Yo, my beloved No Pro Go Tri crew!
Are you addicted to running? I know I am, and I want to run every day! So it's super important that I can recover quickly so I can keep on running and avoid injury.
There are lots of different ways that we can recover between runs, and in today's post I'll cover these:
Before we dive in to each of these, let's consider WHY we need to recover between runs!
Why Do We Need to Recover Between Runs?
Recovery allows for improved performance, gives our bodies time to heal itself and gets us ready to crush our next run or workout.
Recovering properly also decreases the risk of potential injury, which is of course every runners worst nightmare.
Not allowing yourself adequate recovery time can lead to decreased performance and even overtraining syndrome. Ooops!
All these benefits are going to help us achieve our goals smash new personal bests!
Righto, let's have a look at these different ways to recover and you can see which, if any, are best for you!
#1 - Active Recovery
Active recovery workouts are low to moderate intensity and low impact activities that help the body to recover, such as light jogging, swimming or cycling.
The types of “active recovery” workout that athletes might do, can also be quite different from the normal sporting activity they participate in.
For example, a football player may do yoga or Pilates to work on flexibility, whereas a long-distance runner might go for a swim to work the legs but in a low-impact and low-intensity way.
Jane Chertoff from Healthline says that “Active recovery is often considered more beneficial than inactivity, resting completely, or sitting. It can keep blood flowing and help muscles recover and rebuild from intense physical activity.”
#2 Massages
Living in Thailand, massages are easily accessible and low-cost.
For me, there's nothing better than doing a super tough run or event and then going for an hour or two-hour massage! I'll even the masseur to make it a hard massage as I really like the kind of painful feeling it creates - maybe I'm a little bit weird!
On the flipside, I think it's fair to say that back in the UK massages are less accessible, cost a lot more and may even have a bad rep! If I told my mates I was going for a massage I may get some funny looks!
A 2017 study published in the Frontiers of Physiology concluded that “current evidence suggests that massage therapy after strenuous exercise could be effective for alleviating Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and improving muscle performance.”
The study found that people who received a massage 24, 48 or 72 hours after an intense workout reported significantly less soreness than those people who didn’t get a post-workout massage.
One of the challenges athletes face with recovery is that it’s not always feasible to get a massage or perform active recovery after a workout or game.
One convenient alternative to active recovery and massage therapy is a wireless EMS suit.
#3 Electrical Muscle Stimulation
This technology has moved on a bit since the 1980s when you would see late night TV commercials advertising these belts that you could strap around you waist and they would magically remove your belly fat!
These days, there are a few different EMS options on the market
Portable EMS Devices
Fully Wired EMS Machines
Wireless EMS Bodysuits
Portable EMS devices, such as The Powerdot, are perfect to take with you on your travels and are able to hit specific parts of your body where you want to relieve some pain.
This type of EMS device is probably best suited for recovery. Fully-wired EMS machines and wireless bodysuits are used more as a form of workout and training. (I'm planning to do a full post on EMS in the future so keep your eyes out for that - it's pretty interesting stuff!)
The Chicago Institute of Wellness published an article on the benefits of EMS therapy, in which they state EMS works “very much like therapeutic massage, and can encourage blood circulation, muscle stimulation and healing.”
Effectively, EMS can be seen as an alternative to traditional massage.
#4 Ice Baths
Personally, I've only had the pleasure of an ice bath once before in my life, which was after the Ironman 70.3 in Phuket, Thailand in 2018.
It certainly helped to cool me down...
An it was full of beer, although there wasn't much left by the time I crossed the line (that gives me extra motivation next time!!)
But on a serious note, are there any real benefits of ice baths?
Dr. A. Brion Gardner, an orthopedic surgeon with The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics, says there are still benefits to ice baths, such as:
Eases sore and aching muscles
Helps your central nervous system
Limits the inflammatory response
Decreases the effect of heat and humidity
Trains your vagus nerve
I guess ice baths are more likely to be used by competitive athletes or they may be able at the end of public events.
I'm not sure how feasible it's going to be to create your own ice bath at home, but if you've got enough ice then go for it!
Will my son fit in here?!
#5 Cryotherapy
The next level up from an ice bath is CRYOTHERAPY (yes, it's a real thing and not just something you see in 1980s sci-fi movies!)
Ok, so things have moved on a little bit from this type of image!
Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) can be used to effectively help you attain your goals, whether that ve accelerated muscle healing, decreased fatigue or accelerated recovery time,
The most popular form of cryotherapy involves sitting or standing in cryotherapy booth for 3–4 minutes while liquid nitrogen gas is released at temperatures as low as -200 degrees Fahrenheit Any more than 4 minutes could prove fatal!
I spoke with Ironman 70.3 World Championship competitor Kipsan Beck, who had this to say about his experience of using cryotherapy,
"I didn't feel much different for the first 30 seconds, then the mid 2 minutes feels pretty cold and the last 30sec extremely cold followed by a sense of elation and refreshment when coming out, which lasts quite a long time; I find muscle pains and skin issues just disappear also"
In addition to helping athletes recover, it's been reported that one session of cryotherapy can help you burn between 500-800 calories!
One of the benefits of using cryotherapy is that you focus on not just one part of your body ole body but the whole body, which makes it different from using an ice pack or foam roller (more on this later).
This is a fairly new technology so be sure to consult with your doctor before embarking on cryotherapy for recovery!
And don't fall asleep or you might wake up in the year 2531 haha!
#6 Self-Myofascial Release (SMR)
If cryotherapy is one of the most technical methods of recovery, then self-myofascial release is one of the most basic and easy to adopt.
SMR is a tool assisted, self-massage that is used to release muscle tension, improve flexibility and boost movement efficiency. SMR can be done with a variety of tools such as foam rollers, lacrosse or tennis balls, hand held rollers, or even a rolling pin
Two recent studies in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy and Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy have been published that analyzed the current state of research and conclude that self-
myofascial release:
Increases mobility and joint range of motion
Reduces post-workout soreness and DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)
Allows for greater workout performance in future workouts
May lead to improved vascular function and parasympathetic nervous system function
Go into any sports store and you'll likely see an array of tools that can be used for SMR.
I personally use a foam roller on my hamstrings and calves after a long run. To be honest, the first few times I used the foam roller it wasn't very comfortable and it did hurt a little bit, especially with my already tight muscles.
What I found helped is to reduce the amount of body weight I was putting onto the roller. For example, if you're rolling out your calf, use your arms to help support your body and take some of your body weight off of the roller.
Here's a useful video to check out for more tips on how to use a foam roller for best results.
#7 Sleep
The importance and effect of getting enough sleep after exercise cannot be underestimated.
According to Healthline, Taking a nap after exercise can support muscle recovery. When you sleep, your pituitary gland releases growth hormone. Your muscles need this hormone to repair and build tissue. This is essential for muscle growth, athletic performance, and reaping the benefits of physical activity.
Another reason sleep benefits recovery relates to blood flow. As you fall into the deeper stages of sleep, your muscles will see an increase in blood flow, which brings along oxygen and nutrients that that help recover and repair muscles and regenerate cells.
Want to get some better shut-eye? Check out these tips from Ironman,com
Honor your circadian rhythms by keeping a regular bedtime and wake time, including on the weekends. By doing so, you can condition your body to expect sleep, and you’ll fall asleep more quickly
Avoid alcohol, particularly after dinner. Even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy at first, it can disrupt sleep later in the night
Limit caffeine after 5 p.m., including coffee, tea, sodas and chocolate.
Avoid stressful situations, computer monitors and the 10 o’clock news within an hour of going to bed, and try to avoid going into problem solving mode once your head hits the pillow
Keep your bedroom dark and free of lights and electronics. Yes, that means smartphones.
Effects of Sleep on Tour de France Cyclists
The EF Education First cycling team published data on the strain and recovery of their riders on whoop.com from the 2020 Tour de France.
Most of the team were getting 8 hours sleep per night, but Neilson Powless was regularly getting 30 minutes more than his teammates.
On the night of the race’s second rest day (between Stages 15 and 16), Powless got just over 9 hours of sleep. He also spent 5:51 (a whopping 64% of his time asleep) in what we call the “restorative stages” of sleep (REM and deep sleep). People usually only spend about 40-45% of their sleep time in these stages when the body repairs itself.
#8 Rest + Relaxation
With all that said, sometimes just chilling out on the sofa binge watching your favourite TV series, or relaxing in the garden with an ice cold beer is the best form of recovery!
FINAL THOUGHTS
As you can see there are quite a few different ways to help you recover after exercise.
Some are easy to adopt and relatively low-cost (sleep and foam rolling), others more high-tech and higher cost. Some are quick and easy, some more time-consuming.
Whichever one works best for you is the most important thing. Everyone is different and recovers differently. but just remember the better we recover, the more effective and fun our next run or workout will be and help us to avoid getting injured.
Did I miss any? What is your favourite way to recover?
Happy Training Everyone!
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