Best Recovery Tips for Athletes
Being a high performing athlete takes a huge physical toll on the body. What athletes do in their down time guarantees whether or not they will be successful in the future. Older, high level athletes have been doing what they love for a very long time, and have come up with great strategies and techniques to keep their bodies functioning at the highest level. For this week's blog post, we will give you some amazing recovery tips to help keep your athletes at the top of their game. Let's check it out!
1. Ice Baths
It may sound daunting at first to jump into a freezing cold bath filled with ice. However, almost every athlete who competes at the next level, whether that be division one or professional, integrates ice bathing into their routine. After an intense game, lift, or training session, the body gets inflamed. Muscles become sore and tired, and if there are any lingering injuries, they could start to get worse. Ice baths combat the inflammation within the body and can instantly help it begin to recover. Ice baths are also proven to reduce stress and help with sleep, which are two huge aspects that could lead to higher performance.
2. Stretching
No…stretching isn't just for older people. And, stretching isn't something that you should do right before your game either. Actually, most warmups before any sort of physical activity involve dynamic stretching, which is different than recovery stretching. Dynamic stretching is great while warming up, in order to get the body moving and ready to play. However, stretching is still pivotal in the recovery and injury prevention process. Whether that is right after the game, or later at night before going to bed, athletes should stretch. These types of “recovery” or “cool down” stretches include:
Longer Quad, Hamstring, and Calf stretches
Hip / Groin stretches, such as lunges or butterfly stretching
Lower Back activation: Upward dog, Child's pose
Many, many more !
Overall, these stretches will keep the body loose and reduce wear and tear, especially if you are playing in back to back games, or participating in a tournament.
Hydration / Food
After an intense game, so much water is lost. It is extremely important to stay well hydrated from the end of the game throughout the rest of the day. This can be hard, since it is difficult to track how much water you are actually drinking, but learning more about your body and practicing will help. A good rule of thumb is to drink 1 - 1 and 1/2 times the amount of fluid that you lost while exercising. Do not do this in one go, since it is dangerous to drink that much in one sitting, but instead spread it out over the rest of the day to ensure healthy hydration. Over-hydrating can also be a problem, so having good balance is always important.
After a game, it is important to get a good meal in. The same way the body needs water to replenish itself, it needs energy too. Focusing on having a high protein meal with healthy carbohydrates and fruits is an excellent way to get energy right back into the body after the game.
Experiment and Try Things Out
Every athlete's body and recovery process is different, but we wanted to give a few of our own tips that we think could help along the way. We recommend that you also experiment and do your own research along the journey of finding out the best techniques for you and your athlete.
Thank you, and we will be back next week for another blog post! Please feel free to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates and news from all things Top Tier.
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