Injuries can increase from fatigue. And fatigue is actually the most common cause of sports injuries. We put nearly zero time or effort into recovery. So, can you decrease injuries by increasing your rest?
One thing that can be helpful is to understand that there are two sides to sports. Do you know what they are?
1. Training
2. Rest/Recovery (Rest and Recovery are similar but different)
Work Hard. Play Hard. Rest!
Right now we’re gonna put rest aside and focus on recovery.
Work hard, play hard, and if you want to do it all over again, then include recovery into your recipe.
Most athletes over-train and under recover.
Operating this way can have its effects, such as burnout, stress, injury, etc.
When my son played AAU basketball, recovery wasn’t even mentioned by his coaches. It was always, go, go, go!
In my years of wrestling and jiu-jitsu, same thing. Even the professional athletes that see me don’t have this area of their training covered well by their coaching staff!
Like I mentioned earlier, a lack of recovery isn’t limited to physical problems but it can take a psychological toll as well.
Listen up if you’re set on being the next Steph Curry, Misty May-Treanor, Cristiano Rolnaldo, Nick Foles, or Nolan Arenado.
Or, if your goals aren’t that high, you’re probably not a pushover, so recovery is important to you, too!
There are two types of recovery you want to consider: Short and Long term.
Short Term
Some benefits of short term recovery are that you actively participate in soft-tissue repair, chemical waste removal, and rebuilding.
After an intense workout, competition, or event implement a 3-10 minute cool down phase of slower, gentle movements such as stretching and varying your movement patterns.
This is a great way to transition heart rate and breathing from intense activity to normal life.
Cooling down may reduce muscle soreness and maintain joint mobility moving forward.
The next thing is to replenish energy stores, fluids, and proteins. Muscles recover, repair, and strengthen with rest.
Get quality sleep. For many of us this means putting the phone on airplane mode, going to sleep at or before 10:30 pm, and prioritizing rest before web.
Long term
Well designed training regimens have recovery plans that span throughout the year and are based on training and competition schedules.
The idea is to strategically plan days and weeks for recovery around events and training.
Great coaching programs take recovery as serious as training.
If that isn’t the case with your team, take that responsibility on yourself. Your performance will improve as you learn to pace yourself and include the elements of intelligent recovery.
Contributed by
Chris Corrales
925.922.2246