Does your training and racing leave you tired and shattered? Want to get back up and going quicker after events or training sessions?
There are a range of things you can do to assist with recovering from events and training sessions. Most people don’t give themselves the best shot at recovering quickly so here is some advice to assist you do so.
Conducting an appropriate warm up will not only ensure you perform to the best of your ability, but will also avoid the body getting a shock from the level of exercise. If you give your body a massive shock it will take greater time and effort for the body to recover from it. By doing an appropriate warm up, you can avoid the body needing the extra recovery. By progressively moving into the warm up, starting slowly and gently, building to more intense efforts you will progressively increase your heart rate and ventilation rate and get the blood moving to the muscles.
A cool down will also greatly assist your recovery. How many people do you see finish a race and then pack up their gear and go home? Are you guilty of doing this too? Just going for a gentle jog or bike ride after a running race or bike race respectively will have great benefits to assisting to flush waste products from the body. It doesn’t need to be long. 10 minutes is ample for most situations.
Doing a hard training session or race isn’t a reason to reward yourself with crap food. After all you are what you eat. After you finish exercising you have a window of about 2 hours in which your body can optimally absorb the required nutrients. As time goes on this ability returns back towards its normal ability to absorb nutrients. Make the most of this opportunity to fuel the body appropriately. The focus should be on carbohydrates, but not at the exclusion of protein which is essential for repair and regeneration. A ratio of 4:1 is optimal, that is four times as many carbohydrates compared to protein. The carbohydrates provide the energy and the protein is the building blocks for the repair.
Stretching often gets left out of the training programme, but it shouldn’t. It doesn’t take long to complete and the benefits are immense. The inclusion of a weekly yoga class can do wonders for your flexibility and your performance as a result of its inclusion. Talk to your coach about this. After the session or race, stretch the muscles that have been worked the hardest/most first, if you don’t have time to stretch every muscle. If you have more time available work systematically through your body to ensure each part gets a good stretch. Click here for a stretching programme.
As Euripides is quoted as saying: “Do not consider painful what is good for you”. A good massage can be slightly uncomfortable, but conversely it will increase blood flow and lymphatic circulation, increasing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, as well as flushing out any waste products that are present. Regardless of how stressful a massage is, any reputable massage therapist will always finish with relaxing strokes to minimise any immediate discomfort from the massage you have just received.
Having hot/cold contrast showers or baths can provide some great benefits. Using a plunge pool is great but not a practical option for most people. Conducting this recovery technique in a shower can be just as beneficial. Simply ensure you heat your body up using water as hot as you can tolerate for about 3 minutes, then utilise the coldest water your body can tolerate (or that your shower can supply) for thirty seconds. Repeat this three times. The hot water creates vasodilation of the blood vessels and the cold water stimulates vasoconstriction. The opening and closing of the blood vessels increases blood circulation and removal of waste products.
Recovery sessions can be conducted at low intensity (less than 70%) and for relatively short durations (less than thirty minutes in some instances). They allow for plenty of rest and are a great opportunity for technique work. They increase the blood flow over normal resting levels and this assists with the removal of waste products.
Coach Ray is the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.
Coach Ray specialises in assisting first timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. He can be contacted at www.qwik.kiwi, ray@qwikkiwi.com and 021 348 729. Make sure you sign up to his informative newsletter.
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Ray has competed in triathlons from sprint to ironman distance (both IM Taupo and Challenge Wanaka). Consequently he is aware of the importance of balancing training with lifestyle, thus complimenting other important aspects of an athlete’s life (family, work, study commitments etc…).
• Entering your first triathlon?
• Stepping up to a longer distance?
• Looking to go faster?
• Wanting to turn previous negatives into positives?
Ray has coached athletes to achieve these and more. Training programmes are accessible online, so athletes can be located anywhere and still reap the benefits of Ray’s coaching. Contact him to discuss how he can assist you to achieve your goals.
3 weeks ago Longest run in perhaps a couple of months. I should have done it yesterday but couldn't be a**ed running in the rain. Could easily have talked myself out of it this morning too, but I thought of the recent inspirational posts of both Rob & Zoe who have been training despite the weather plus I'd confessed to Andrea that I had it scheduled . ♀️ I had a plan if my legs wanted to stop and was rapt that I didn't need to use it. I only needed to stop for the toilet and cars . I ran across the
2 weeks ago My little chicken legs ran at a much more consistent pace tonight although there was only seconds difference compared to my result last week in the run leg of the biathlon. I'm quite pleased with that as I didn't feel like I was moving as fast as last week (translate to I wasn't gasping quite as much). I had a couple of runners in sight the entire way. We started at the same time however they pulled away in the first 200m or so. I gained on them every time the route elevated at all and closed the gap but
1 week ago After a good number of leg reps in the gym yesterday, I gave myself permission to run at a pace that felt comfortable in the park run this morning. My legs had felt a bit sluggish in the warm up. So off we go. I didn't feel like I was smashing myself (absolutely gasping for air). My glutes feel strong and I remind myself that this is the benefit of doing workouts like yesterday. Long story short, today was my fastest time since getting back from holiday at the end of October. That was a pleasant surprise. . Photo credits
2 weeks ago Holding pace for a large number of reps, is always challenging and this session challenges you by throwing a series of sprints in the middle of things. You will reap the benefits of improved swimming threshold though, so the effort will be worth it. This session is perfect for Ironman and Olympic distance triathletes or people doing longer Ocean Swims. Get the full details of this session from the link in my bio @coach_ray_nz#coachray#qwikkiwi#allfortheswim#swimsession#swimsessions#triswimcoach#triswimtraining
19 hours ago Race day yay Well I am pleased with the result. I got a long run done last Tuesday and I had planned a short run once I started my road trip south, but that didn't eventuate. I didn't stress about it. I thought I'll walk if I have to, but I'll start and I'll finish. I did walk at the drink stations. I could taste the salt from the sweat on my face, so I drank electrolytes and tipped water of myself to cool off. It was very hot and windy. The tail wind was helpful but I found it
2 weeks ago Another long run in my endurance pace zone done n dusted. It was a bit of a challenge in warm conditions and left me with a red face. I haven't actually run since last Thursday night, however I'm reasonably happy with the consistent pace. . Over the weekend I enjoyed my sister-in-law and her partner staying. I also had my work Christmas function which started at 11am on Saturday and finished at 11am Sunday although I didn't get home until the afternoon. Monday and Tuesday I worked in the garden before and after work as the weeds are responding to
2 weeks ago It sounds crazy to make biscuits with chickpeas, but WOW does this work well. Watch friends and your children's faces when they tell you how yummy they are and then advise them that they are made of chickpeas!!! Get the recipe from the link in my bio @Coach_Ray_NZ #qwikkiwi#coachray#food4athletes#foodforathletes#chocolatecookies#chickpeacookies
Training Plan of the Month – June 2019
ALL OF THEM
With a membership through my new website, you don't purchase a single plan. You purchase a membership that grants you access to ALL my plans and you can pick and choose between them all.
As a founding member you will be rewarded with the absolute lowest price I will ever offer these training plans for.
This membership includes ALL my event training plans. You can pick and choose between them. If you are training for a marathon and are doing it 12 weeks after a half marathon that is in 10 weeks time. Start off with the 10 week half marathon plan and then load in the 12 week marathon training plan.
Plans available for all distances for triathlon, as well as running, cycling and swim specific programmes.
Being a junior triathlete in NZ in the 90's I grew up racing against and being inspired by the likes of John Hellemans. I attended training camps that he ran, and this book gives a great insight into his life and challenges during that time as well as before and after.