Recovery Strategies: Be your best

Carrying out an intense and heavy training load will inevitably provoke muscle damage that gives way to exercise induced muscle soreness, having a detrimental effect on exercise performance. In between training sessions the primary goal is to bring the athlete into the supercompensation zone (see figure below), once this is achieved the previous regime may be completed with ease. Alternatively, training intensity and volume can be increased to ensure a steady progression of positive adaptation. In order to reach this desired state within the supercompensation theory optimal recovery is key and strategies to obtain this may come in a variety of ways, ranging from supplementation, active recovery, hydrotherapy, cryotherapy and massage. The present article aims to discuss each of these strategies in turn, highlighting their possible benefits to performance and any evident flaws they possess.

 

Firstly, it is integral to discuss how exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) occurs and the symptoms it can generate. EIMD is typically characterised as muscular soreness 24-48 hours following a bout of exercise, resulting in reduced muscle functioning and swelling. This damage occurs due to carrying out an unaccustomed amount of exercise with a particularly high eccentric contraction component. As there is little myofilament overlap (see top picture in figure below), muscle sarcomeres become overstretched and damaged. It is this process that causes the membrane damage that allows an intracellular influx of calcium ions and t-tubule disruption. Ca²⁺ entry results in an inflammatory response and so swelling in major muscle groups results, whereas t-tubule disruption leads to a loss of muscular strength as a result of excitation-coupling dysfunction.

 

Arguably the most common strategy employed by coaches and athletes is the completion of an active recovery. The theory behind this low intensity exercise following training is that it will allow a gradual decrease in core body temperature, whilst also clearing metabolic waste products such as the hydrogen ions associated with lactic acid. One particular study carried out wrist flexion until an intramuscular pH of 6.4 was reached, there after the active recovery group continued flexion at a 5% decrease every minute. Compared with those in the resting control protocol, the intracellular pH of subjects taking part in an active recovery decreased far more rapidly. It can therefore be concluded that an active recovery is an effective strategy to promote recovery from metabolic acidosis and enhances the body’s natural ability to return to a pre exercise state. It is also fundamental that each week to ten days the athlete dedicates one day solely to an active recovery, this can be achieved through a light jog or cross training in a low impact activity such as swimming or cycling. Not only will this prevent overtraining but also break up to monotony of a religious training schedule, therefore sustaining interest and motivation.

With regards to supplementation cherry juice consumption has produced promising results for endurance athletes. Due to its antioxidant properties it can help negate the cellular damaging free radicals that are produced during exercise. Marathon runners consumed either a cherry juice or placebo drink five days before and for 48 hours following a marathon race. Those that ingested cherry juice displayed reduced inflammation/muscular swelling and recovered isometric strength significantly faster than those in the placebo group (Connolly et al. 2006). Branched chain amino acid (BCAA) consumption has also proved to elicit beneficial results, such as no increase in blood markers of muscle damage that can cause inflammatory responses and a lower perceived soreness level (Jackman et al 2010).

The resultant effects of massages are equivocal and their full benefits are not yet fully understood. However, it is through that sports massages can promote circulation, release muscular tension and reduce inflammatory responses. In a group of healthy untrained participants a ten minute massage followed 10X6 bout of maximal isokinetic eccentric actions at the elbow joint. The employment of this massage led to a decrease in the severity of the soreness experienced by subjects compared with no post exercise massage (Zainaddin et al 2005). If you don’t have the time or money for a professional massage self-administered techniques such as foam rolling may also prove effective in alleviating pain and reducing inflammation induced by exercise.

The use of hydrotherapy and cryotherapy has seen substantial increases in recent years, particularly with reference to ice baths. Everyone from tennis players, weight lifters and marathon runners include ice baths within their recovery programme following a heavy training session or competition. The theory behind cold water immersion is that it will promote vasoconstriction in those blood vessels that are beneath the icy water. Blood rich in metabolic waste products is then drained from the legs, allowing fresh oxygenated blood to flush through the limbs once the athlete is removed from the bath. Studies have confirmed that cold water immersion (CWI) and contrast water therapy (CWT) prove effective in reducing the detrimental physiological effects brought about by exercise induced muscle damage. It was found that squat jump performance recovered more rapidly to baseline measures and increases in mid-thigh circumference were reduced following CWI and CWT (Vaile et al. 2008). It is unclear as to the practical recommendations of hot water immersion. Although no significant scientific evidence can confirm its benefits anecdotal reports suggest that added warmth can treat muscular soreness and prepare the muscle for masses/physical activity. However it is important to note that heat should not be added to inflamed muscles as this will only promote further unwanted swelling.

Lastly, sleep is an essential component for optimal recovery. Those athletes who fail to have an adequate amount of sleep will compromise their reaction time, neuromuscular patterns and ability to store muscle and liver glycogen.

Recovery itself is extremely individualistic, no two athletes will recover optimally in identical ways due to training differentiation and personal preferences. The key is finding a recovery tool that works for you as an athlete, whether this reduces the effect of muscular swelling or simply refreshes the major muscle groups in time for the subsequent training bout. However, adequate nutrition, hydration and sleep are vital, regardless of your athletic discipline. The correct recovery strategies can require the same amount of effort and discipline as training itself but by getting its key principles correct injury and illness risks are significantly decreased.

“Recovery is where the gains in your training actually occur, and valuing your recovery is the key to both short-term and long-term success” – Sage Rountree, Team USA Triathlon World Championship team member and ultrarunning coach.

Exercise Euphoria: The runner’s high

Many avid runners will already know what I mean by the “Runner’s High” and the feelings that it provokes, often it is completely unanticipated yet feels as though it’s the most natural feeling in the world. Frequently when on longer training runs that are up to six to ten miles in length, I have slipped into the running high, finding myself in another world for between one and two miles. The run seems effortless, I’m almost gliding with every pace and a sense of fulfilment encapsulates me. One definition from Sach and Berger states the runner’s high is a “euphoric sensation experienced during running, usually unexpected, in which the runner feels a heightened sense of wellbeing, enhanced appreciation of nature and a transcendence of time and space”.

It has been reported that among runners who have previously experienced the high up to 30% of those encounter it on their daily runs, claiming to feel a sense of mental awareness, liberation, exhilaration and pain suppression. Additionally, in an interview of 60 runners it was revealed that the high brought about by running cannot be reliably predicted but can be facilitated by the absence of distraction and cool weather conditions. Runs should be ≥6 miles in length at a comfortable pace and it is also vital there is no concern with regards to timing or pacing.

Several theories exist regarding how the running high is brought about with perhaps the most famous being that of endorphin release, the body’s natural painkiller. However this theory has several problems, fundamentally endorphins are simply too large to pass over the blood-brain barrier. Consequently, although endorphin concentrations do increase within the circulation during exercise, without reaching the brain they cannot be held accountable for the high exercisers experience. Another key hypothesis is that of the opioid system, opioids are psychoactive chemicals that resemble morphine in their pharmaceutical effects. Research has revealed that release of endogenous opioids occurs following prolonged exercise and that this release is closely correlated with perceived euphoria among runners. However, it is also known that the opioid system is accountable for responses such as respiratory depression and other effects that are detrimental to running performance.

Perhaps the most feasible alternative to the endorphin theory is the ‘endocannabinoid hypothesis’’. Cannabinoids, an active ingredient found in marijuana binds with the nervous system to reduce pain and aniexty, producing a profound sense of wellbeing. Our body has the ability to create its own cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), these are composed of lipid molecules small enough to pass over the blood-brain barrier to provoke an affect in the brain. Research findings have shown that exercise increases the concentrations of these endocannabinoids, producing psychological effects closely resembling those associated with the runner’s high. The endocannabinoid systems activation is also thought to elicit a reduction in attentional span, time estimation difficulties, memory impairment and a sense of wellbeing. All of which characteristics are often included in the reported psychological profiles of long distance runners. These findings may be as a consequence of decreased metabolism in the prefrontal regions of the brain with increased endocannabinoid concentrations, whilst also demonstrating disadvantageous affects to cognitive functioning.

As yet there is no reference to a cyclist’s or swimmer’s high, it is likely this is due to endocannabinoid receptors residing in the skin and so as runner’s make contact with ground endocannabinoid release is stimulated. Another key point worth noting is that low level skills such as running are highly controlled by the basal ganglia which are responsible for cognition and habitual behaviours. The net result of this is that they more readily activate the endocannabinoid system than high skilled activities such as hockey or basketball.

Furthermore, endocannabinoids interaction with the neurotransmitter dopamine suggest that they play a role in the brain’s rewarding system, possibly contributing to exercise/running addiction. This many result in detrimental health affects among athletes who continue to train despite a chronic overuse injury. Lastly, it has be observed that the endocannabinoid system also attributes peripheral effects including bronchodilation and vasodilation. Such physiological changes can facilitate endurance performance by allowing for more efficient oxygen transportation, thereby promoting feelings of ease and effortlessness.

This article intended to provide an overview of the “Runner’s High” phenomenon, there is still much room for further research however it is clear that endurance runners frequently encounter many of the mood components mentioned whilst training. The most promising theory is that of endocannabinoids, providing both a physiological and psychological explanation for the exercise high. Although these feelings are subject to great individual variation and it is still unclear how age, sex and exercise intensity can affect the feeling of exercise euphoria.

"I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." - Paula Radcliffe

The myths and mysteries of optimal dietary protein intake

It has been a long posed question as to whether elite and recreation athletes alike require an increase amount of protein within their diets in order to optimise training gains. This article will discuss the need for protein within an athletic diet, its optimal dosage, and overall guidelines that can be applied to an individualized nutritional programme.

We know that the average individual contains approximately 12kg protein, much of this is contractile skeletal muscle and the remainder resides as free amino acids found either in the circulation or intracellularly within muscle fibres. A continual bodily protein turnover shows that humans require a regular and adequate level of protein intake in order to carry out basic biological functioning and that this level of intake is somewhat increased for active individuals. Such a consensus was reached due to an observed increased in leucine oxidation during exercise, as well as multiple studies showing greater protein intake results in an improved muscle mass and muscular strength.

It is also clear that exercise causes increases in muscle protein synthesis alongside muscle protein breakdown, however exercise alone does not result in a positive net muscle protein balance. It is essential exercise is coupled with amino acid ingestion, as this will stimulate muscle protein synthesis and inhibit exercise induced protein down. This way muscle mass will gradually increase (hypertrophy). At the other end of the spectrum, inactivity will lead to an inhibition of protein synthesis and actually stimulate the breakdown of proteins, resulting in a net loss of muscle mass (atrophy) and decreased muscular strength. Although it has been shown that just a minimal amount of resistance training can prevent the inhibition of protein synthesis, this is of greater importance during periods of recovery or injury when muscle wastage is most likely to occur.

Now to perhaps the key question; how much protein do athletes  actually need to consume? Firstly, it should be noted that specific recommendations are extremely difficult to determine due to the variation in parameters such as age, sex, sport, playing position and the individuals training status. However, ingesting 20 grams of egg or whey protein can be said to be the general guideline of consumption to maximise the anabolic response of the muscles to exercise. There is little need to consume more than 20 grams of protein following a bout of physical activity, since the body is unable to utilise further amounts and so it will be either oxidised or excreted. No metabolic window exists for this consumption, as muscle protein synthesis experiences no change whether intake occurs immediately following training or three hours later. Although eating immediately after exercise is necessary to optimise recovery with regards to other substances such as glycogen.

Depending on the nature of one's nutritional goals some individuals may benefit from excess protein intake.  This is true of those with a primary aim of gaining lean mass and muscular strength where carbohydrate intake is not an concern. It may also be of benefit to those on a hypocaloric diet for weight loss, as a high protein diet will prevent the loss of lean tissue. The main concern here resides with the notion that excessive protein consumption may compromise the intake of other macronutrients such as carbohydrate.

Another key argument with regards to protein is whether there is a real need for its supplementation. It has been shown that training actually increases protein balance, which allows for enhanced reutilization of amino acids and thus reduces intake requirements. Therefore more ample amounts of protein are consumed in the diet and so there is little need for supplements. Despite this many do still seek further means of protein intake, with whey being a very popular choice. Compared to other supplements such as casein or soy, whey protein stimulates a superior anabolic response of muscle protein synthesis. This is because it contains greater amounts of leucine, an important essential amino acid.

With reference to the possible dangers of a high protein intake, evidence is at best equivocal that it will lead to negative health effects. Kidney problems and bone loss in healthy individuals are almost uncertain, let alone those who are physically active. It is however important that an increased amino acids intake does not override that of other essential nutrients.

When applying the contents of this article to your own nutritional programme the following guidelines may be followed; although it is probably not necessary whey protein is the best supplement option. 20 grams of protein is sufficient to stimulate optimal muscle protein synthesis following exercise and can increase strength by 40-50%. However this should only be used as a general figure and individually tailored with regards to age, sex, sport and training status.