Sports Science Topic - May 18, 2009

I posed this question because there never seems to be a shortage of people who work very hard, but a paucity of those who combine hard work with good recovery techniques. In the long run you will be limited more by your ability to recover than by your ability to work hard. So those coaches and athletes who focus on good recovery techniques, will recover faster, and as a result be able to work harder than their competitors. If you follow that premise, then athletes who can help the body adapt to higher levels of intensity over a longer period of time will have a greater chance of sustaining that intensity on race day.
If you slip back to the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s when the DDR machine was in full swing, they followed specific training protocols during their training plans. Everything was planned backwards and they always went to altitude a certain number of weeks prior to the primary competition. What their researchers discovered at altitude was that the body didn’t recover nearly as well, and resulted in a catabolic process. (reduced muscle mass) The answer was simple… add a few carefully measured ergogenic aids to their soft drinks and you avoid that issue. They also trained 3 times a day when at altitude in order to maximize the work load they could cover during that period. So having those special supplements was a must.
When we think about steroids we tend to think that they give us enhanced strength. They do, but what they really give us, is the ability to recover much faster, and in the long run work much harder, which in turn gives us the ability to get stronger. So although I’m not advocating the taking of steroids in this statement, I am stating that RECOVERY is a key component to being able to do more work on a daily and or weekly basis.
So what methods can you employ to aid recovery?
Cardiovascular fitness – The most important role CV fitness plays in the whole training equation is its ability to get the body back to full recovery. Limit your training in this area, and you limit not only your ability to race 100 meters and up, but your ability to recover from racing and training.
Nutrition – Not only eating the correct foods and staying away from drinks that do more harm than good, but making sure you have fuel on hand at the conclusion of practice. A good combination of 80/20% carbs to protein would be perfect. Eating directly after practice ends and your main meal within that first hour will make a difference in the body’s ability to recover. If your practice lasts more than 2 hours, then you will need more than just water to hydrate as well. Have a good source of fuel during the practice does help.
Sleep – Key ingredient that’s at times left the most wanting. Depending on age, you might need anywhere from 8 to 10 hours to get the job done. Coaches have the mindset that morning workouts are a rite of passage. If that’s the only pool time you have, then you have to take it. However, consider at times that overall sleep is a major recovery factor, and there are a number of very successful programs in this country who don’t do mornings during the school year.
Post main sets recovery sets – Coaches have a tendency to have swimmers go something very hard at the end of practice, and then do a 200 warm down and get out. IMO coaches should plan a lot better, and ensure that the practice structure includes a set that allows the athlete to recovery completely from that lactate production prior to exiting the pool. There are many more implications associated with this concept… so maybe a thought for another day.
Stretching and massage – OK not everyone can afford a massage, but everyone can stretch. We’re probably a lot better about doing it before practice, but not very good at doing it after practice. I’d recommend that if you’re serious that you consider massage as an option that is included into your routine. If you look hard enough, you might find a local massage school in your area, and no end of students who are willing to practice their skills at reduced rates. I’ve them in the past at no cost at all.
Supplements – I’ve left this for last since it’s almost a taboo subject. There is no end of people who have been punished for doping offenses that were associated with supplements they were taking. Since we tend to be skeptical by nature, we usually believe that the perpetrators are guilty, and since we don’t have the real story, we have no evidence to form an opinion when the athlete says that it was a supplement that had them in trouble in the first place. So supplements are dangerous in that they DO CAUSE positive tests. So yes it is an area that can facilitate recovery, but is fraught with potential landmines. It’s an area that if you look into it, you should make more than doubly sure that the company you choose doesn’t make banned substances, and if they are willing to put up a money backed guarantee that you won’t end up with a “mistake”… you should still be skeptical. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. A recent high profile athlete was sanctioned because the doping tests detected Clenbuterol in the system. It didn’t matter that the levels of Clenbuterol were so small that they had to be calculated in nanograms. (billionths of a gram) In all cases doping is considered when a substance is detected, not whether the level of that substance has provided a clear aid to performance. So any athlete caught under these circumstances has to deal with the consequences. So be careful.

If readers have any more good ideas with regards to recovery techniques, please don't be shy about sharing them

Wow, more great information, Jonty. Thank you. I know I am guilty of the practice of putting a hard set at the end and then not recovering enough.

Can you tell us more about some programs not doing doubles during the school year. I've heard that KING is not, and SwimMAC as well. Can you lay out how that would look in your view, the benefits, etc? I'm very interested because I see way too many sleep-deprived swimmers at 5 AM.

Thank you for sharing. I would love to read anything and everything about those programs that, out of necessity, made significant changes like the one you describe, and suddenly became immensely more successful than ever before. How did they do it? What changes did they make? What does that program look like from top to bottom?

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