Recovery is often the missing link between average athletes and great athletes. Putting an emphasis and priority on taking care of your body allows you to not only put in more hours of practice and training to get better but will also lead you to perform better during this training, therefore leveling up your performance. This is why Lebron James puts an average of $1.5 million towards recovery each year, and has led to one of the longest and most successful careers in the history of sports.
To optimize our recovery there are 3 main parts of recovery we're going to focus on. Sleep, Nutrition, and Stress. Each of these plays a critical role in contributing to our recovery and athletic success.
Sleep
Proper sleep is the most effective and overlooked part of recovery. Because of how simple and boring sleep is as a recovery tool it often gets overlooked, but this doesn't negate the fact that proper sleep is one of the best ways you can recover better. "Proper Sleep" takes intention, time, and commitment. To ensure we are entering a deep restful sleep, we need to pay attention to several factors.
Consistency is key:
Having a Consistent sleep schedule helps you to get better and more efficient quality sleep. It does this by solidifying your circadian rhythm and ensuring the properly timed release of important hormones like Melatonin and Growth Hormone. The most important factor is ensuring your sleep and wake times throughout the week(even weekends) is not changing more than an hour from the target time
Get sunlight early in the day:
Early morning light is one of the best ways to positively reset your circadian rhythm for optimal sleep. As sunlight reaches your eyes soon after you wake, it triggers a neural circuit that controls the timing of the hormones cortisol and melatonin, which greatly affect sleep. It doesn't matter whether you're a night owl or an early riser, the important thing is to get some sun for at least a few minutes soon after getting out of bed. Going outside for the light is better than sitting by a window because glass filters out some of the ultraviolet light that assist the circadian setting. For the same reason, you'll want to avoid sunglasses during this period. (Of course, never stare at any light so bright it hurts.)
Avoid caffeine and food before sleep:
For optimal sleep you'll want to avoid caffeine 10 hours before sleep and avoid eating food 2-3 hours before sleep.
Caffeine lasts in your system for up to 10 hours and can not only make it difficult to fall asleep but also hinders sleep quality while sleeping.
Eating food soon before sleep hinders sleep and sleep quality as your body is still actively working to digest food instead of resting in sleep. Don’t forego a meal to follow this rule. Life happens. If you don’t get home until 8:30 p.m. and want to be in bed by 10 p.m., you shouldn’t skip dinner just because you won’t have three hours between eating and bedtime. The three-hour rule isn’t a “must”-- it’s simply a guideline to follow when you can
Nutrition
Proper nutrition ensures that our body has the resources the rebuild and recover, as well as have the fuel to perform and train. To ensure optimal recovery through nutrition we need to focus on 3 different areas. Protein intake, Energy balance, and Vitamins and Minerals.
Protein:
Protein is the building blocks of every structure in the human body. This is why it is critical to have adequate protein to rebuild and recover after breaking down our bodies in training. The recommended protein intake for an average person is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, but for an athlete pushing themselves in daily training there is great benefits in upping this to 1.4- 2.0 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. To reach this goal it is ideal to consume a protein rich meal about every 3 hours and/or supplement with protein powder to help reach this goal.
Energy Balance:
Energy balance is the idea of comparing your energy consumed versus energy expended. This means tracking and having an idea of the amount of calories you are consuming compared to the amount you are burning. This is crucial to recovery and reaching athletic goals as we need to make sure we are consuming enough calories to refuel and recover after workouts and also need to make sure we are not overconsuming calories if our goals are not to gain weight. Firstly it is important to be clear with your goals and whether you would benefit from gaining, maintaining, or losing weight. After your goal is clear it is important to be aware of what calorie number suits this goal and what that looks like in a day of eating. You can find this calorie number by using an online BMR calculator or using a fitness watch to have an idea of the calories you're burning in a day. Then you can begin to track the amount of calories you're eating and see if this is lining up with your goal. It's important to not over stress about tracking energy balance but to use it as a tool and guideline to reaching your athletic goals.
Vitamins/Minerals:
Vitamins and minerals play a critical role in our bodies overall healthy function and can greatly affect our recovery and performance. The most benefit you will get from supplementing a vitamin or mineral is when you correct a deficiency in that area. Being deficient in any or several vitamins/minerals can lead to many negative consequences such as fatigue, injury, and poor recovery. The best way for most athlete's to correct any possible deficiencies is to ensure they're eating a wide variety of whole healthy foods and consuming a multivitamin to fill in any missing gaps. Further supplementation can be beneficial for athletes recovery but should first speak with a doctor and/or nutritionist to find the right approach for them.
Stress
Stress can come in many forms and each of them can have a dramatic effect on our recovery and performance. Whether it's physical or mental stress, its crucial that we learn how to manage life's stress to ensure our best health and recovery.
Balance:
When we are in the middle of pursuing a huge goal it's often tempting to cut out all other distractions and never rest until you reach that goal, but this is not the best approach. It's crucial to build a routine that allows you to work hard towards your goals but also makes time to recharge and recover from your workload. This can mean taking a day off a week to rest and recover from the week's work and recharge for the week ahead. The schedule that is the most sustainable and consistent is the one that's going to be the most beneficial for you.
Rest routine:
Whether its prayer, meditation, journalling, or going for a walk, its important to have a routine that helps you to clear your mind and destress. Often placing this routine before sleep can help to ease your mind and help the transition to restful sleep.
