The Importance of Recovery
By Sarah Westendorf

Moving our bodies with strength and mobility to complete races, obstacles, and fun adventures is something that is hard work for. Training movement patterns, body systems, and muscles all in the hope that our bodies will adapt and become the machine to accomplish the goals of our minds. But what about recovery? How does this play a part in the training that we put ourselves through? Will resting a certain amount of days or eating a certain way help us in our quest for going harder and faster to meet our goals?

The American Council of Exercise considers recovery to be the most important part of a training program. By integrating recovery into a training program, the body can adapt and repair itself, building back stronger. Without it, the body’s muscles and energy systems will continue to break down. This can lead to overtraining injuries and a plateau in performance. The body will be unable to reap the benefits of the hard work put into it.

There are two types of recovery, Active and Passive. Active recovery is continued exercise at a much lower intensity (think cool-down pace) and defined as less than your 50% max heart rate while Passive recovery is complete rest. The day following strenuous exercise however, there is evidence to suggest that active recovery is going to be more beneficial. It can help clear out any remaining lactate in the body from the previous bout of exercise and allows for continued blood flow to the skeletal muscles which supports the synthesizes of glycogen stores. This is where nutrition can play an important factor in recovery.

Muscles can hold up to 400 grams of glycogen (energy) and the liver roughly 100-120 grams. When training and competing for endurance, there will almost always be a caloric (energy) deficit that occurs, using up all the stored glycogen in the body. In order to help combat this caloric deficit, carbohydrates and fats are the body’s best friends. While fat holds more energy per gram, the body’s favorite source of energy will always be carbohydrates. Ingesting some sort of carbohydrate during an endurance event can help mitigate this deficit, whether it be a sports drink, a gel, or solid food. Refeeding should occur soon after the event is done. The body will want to rebuild its glycogen stores and repair and grow all the muscle breakdown that has just occurred. In conjunction, a source of protein would be beneficial to help the repairing process.

There is no one diet that will help a person recover better, except for the one that is specific to every individual. Sometimes it takes trial and error to figure out what type of eating a body can better digest or how it makes a person feel. Whether a person is an omnivore, vegan, or vegetarian, they have the macronutrients in their diets that are important for recovery, it is just about timing.