Recovery and Fatigue

Fatigue After training you feel fatigued. This is due to your bodies depletion of energy stores such as ATP-PC and glycogen. The build up of several waste products such as lactic acid and hydrogen ions. Some muscle and joint soreness or damage may also occur. Dehydration can also cause a person to feel fatigued.

Recovery Recovery is simply the reversal of fatigue. Recovery must be considered in all training programs. Recovery helps return the body to its pre-exercise condition by removing waste products such as lactic acid and replenishing lost glycogen and fluid. Recovery from games and training can be accelerated by using an active or passive recovery.

Active Recoveries/Cool downs Active recoveries (cool-downs) have been shown to be most beneficial in terms of recovery. The accelerate the removal of waste products such as lactic acid. Assist in venous return and prevent venous pooling. Active recovery consists of activities such as stretching and light runs.

Passive Recovery Passive recovery consists of therapies such as massage, hydrotherapy and hot and cold therapy. For best recovery results active and passive recoveries should both be used.

Time Time is also a vital part of the recovery process. After exercise your body begins to remove lactic acid and hydrogen ions from the muscles and blood. It takes around 30 minutes to remove 50% of the lactic acid accumulated during exercise after a ‘rest or time’ recovery routine. This can be accelerated by including active and passive recovery techniques. After three minutes of rest all the bodies creatine phosphate stores are replenished. Some fatigue related injuries such as muscle and joint injuries will heal faster with the use of active and passive recovery techniques however time is the only thing that will completely heal them.

Refueling foods Diet is also a vital part of the recovery process. A diet that is high in carbohydrates can delay the onset of fatigue. The best foods for this are low GI foods as they will ensure carbohydrates are available during matches and training. After intense training or matches it is import to replace the lost glycogen used during exercise. To replace the lost glycogen as quickly as possible High GI foods such as white bread are preferable as the body absorbs High GI foods quicker. Protein is also essential for the repair and growth of muscles after exercise. The ideal post match meal will consist of high GI carbohydrates and protein and will be very high in saturated fats. For examples chicken and salad on while rolls.

Fluids Before during and after exercise it is important to ingest the correct amounts of fluids. After exercise it is crucial to replace what the fluids the body has lost. An athlete needs to replace 1.5 times the amount of fluid lost during competition at a rate of 1 litre per kilogram of fluid lost. For example if an athlete loses 2 kilgrams during competition they need to drink 3 litres of fluids. Suitable drinks after competition are a mix of water, protein drinks and sports drinks (Gatorade or Powerade).

Muscle Glycogen Restoration Full muscle glycogen restoration takes a couple of days and is dependent on the duration and intensity of the activity. After continuous endurance activities replenishment of muscle glycogen stores is crucial in the first 2 hours and if combined with a high carbohydrate diet can be complete in 2 days. If a high carbohydrate diet is not present then it may take up to 5 days to replenish muscle glycogen. This illustrates how important diet is in the recovery process.

Muscle glycogen restoration During activities such as interval training of a short duration large amounts of glycogen can be replenished in 30mins to 2 hours even without a high carbohydrate intake. Complete restoration only takes 24 hours and 55% is replenished in the first 5 hours after exercise.

Neuromuscular factors Neuromuscular fatigue can be defined as a transient decrease in muscular performance. This decrease is usually seen as an inability to maintain or develop the expected force or power required.

Lowering body Temperature (Thermoregulation) Lowering the body (thermoregulation) has been proven to aid in recovery. This can be achieved through walking in the water, ice baths, ice packs and ice vests. These techniques are commonly used in many sports such as Australian Rules football.