Stress is a good thing, it’s how we grow, but it can quickly turn into distress without adequate recovery. It’s easy to get caught up with placing emphasis on exercise; exploring different types of training, it’s fun, it’s social, it feels great, it’s good for our bodies, it’s good for our minds, and for some of us it’s our livelihood.
The recovery period after training is where the magic happens and adaptations occur. Depending on the type of training you do, different stresses and physiological changes happen within the body that warrant time for repair:
Stress or micro tears to connective tissues like muscle, tendon, ligament can contribute to the soreness and pain felt after exercise. Stress to these tissues result in decreased ability for them to perform and work as they should, which persists until repair of these tissues is complete. Transport of certain nutrients important for supplying energy during this time is also impaired.
Depending on the type of exercise performed; short, sharp explosive bouts versus longer periods of continuous endurance for example, require different amounts of input from different energy systems. Different energy systems require different periods of time and nutrients to replenish.
- Accumulation of By-Products
The body breaks down nutrients like carbohydrates, amino acids and fats to create energy. During this process, lactic acid is produced as a by-product. Lactic acid can hinder performance as it slows down muscle contractions. With more vigorous activity, the body becomes less efficient at clearing it out of your system, therefor with more build up you become more fatigued.
Putting effort into recovery allows you to get the most out. Respect the importance and you will reap all the benefits- increasing overall capacity, muscle size, strength, energy system efficiency, feeling fresher and fuelled for your next session. Stay tuned for pt 2 where we explore the different recovery modalities.
Adriana Tselepis
Myotherapist.
