Boot camp Melbourne

Proper recovery between training sessions is probably just as important as the training itself! Generally speaking, recovery can be broken up into a couple groups. The first group being the “refueling” phase, and the second being the “physical care” phase.

Refueling Phase

Refueling is basically that- putting in what the body has taken out. Adequate hydration during and after activity comprising of hydrolised fluids (ie. sports drinks) and plain water is a good start. As a general guide, you should look to consume roughly 1.5 litres of fluid for every 1 kilogram of body eight lost. Obviously, to do this properly, you should weigh yourself before and after exercise.

Proper nutrition is also crucial for restoring glucose and glycogen levels in the body. Foods that contain a higher concentration of natural sugar, such as fruit, yoghurt, white bread, and orange juice, are examples of healthy food sources that should be consumed immediately following exercise (say, within 5-10 minutes following a session).
This should then be followed by a prepared meal (say, 30-60 minutes after) which contains complex carbohydrates (ie. rice, potatoes, pasta, brown bread) as well as protein (ie, fish, red/white meat, beans, legumes) for feeding your muscles.

Protein is a very important element for anyone who exercises regularly and looking to keep their body in the best shape possible. Although there isn’t any conclusive evidence to suggest exactly how much protein you should consume per day, you should look to consume some protein in each of your daily meals. It is well known that many elite athletes look to consume as much as 1 gram of protein per kilogram bodyweight per day. For further guidance on this topic, however, a sports dietician can help you build an adequate plan to meet your needs.

Physical Care Phase

Where “physical care” is concerned, making sure you get adequate rest between exercise sessions is crucial. Many elite athletes find wearing compression garments (ie. tights) decreases the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness, known as “DOMS”. This is normally experienced 24-48 hours following activity.

Swimming is an excellent way of speeding up the recovery process following strenuous exercise. Doing gentle laps at your local swimming pool is adequate, and this may consist of, say, a 20 minute lap session of kick board, freestyle, and breaststroke. Even walking through water can also be helpful, particularly if you are located nearby a beach.
General light exercise (ie walking the dog, domestic duties) can also help curb the onset of DOMS.

A gentle 20-30 minute walk, for example, can be a great way of recovering from a strenuous running &/or lower limb gym session. Similarly, domestic duties both inside and outside the home can also help with this, particularly if you have been involved in upper body exercises.

Finally, stretching is a very popular form of recovery as well as injury prevention technique. Common stretches for the lower limbs include hamstring, quadriceps and calf stretching, and stretches for the upper body include neck, shoulder and upper back stretches. Typically, stretches should be performed slowly, and held for approximately 30-60 seconds for each body part. You should avoid bouncing, as this may increase the chance of injury.

In summary

The correct approach where recovery is concerned involves you considering two fundamental areas: refueling and physical recovery.
Taking on board just one or two of these recovery suggestions just won’t cut it. It is like building a jigsaw puzzle- you need many little pieces to form a larger picture. Recovery can be thought about in the same way!

Frank Care
City Baths Spinal & Sports Medicine Centre, Melbourne
03 9639 2286
www.citybathssportsmedicine.com