Day 10: Recovery

                My last two posts focused on strength & cardiovascular training. With today being an off-day, it is a good time to talk about muscle recovery. Rest days can sometimes feel like wasted days with a race looming, however the reality is that they are often the most productive of all.

                When we exercise, we are effectively damaging, or breaking down our muscles. It is during the muscle repair process that we achieve muscle growth & endurance improvement, thus it is very important to provide the nutrients & rest necessary to optimize the recovery process & take full advantage of the hard work put in at the gym.

                What follows below are 5 strategies that I use to ensure I am optimizing the recovery process both on training days as well as off days.

Foam Rolling:

                Foam rolling has gained significant popularity in the bodybuilding community over the past 5 years due to it’s proven ability to decrease delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which is the muscle soreness that you feel the day, or days, after a strenuous workout.

                The reason decreasing DOMS is important is that is can have a severely negative impact on athletic performance in the days following the original workout. By regularly utilizing a foam roller (available in most gyms), you are essentially giving yourself a deep tissue massage which will help break up scar tissue, leading to increased blood flow to your muscles, & a decrease in the negative impacts of DOMS. By limiting the effects of DOMS, you can maximize the efficacy of your subsequent workouts.

Sauna

                According to Dr. Rhonda Patrick, 20-minute sauna sessions 4 days per week has been shown to increase muscular endurance & running performance by as much as 32%! Dr. Patrick refers to the benefits of the sauna as ‘hyperthermic conditioning’ which involves the process of ‘acclimating yourself to heat independent of aerobic physical activity.’ In effect, the sauna is replicating high-intensity physical exercise, getting your body acclimated to performing, even when your body temperature is elevated.

                More closely related to recovery, the heat stress induced by ‘hyperthermic conditioning’ increases plasma volume & blood flow to the muscles, helping to speed up the recovery process after exercise. Other potential benefits include the release of human growth hormone (HGH) which aids in muscle growth, & may even lead to the growth of new brain cells!

               

Ice Cold Showers

                A less-researched practice, but one that is, in my opinion, best employed immediately following the aforementioned sauna sessions, is cold showers. A personal favourite of mine, cold water exposure has been linked to reduced tissue damage, improved muscle recovery & decreased DOMS. That said, the majority of research was done utilizing cold water immersion (ice baths), so it is not clear that the positive effects transfer over to cold showers.

                In any event, cold showers are certainly a great way to wake yourself up in the morning, & feel amazing following a 20-minute sauna session. I challenge you to try it for one week, & I bet you’ll be hooked!

Sleep

                Sleep, perhaps the most important aspect of muscle recovery, is an area where I consistently fall short. I currently average 5 to 6 hours per night, but am going to work to increase this to 7 to 8 hours per night for the reasons listed below.

First, sleep deprivation has been shown to cause a significant decrease in natural testosterone production & protein synthesis, making it difficult for your muscles to recover following strenuous physical activity. As has been detailed in this post, diminished muscle recovery will result in sore muscles & decreased athletic performance during subsequent workouts, a problem that will be compounded due to the high-intensity nature of Spartan Race workout programs.    

                Second, lack of sleep has been proven to make it harder to burn fat while increasing the risk of losing lean muscle mass. Given the amount of cardio involved in preparing for a Spartan Race, this is troubling as you cannot afford to lose muscle mass or strength during your training, as it will result in decreased performance on the obstacles.

Nutrition

                I have already discussed the importance of a well-balanced, natural diet, as well as the role that supplements can play in maximizing athletic performance, however the topic is so important that I would be remiss to not mention it here. It is critically important that you provide your muscles with the fuel that they need to make a full recovery both on training & off days.

                In conclusion, although strength & cardiovascular training are vitally important in preparing for a Spartan Race, it is imperative not to overlook the significance that adequate rest & recovery have on athletic performance.

Most specifically, it is important that you are scheduling days off, getting adequate sleep, & feeding your body the nutrients it requires in order to optimize the efficacy of your workouts. These three aspects, in my opinion, are non-negotiable for anyone looking to dramatically improve their athletic abilities.

If you are looking to take your recovery to the next level, I suggest you end your workouts with a foam roll-out, followed by a 20-minute sauna & a 10-minute ice cold shower – you won’t regret it!    

100 Day Spartan