Recovery: What Happens in the Body After Training?
I’m sure you have heard about the importance of recovery after training sessions plenty of times throughout your life. Along with that, I am also certain you have heard about the numerous ways to do so, from hydration and nutrition to active rest and sleep.
But why? What happens inside of your body during training that requires all of these actions? What processes happen during these activities that aid in recovery, and get you prepared for the next training session?
The reality is, during training, you are actively breaking down muscle fibers and, quite frankly, damaging your body. One can argue that the benefits of training rely not solely on the level of sets and reps performed, but more so on the level at which you recover!
Recovery is where the body is repaired and built back up better than before. Different recovery actions and methods serve a certain purpose and trigger different processes inside the body. Each process then leads to a role in repair.
Let’s take a deeper dive into these processes and actions through the common recovery methods.
Nutrition
Foods taken in after training are broken down into macro and micronutrients that are needed to aid in the recovery of skeletal muscle. Carbohydrates are essential for replenishing the body’s energy stores, known as glycogen, and also provide energy needed for the transport of vitamins and minerals to the damaged muscle.
Protein intake is vital for the production of amino acids, which aid in protein synthesis. Protein synthesis then aids in the repair and building of muscle.
Fats are needed to help transport oxygen throughout the body and also help to keep blood cells in the body healthy and effective. Fruits and vegetables are also extremely helpful in the post-training recovery process. They possess vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help reduce inflammation in the body. They also contain water, which also helps with replenishing water loss after exercise.
Hydration
The importance of hydration after training cannot be stressed enough. When you train, you lose fluids in the body through sweat. To perform and live optimally, these fluids must be replaced.
The human body is made up of roughly 60% water, and muscle cells consist of approximately 75% water. For the body’s everyday processes to function properly, and for muscles to function properly, these percentages have to be upheld. If not, performance and quality of life can suffer drastically.
Sleep and Rest
Sleep, and quality of sleep, is the most overlooked recovery piece there is. For numerous reasons, most of the population does not get enough quality sleep. When you sleep, certain hormones are released, one of which is Growth Hormone (GH), which is essential for the growth and repair of muscle. GH helps to rebuild damaged muscle and also stimulates the production and growth of new muscle fibers. Without a proper amount of sleep, the ability of GH to be released and perform its functions is inhibited, which will in turn inhibit optimal muscle repair and growth.
Active Recovery
In the hours and days following training, it’s important to stretch and stay moving. These activities get blood moving in the body, particularly to the damaged muscles. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the muscle, which will help with both repair, as well as soreness and stiffness. This along with the previous recovery methods will ensure that any athlete or active person will be ready to perform another training session soon thereafter.
Even though training is a huge piece of athletic development, recovery is ultimately the part of the process where the body adapts, develops, and grows. Recovery is the piece that takes the training done to the next level. The training that is brought to the competition stage is only the training you can recover from!
