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FACT SHEET #7

Return to healthy living

Relax & Recover

Need to know!

If you do not currently achieve a balanced diet and make no changes to your current eating habits, then your performance will not be effected. When we talk about recovering, we are not just talking about one factor, it is multi-faceted. In simple terms though, you are trying to return your body to the pre-exercise state.

You should aim to:

  • Remove any residual waste products from your muscles
  • Refuel and rehydrate
  • Minimise any muscle or joint damage caused by the exercise itself
  • Refresh your brain

Refuelling and re-hydrating have already been covered in fact sheet 5, therefore this information will concentrate on the other areas. Some of these factors can be taken care of whilst you are still at the gym, others need to be addressed over a longer period of time. However, you must remember that if you train and don't recover properly prior to your next session you will struggle to get the best from your next work out - and it will feel really tough!

Nice to know!

After an exercise session, you should not just stop - even though it may be appealing at the time you will suffer over the next 48 hours! A cool-down is essential. This will facilitate the removal of the waste products created by the exercise your muscles have just completed. Following a session, a 10-20 minute tapering period is recommended - basically that means you need to do some low intensity activity (walking/jogging/cycling) for 5-10 minutes.

As part of your 'cool down' you'll need to stretch all of the major muscle groups which have been used during the session too. It has been shown that stretching post exercise can aid in muscular development and will help to reduce any post-exercise muscle soreness. It is actually more beneficial to stretch post-exercise as muscles will be warm and therefore more amenable to the stretch.

If your muscles and joints ache after exercise it may be due to swelling that comes with minor tissue damage. Applying cold treatment to the area or alternating hot/cold treatment may help. However, it is probably advisable to check with an instructor before you begin your next session.

Finally, you need to rest - music to your ears no doubt! Getting sufficient sleep is as important as the exercise itself. If you have worked your muscles during the day, they will need adequate rest not only to recover from the exercise but also to aid in the repair of damaged tissue and the generation of new tissues.

Fun facts

  1. Sleep not only aids in physical adaptations to training but also allows time for mental adaptations, such as cementing movement patterns, and recovery.
  2. From the age of 35, you start to lose brain cells at a rate of around 7,000 a day - that's 2,555,000 per year (you only have 100 billion to start with) and they will never be
    replaced! But you can help keep your brain cells in peak condition by getting enough sleep at night.
  3. It is recommended that you get 7-8 hours sleep per night but apparently Margaret Thatcher ran the country on just 4!
  4. 41% of resistance to range of movement comes from the muscle and it's associated fascia with another 10% coming from the tendons - this means that less than half of the resistance you encounter can be changed