For athletes, how you recover is just as important as how you train. All the workouts, supplements, and private training in the world will not make you a better athlete if you don’t take the necessary steps between workouts to prepare for the next.

There are four key areas that athletes need to focus on between sessions to properly restore their bodies: nutrition, sleep, active recovery, and nothing – and yes, “nothing” actually is “something” in this case. Let’s break it down…

Nutrition encompasses what you eat and drink, including food and supplements. When it comes to recovery, calories are king. Hitting your daily calorie targets, along with a proper breakdown of fats, carbs, and protein, along with a balance of fruits and vegetables, will provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to repair muscles and replenish energy stores for the next workout.

While most athletes understand the importance of protein for recovery, many fall VERY short of their carb needs. As a high-calorie athlete, you need to strike a balance between whole foods and simple carbs. Relying on just grains and fruits for all your carb needs can often cause you to fall short of your needs. That’s where simple carbs, such as granola bars, pretzels, or Chargel gel drinks, provide an EASY way to increase your energy intake between these sessions without feeling too full (plus they taste good!).

As mentioned, supplements are a subset of nutrition, so they don’t get their own category; and that’s because not everyone needs them. Protein powder and creatine, for example, have been shown to enhance recovery to allow better performance during subsequent sessions. That’s why I recommend them to a majority of my clients when they ask about them. HOWEVER, supplementation without adequate calories and hydration will not do much. Always make sure your diet is as good as possible before reaching for supplements – you can’t but a band-aid on a large wound.

Sleep is the EASIEST way to optimize recovery – yet it’s often the one athletes mess up the most. You’ve probably heard that you should get 8 hours of sleep per night; but this is very generic advice. For younger athletes, 8.5-9 hours of sleep per day is most ideal due to higher training demands and growth needs; and there is an emphasis on the word “day” there. It’s difficult for busy athletes to fit in a straight 9 hours of sleep at night due to their schedules. Fortunately, research has shown that adding in a 30-minute nap once or twice per day can be beneficial. Therefore, sleeping 8 hours at night with 1-2 naps during the day can suffice for recovery.

However, it’s not just the AMOUNT of sleep, but the quality. Closing your eyes for nine hours doesn’t do much good if you struggle to stay asleep or get adequate time in stages three and four. Limiting stress, screen time, caffeine, and alcohol close to bedtime is crucial for optimizing the quality of your sleep so you can get the most benefit from it. Deep sleep is where the body does most of its repairs – so impeding this quality will lead to poor performance.

Active recovery is one of those practices that is very common at higher levels (college and professional sports), but almost non-existent for youth and recreational athletes. The day after a hard workout or competition, the body is likely very stiff. The best way to eliminate this stiffness is to get the blood flowing. Active recovery consists of a light “workout” that’s not actually a workout. It could be a 30-minute bike ride at low-intensity, a light swim, or even a long (mostly flat) walk. The goal here is to move the muscles, but not exhaust them – a VERY important distinction that can make the difference between recovery and increased soreness.

Doing nothing is something almost every competitive athlete struggles with. The common athlete mentality causes this fear that a day of no workouts is a day wasted and will cause you to fall behind. However, the body can only take so much demand before it breaks down. Taking at least one complete off day each week allows the body to restore energy, decrease stress and inflammation, and repair any minor wear and tear that would otherwise impair subsequent performance (or possibly lead to injury).

This off day means NO exercise – aside from a quick active recovery session mentioned earlier. This means don’t go on a hike or long bike ride, no pick-up basketball, no lifting*, nothing. Sleep in, catch up on homework or housework, watch TV… whatever you want to do to get through the day without exercising. Your body needs a physical AND mental break so you can start the next week fresh and ready to go. Fatigue drives poor performance – and a lack of rest causes fatigue.

*(some athletes, such as football players, will lift the day after a game part of their active recovery; but this is typically followed up with a complete rest day the following day)

Improving athletic performance is a unique science. Proper training is designed to produce precise results; but these improvements don’t occur during your workouts. Speed, strength, muscle growth… they all develop after your workouts. Optimizing your recovery practices is a specific science that can either enhance or deteriorate the efforts you put forth during training. Everyone thinks the hard work happens on the field and weight room – but the difference between a good and great athlete is the realization that the hard work continues OFF the field as well.

 

Derek Lipton sports dietitian

Author Profile: Derek Lipton

Derek Lipton MS RD CSSD CSCC Registered Dietitian, Sports Dietitian, and Strength Coach

Derek is a Sports Dietitian and Strength Coach with several years of experience working with elite athletes all over the world. Prior to starting his own business in 2018, Derek worked with top level Division 1 athletes at both University of Georgia and Duke University, where he gained invaluable experience and education to help athletes perform their best.

Derek uses a balanced approach to nutrition, avoiding fad diets and making sure all foods fit. He believes the best diet plan is the one that incorporates the foods you currently eat, and focusing on portion sizes and filling in the gaps. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and Derek believes that applying individualization along with specific science creates the most optimal results.