Every time you train, you’re breaking down your muscle tissue, which is necessary in order to adapt and become stronger and fitter. This is a completely normal process where the acute inflammation and stress formed from exercise serve as the catalysts for adaptation to the training stimulus, in order for your body to become more resilient against said stimulus.

Enter: Recovery

This necessary process of muscle breakdown is mediated by time, meaning that there’s a certain number of hours your body needs in order to be ready to train again, only this time stronger. Now, what if we could shorten this time? It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the quicker we can recover from exercise, the better. This allows us to train more, giving us more vital opportunities to put our body under pressure (by training) and thus, become a stronger and fitter athlete.

With this in mind, there are a lot of fancy recovery methods out there, from crazy expensive therapies such as the NormaTec compression devices, to very sophisticated self-massage tools. While there may or may not be a benefit to these treatments, the research is sparse, at best.¹ Fortunately, there are a number of evidence-based ways you can promote optimal recovery, without breaking the bank.

1. Sleep

I know, not sexy. Nevertheless, sleep has been correlated with improved athletic performance.² The stress that regular exercise places on the body can transition from normal, acute levels to chronic stress and inflammation if we’re not careful. This is where sleep must be prioritised.

When we sleep, a series of beneficial physiological processes occur, including enhancement of our immune system,³ which may be important for limiting injuries and decreasing inflammation.^3,4 Sleep deprivation on the other hand is associated with lower levels of certain growth factors, which may impede our ability to function at a high level both physically, but also mentally.⁵

Interesting to note, the effect of sleep deprivation has been shown to be a more potent negative for performance in endurance exercise rather than resistance exercise.⁶ The studies reporting this are looking at the effects of a short-term sleep deficit on athletic performance (for 24 hours, or less), but the effects of chronic lack of sleep are known to increase inflammation in the body—not what we want, regardless of our sporting event.³ And this is a very relevant issue, as a recent meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that athletes are often unable to “achieve sleep recommendations during training or competition periods”.⁷

Sleep Guidelines

The National Sleep Foundation recommend that school-aged children should get between 9-11 hours of sleep, teenagers should shoot for 8-10 hours of sleep, and young adults/adults should be in the 7-9 hour range.⁸ Reading into these numbers, I would recommend aiming for the higher end of the scale as an athlete.

Even if we do get sufficient hours of sleep, we must ensure that these hours are of a high quality. The National Sleep Foundation recognise this, and note that “Good sleep quality is a well-recognized predictor of physical and mental health, wellness, and overall vitality.”⁹ To maximise our odds of getting good quality sleep, there are a few things that can help:

• Get into a regular routine: Get to bed ideally before midnight (or earlier!), as this helps us to live in sync with our natural body clock and circadian rhythms (in concert with day and night)—irregular light environments disrupt our sleep.¹⁰
• Get away from screens at least one hour before bed: This is a tough one that I struggle with myself, but the fact remains that it keeps our brains firing, when they should be winding down (if you must be on your screen, there are glasses you can buy that block the ‘blue’ light from screens that keep us wide awake).
• Make your room as dark and quiet as possible: This will ensure an optimal sleeping environment and set you on your way to deep sleep.
• Ideally, a cooler bedroom temperature will help us sleep better (although the desired level of coolness can vary from person to person [and from gender to gender], which becomes important if you sleep with your significant other).
• Don’t drink coffee after lunchtime: Caffeine has a half-life of roughly 5 hours (but can be as long as 9.5 hours!),¹¹ meaning that it stays in your body for hours after you ingest it. The effect of caffeine on our central nervous system can include increased wakefulness, making it tougher to get to sleep.¹¹ This also applies to tea—although the lesser quantity of caffeine means it likely won’t have the same magnitude of effect.

If you nail these tips, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get a great night’s sleep, night after night. Consistency here is key.

2. Post-Workout Nutrition

A lot of fuss is made about post-workout nutrition—fueled by supplement industries—meaning it can be difficult to know what exactly are the best things to eat or drink, how quick after working out, and so on.

The “anabolic window of opportunity”, which refers to this golden window of time immediately post-workout where the body is primed to take in nutrients from food, in order to help build our muscles, is well known in sports and fitness circles. The rationale is that the highest levels of muscle protein synthesis are achieved when eating protein post-workout,¹² but the actual evidence of an objective benefit of eating in this “anabolic window” is not validated when it comes to muscle growth over the long term.¹³

Large studies show that, with regards to nutrition, the biggest factor for muscle gain is total protein intake over the whole day, whether you eat immediately after training, or at other time points in the day.¹³ Of course this is pointless if you’re not training correctly, which is the main determinant of muscle growth. In practical terms, eating as soon as you can after a workout is probably a good practice to get into, and if you want to maximize muscle protein synthesis, research shows that a protein intake of about 0.3 g/kg is optimal (per meal).¹⁴

Now, if you’re doing long-duration endurance exercise (such as running or cycling for extended periods), there is evidence showing that the quicker you fuel up post-workout, the better. This is because the carbohydrate stores in our muscles and liver (called glycogen) that provide energy during exercise, are depleted during exercise and need to be restored as soon as possible if you’re going to be training again in the following 12-24 hours.¹⁵

To achieve this, here’s what the data says:

• Eating carbohydrates after your race/match or session is essential to fill up your glycogen stores once again.¹⁵ One study showed that eating 3-hours after exercise vs. immediately after, led to a 26% decrease in muscle glycogen synthesis,¹⁶ so carb up ASAP, particularly if you’ll be training twice a day, or if you have long-duration sessions back-to-back.
• Eating 1-1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per hour will ensure your glycogen is restored as quick as possible.¹⁵
• Interestingly, eating protein along with carbohydrate actually increases the rate of glycogen storage – so eating slightly less carbohydrate than the 1-1.2g/kg recommendation can be done, as long as you’re eating some protein with it.¹⁵
• One study showed that glycogen storage was twice as effective with a combined protein and carbohydrate meal vs. carbohydrate alone.¹⁷ So instead, about 0.8g/kg of carbohydrate paired with roughly 0.4g/kg of protein will do the trick.
• Higher glycemic foods such as white rice have been shown to be more effective than lower glycemic foods (like brown rice) at restoring glycogen levels.¹⁵ If you train twice daily, or if you have long-duration workouts a single day apart, this information is for you, because low glycogen stores limit our ability to sustain high exercise intensity.
• Note: In everyday eating, whole-grain foods like brown rice are preferable over more refined carbohydrates like white rice—take this information above with a pinch of salt—it’s aimed for top-level athletes training very intensely at least once per day, and often twice per day.

A quick and easy option for a great glycogen replenishing meal after a workout or competition would be a hearty bowl of rice and beans, with some vegetables and whatever sauce/dressing you fancy! Another great practical option is a smoothie with your choice of fruits, milk, and/or protein powder. Hitting the 0.8g/kg of carbohydrate, and 0.4g/kg of protein targets is easily done with a meal like this.

3. Active Recovery

I remember as a kid, training on a Saturday morning—hard track sessions, 400m and 300m repeats until I was blue in the face. Then on Sunday mornings, 10-12 miles up mountains no matter the weather. The training was great, and had me pretty exhausted. So, what did the rest of my day look like? Lying on the couch for hours on end watching Premier League football. This may seem like it’s warranted, after all I did nearly kill myself in the morning, surely I deserve to be lazy all day, right? Well, maybe, but that’s not the point. The point here is that I may have been missing out on a recovery tool: active recovery.

Although it’s tempting to sprawl out on the couch for the rest of the day (and seems like it would let your body recoup and recover), the research shows that active recovery can help to speed up lactate removal from our bodies, which may lead to quicker recovery.^18,19

Do This Instead:

Some walking, or even light exercise, such as very light jogging, or very light cycling, can help you to recover quicker. This increases blood flow, allowing our body to transport more oxygen-filled-blood to our muscle cells, and take away metabolic waste products of exercise (like the aforementioned lactate). This can have the effect of making us fresher, sooner. The level of activity should be really low and shouldn’t require much effort at all. Just 15-20 minutes of light jogging/cycling can be enough. If you’re walking, 45-60 minutes is a good number to hit.

Take-home message: Of course you can sit down and watch a game of football, that’s not an issue (and I encourage you to do so if that’s something you’re passionate about!). It’s the hours on end of lying/sitting down that might be an issue. Just be conscious of this, and if nothing else, get up and walk around for a couple of minutes every hour or so when you’re at home.

4. Overall Diet Quality

Your overall diet has a central role in not only your health, but your athletic performance. As mentioned, performance heightens with a steady supply of healthy carbohydrates in our diet. Studies have shown that exercise performance suffers when we eat lower-carb diets, such as keto.^14,21 Don’t fall into this trend—stick with what bodies like the American College of Sports Medicine recommend for athletic performance: a diet rich in healthy carbohydrates.¹⁴

Carbohydrates

In simple terms, the less processed, the better. Choose whole-grains like oats over sweets/candy, potatoes and sweet potatoes over chips and crisps, brown pasta/rice over their white counterparts, fruit over fruit juices, and so on. If you abide by these principles, you’ll have a higher-quality diet rich in energy for exercise.

Protein

In terms of protein intake, research tells us that once we hit our protein/amino acid targets, the source (plants/animals) is irrelevant,²² so if you are a vegan like myself, this is welcome news. A recent meta-analysis that looked at 51 individual studies concluded that on average, the optimal protein intake for inducing both muscle gains, and strength gains, was ~1.62g/kg per day—not a huge amount, and easily met with a plant-strong diet.²³ Higher protein intakes (up to 2.2 g/kg/d) may be necessary for some individuals to achieve maximum muscle and strength gains.²³

Great sources of protein include:

• Meat/Fish/Seafood: Choosing leaner varieties (lower in saturated fat) is a good idea for overall health/cardiovascular health.
• Dairy/Dairy alternatives: If choosing alternative milks and yoghurts, choose soy (best nutritional alternative).
• Eggs
• Protein powders: Whey is the most commonly used; casein may have benefit if used before bed.

Great plant-based protein sources:

• Legumes: This food group refers to all kinds of beans (there are hundreds of varieties believe it or not), and lentils (different varieties give slightly different textures and flavors).
• Tofu and tempeh (made from soybeans so technically a legume—can be marinated and fried/grilled to give a meaty feel).
• Seitan: Comes from wheat gluten; very high in protein and leucine, and is often used in vegan burgers; avoid if gluten-free.
• Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)/Soy Curls: Again, very meaty in texture and can replace meat in any dish.
• Protein Powders: Soy isolate is a good option; Blends are good, and mix well.

Fats

Keeping it brief, healthy sources of fats:

• Nuts/seeds: Opt for the high-omega-3 varieties (walnuts, hemp seeds, chia/flax seeds), as well as others like almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds—good sources of vitamin E and zinc.
• Avocado: fun fact, it’s a fruit.
• Soybeans and tofu/tempeh have naturally higher levels of fat vs. other legumes.
• Tahini (pulped sesame seeds).
• Nut butters (almond, peanut, cashew, etc.).
• Oils high in unsaturated fatty acids: examples being olive oil, rapeseed/canola oil, walnut oil.

Don’t stress the fats too much, but they should be a lower % of your diet vs. protein and carbohydrates.

Brief Protein Recommendations

Generally, 1.2-2.0g/kg per day is sufficient for athletes, with endurance athletes on the lower end, and strength/power athletes on the higher end.¹⁴

Strength Athletes

Protein needs tend to be a little bit higher in athletes primarily involved in resistance exercise. As mentioned previously, a large meta-analysis showed that ~1.6g/kg per day was the figure from which, any more protein ceased to have further muscle-building qualities (on average).²³ There is inter-individual variability, so to be on the safe side, an intake of 1.6-1.8g/kg per day has been recommended.²⁵ Levels as high as 2.2g/kg per day have been recommended for those seeking absolute maximal muscle and strength gain, like professional bodybuilders and/or powerlifters,^23,24 but for most strength athletes, 1.6-1.8g/kg per day is sensible.

Endurance Athletes

Endurance athletes need a lesser quantity, in the ~1.2-1.4g/kg per day range.²⁵ Endurance athletes aren’t interested in maximal muscle growth, therefore extra calories from healthy carbohydrate sources are a better option. This however does not mean they won’t gain lean muscle at this protein level, it’s just not necessary to overshoot on the protein for these athletes when maximal muscle growth isn’t their primary focus.

Summary

If you can nail these 4 practices, you’ll be in a great position athletically, and health-wise. Even taking one or two on board is going to have significant positive repercussions on your performance and overall health. The more you put in, the more you get out.

In conclusion, I really hope you got something out of this post. Remember: progress over perfection. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I can tell you that even though I’m laying out these recovery methods and principles to you, I struggle to hit them all of the time. But I strive towards nailing them, and you should too.

Peace.

References:

1.     Hotfiel T, Mayer I, Huettel M, et al. Accelerating Recovery from Exercise-Induced Muscle Injuries in Triathletes: Considerations for Olympic Distance Races. Sports. 2019;7(6).

2.     Juliff LE, Halson SL, Hebert JJ, Forsyth PL, Peiffer JJ. Longer Sleep Durations Are Positively Associated With Finishing Place During a National Multiday Netball Competition. J Strength Cond Res. 2018;32(1):189.

3.     Besedovsky L, Lange T, Born J. Sleep and immune function. Pflugers Arch. 2012;463(1):121-37.

4.     Milewski MD, Skaggs DL, Bishop GA, et al. Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes. J Pediatr Orthop. 2014;34(2):129-33.

5.     Chennaoui M, Arnal PJ, Drogou C, Sauvet F, Gomez-Merino D. Sleep extension increases IGF-I concentrations before and during sleep deprivation in healthy young men. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab Physiol Appl Nutr Metab. 2016;41(9):963-70.

6.     Kirschen G, Jones J, Hale L. The Impact of Sleep Duration on Performance Among Competitive Athletes: A Systematic Literature Review. Clin J Sport Med. 2018 Jun.

7.     Roberts SSH, Teo W-P, Warmington SA. Effects of training and competition on the sleep of elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2019;53(8):513-22.

8.     Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015;1(1):40-3.

9.     Ohayon M, Wickwire EM, Hirshkowitz M, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s sleep quality recommendations: first report. Sleep Health. 2017;3(1):6-19.

10. LeGates TA, Fernandez DC, Hattar S. Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014;15(7):443-54.

11. Research I of M (US) C on MN. Pharmacology of Caffeine. National Academies Press (US); 2001. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223808/. Accessed September 18, 2019.

12. Iraki J, Fitschen P, Espinar S, Helms E. Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review. Sports. 2019;7(7):154.

13. Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA, Krieger JW. The effect of protein timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta-analysis. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013;10:53.

14. Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543-68.

15. Fritzen AM, Lundsgaard A-M, Kiens B. Dietary Fuels in Athletic Performance. Annu Rev Nutr. 2019;39(1):null.

16. Ivy JL, Katz AL, Cutler CL, Sherman WM, Coyle EF. Muscle glycogen synthesis after exercise: effect of time of carbohydrate ingestion. J Appl Physiol. 1988;64(4):1480-85.

17. Ivy JL, Goforth HW, Damon BM, McCauley TR, Parsons EC, Price TB. Early postexercise muscle glycogen recovery is  enhanced with a carbohydrate-protein supplement. J Appl Physiol. 2002;93(4):1337-44.

18. Bangsbo J, Graham T, Johansen L, Saltin B. Muscle lactate metabolism in recovery from intense exhaustive exercise: impact of light exercise. J Appl Physiol Bethesda Md 1985. 1994;77(4):1890-95.

19. Gupta S, Goswami A, Sadhukhan AK, Mathur DN. Comparative study of lactate removal in short term massage of extremities, active recovery and a passive recovery period after supramaximal exercise sessions. Int J Sports Med. 1996;17(2):106-10.

20. Behm DG, Blazevich AJ, Kay AD, McHugh M. Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab Physiol Appl Nutr Metab. 2016;41(1):1-11.

21. Burke LM, Ross ML, Garvican-Lewis LA, et al. Low carbohydrate, high fat diet impairs exercise economy and negates the performance benefit from intensified training in elite race walkers. J Physiol. 2017;595(9):2785-2807.

22. Reidy PT, Rasmussen BB. Role of Ingested Amino Acids and Protein in the Promotion of Resistance Exercise–Induced Muscle Protein Anabolism123. J Nutr. 2016;146(2):155-83.

23. Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376-84.

24. Bagchi D, Nair S, Sen CK. Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performance: Muscle Building, Endurance, and Strength. Academic Press; 2018.

25. Stokes T, Hector AJ, Morton RW, McGlory C, Phillips SM. Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training. Nutrients. 2018;10(2).