The Biggest Problem Facing Young Athletes: Recovery
Most athletes are going to work hard, but do their recovery habits match?
The recovery process, including time spent and the tools our athletes use, can either be a caravan to aid in the success or the limiting factor in keeping them from reaching it. Bill Parcells said it best “The best ability is availability.” Put simply, he is saying that it will not matter how great of an athlete you are if you cannot stay healthy to be on the field or court to perform.
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BODY AFTER I TRAIN/PRACTICE?
- MUSCLE DAMAGE- This can be caused by lifting and/or running (may result in soreness and fascial adhesion or knots)
- DECREASED ENERGY LEVELS (SUBSTRATES)- ATP and other energy stores are depleted and the refueling process (Carbohydrates, etc.)
- INCREASED INFLAMMATION (Not always bad)- After training, your body floods the system to start and repair the body (this often leads to stiffness)
WHAT IS RECOVERY?
Recovery is defined as the time it takes the body to restore all of its hormone levels and normal bodily functions and ranges of motion. No medication will get you to recover faster, in fact, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can actually delay recovery if used excessively.
DOES MY BODY RECOVER ON ITS OWN?
The short answer is yes, your body does recover on its own using primarily the lymphatic and circulatory system to do so. However, it is dependent on a multitude of things. Some of which include:
- Eating Habits
- Water Consumption
- Sleep
- Level of Stressor (level of fatigue-induced)
With that said, most of our athletes are training 2–5 days a week and practicing anywhere from 3–5 days a week. All these things add stress and fatigue to the body which could result in hindered performance. Accompany all of those training and practice sessions with lack of sleep and possibly poor nutrition, and you have a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, there are a multitude of tools that you can use to give your body the ability to speed up the recovery process.
There are two forms of recovery that we are going to talk about:
- Myofascial Release (Foam Rolling)
- Percussion/Vibration Tools
MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
Most commonly known as foam rolling, myofascial release is an extremely effective way to decrease pain and inflammation and increase the range of motion in a muscle by increasing blood flow to the affected area. The Center of Myofascial Research defines it as “a safe and very effective hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure into the myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion.”
This is a great tool if you need to target specific muscle groups such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and lats either pre-workout to stimulate the muscle and get it ready for the workout, or post-workout to increase blood flow and stimulation to speed up recovery.
The tools typically used for myofascial release are:
- Foam Roller
- A ball (the harder the more aggressive)
PERCUSSION/VIBRATION TRAINING
The whole idea of vibration and percussion training is to improve circulation, thus increasing recovery time. The most distinctive difference between the vibration training and percussion tools is the level of impact you will get.
Percussion- Deeper more massage-like qualities that will be more approximate and specific.
Vibration- Increase stimulation and excitation of the muscles themselves, to maximize warm-up or kick start the cooldown.
At Performance Course, we utilize a multitude of tools to help aid in our athlete's recovery.
Most people don’t really understand how to use their recovery tools when they get them. So here are two videos demonstrating some easy ways you can use them in your daily routine.
LOWER BODY (BEGINNER) ROUTINE
The things you can do with a foam roller and ball are endless and truly effortless. The added vibration of the foam rollers and the sphere’s is truly amazing. It takes the effort out of trying to apply enough pressure to the desired muscle and lets you focus more on finding the desired spot to work on.
Give the routine and some of the tools a try and let us know your feedback. We will be coming out with many more routines in the near future so keep your eyes peeled for more content.
