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Recovery is a major factor in reaching optimal performance. With this in mind, it is also a much neglected area of training. The old adage “work when everyone else is sleeping” has sparked athletes to out-work their opponents. While the idea is sound, the implementation into the daily rigors of life, school/work and training remain a juggling act for which most individuals struggle. In this section we discuss methods for monitoring recovery, improving the ability to recovery and implementation into a daily routine.
If you are like most, workouts are planned daily and completed, then marked off as a check on your list of accomplishments for the week. Some workouts are great, while others may be less optimal due to fatigue or muscular soreness, which has been deemed normal in today’s training sectors. One must then realize that fatigue, muscle soreness, and/or decreases in performance are all signs of not being truly recovered.
Despite the soreness and fatigue, muscles will appear to recover regardless of the increased workload for which they are handling. However, one true sign of an individual not truly reaching optimal recovery when training can be the function of the Immune System.
Are you an avid runner, triathlete or work-out junkie? Do you eat organic, constantly wash or sanitize your hands, and do your best to avoid people who are ill; yet, in spite of these efforts, you find that you are always the “sick” one of the group? During your recovery periods the body has an increased production of white blood cells which is why most active individuals are sick less frequently than most. However, when an individual is unable to fully recovery, their system becomes fatigued. When fatigued, the body has a lower production/amount of white blood cells available to fight infections, thus the “illness” never seems to go away completely.
The next time you experience an illness that you never can escape, take a look at your training schedule to see if adequate recovery is built into your plan. For further information on recovery, health or performance, contact the Integrated Sports Performance team with questions or concerns.