Though this graph is dedicated to strength, the effects are also consistent with other athletic qualities like speed, vertical jump, and throwing power. So, how can we make sure our rest is supporting our desired training outcomes? After a high-intensity workout or weeks of training at a high intensity, take time away from high-intensity training. The more high-intensity training sessions we’ve done the more time we should take. This study recommends 48-72 hours of rest before training the same muscle group at a high intensity again to maximize muscle recovery and growth. Even though you aren’t training at a high intensity during this time, it is likely that through adequate recovery your performance will still go up. Take a few days off and you might find yourself with a greater squat max, a faster ten-yard sprint, a shorter mile time, or a higher vertical jump when you get back. Knowing when to lighten up your training is incredibly important. If you begin to regularly feel fatigued, your mood seems to be off, and your weights/times during training aren’t where they should be, it is probably time to get some rest. In the same way that long-distance runners don’t completely stop running a few weeks before a race, we don’t have to completely stop exercising. Instead, we can “taper” our training. We can purposefully train at a lower intensity by lowering the weights and/or the training volume so that we aren’t digging ourselves into a deeper stress hole to climb out of but we’re also still keeping our neuromuscular system active and getting blood flow throughout our body. Most training is centered around a competition, big event, or testing date. By resting properly and tapering the right amount before that important date, we can ensure that we will perform at our highest level when we need to.

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Stress outside of the actual physical training we do also has a say on where we find ourselves along that recovery spectrum any given day. Chronic mental and emotional stress, such as from work or relationships, can contribute towards our training fatigue if we let it. The autonomic nervous system, which regulates different involuntary bodily functions like blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate, and digestion, is activated by stress. This system has two branches. The parasympathetic nervous system helps us relax and recover in absence of any stressors, and the sympathetic nervous system, also called the “fight or flight” response, releases adrenaline and prepares us to deal with stressors or threats when they are present or drawing closer. When we are chronically stressed from our social and work life, we are in a sympathetic state much more than we need to be. The amygdala, a part of the brain which has a role in emotional responses and processes stressors, will communicate any “threats” to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain in charge of bodily functions and hormones, and thus activate your sympathetic nervous system. A rush of hormones will get your blood pumping, heart and breathing rate elevated, and prepares you for action when there is no reason to be. Once the initial wave of hormones subsides, the hypothalamus releases a second wave of hormones, including cortisol(explained later on), to keep your sympathetic nervous system engaged and your body on high alert. Chronic stress releases adrenaline and cortisol continuously making it so that your body isn’t able to relax. The signaling molecules and feedback mechanisms for stress will begin to break down and a slew of issues will arise such as, increased muscle tension, fatigue, heart rate, and blood pressure, potential weight gain, obscured sleep patterns, and reduced ability to focus.

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This is where stress management is especially important. Stress can be good for us if it is managed effectively. Some people are able to deal with mental and emotional stressors much better than others. Because of this, they have a say on how much stress is affecting them on a day-to-day basis and can keep it from spilling over to their training fatigue. They are able to maintain that stresses they experience are acute stresses, only affecting them over a short-duration of time rather than chronically. One way to do this is to practice relaxation techniques. Controlled, deep breathing when stressed is an incredibly effective method to force the heart rate back down, take control, and get back into a parasympathetic state. Stretching helps reduce muscle tension, increases energy levels and increases blood circulation which is important for more than just relaxation purposes. Muscles need oxygen and nutrients to recover. Blood circulation moves oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. If a muscle is tight, it will be getting less oxygen and nutrients than the rest of the body and will not recover as quickly. Stretching will help bring more support to tense parts of the body and assist in relaxation for stress management. Talking to someone about whatever stressors you are facing, praying, yoga, and meditation are all other ways to further help in day-to-day stress management. Stress outside of training will no doubt come into our lives. Knowing when to lighten up training is incredibly important as is knowing how to control how much you let outside stress affect you and your training. If you begin to regularly feel fatigued, your mood seems to be off, you feel stressors weighing you down, and your training numbers aren’t where you feel they should be, it is probably time to get some rest or improve how you manage stress.

 

Nutrition

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) finds that physical activity, athletic performance, and recovery from exercise can all be improved with optimal nutrition. What you eat and how much of it is a signal to your body whether it should be building or breaking down. If you are not consuming enough to promote an anabolic effect after your training, it will be hard to make any positive changes. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends that athletes consume between 45 to 80 kcal/kg/day. For an 80kg male (176 lbs) this turns out to be 3600 kcals to 6400 kcals. Most athletes eat less than they should in relation to their workloads. A study that measured the macronutrient intakes of off-season collegiate powerlifters found that every single athlete involved failed to meet the ISSN’s recommendations for calories, protein, or carbohydrates. It is very common for athletes to undereat. Because of this, many unfortunately face the consequences of inadequate recovery and reduced performance.

 

An essential macronutrient for recovery is protein. Intense training will cause significant muscle damage and soreness that must be repaired. Protein is our muscular building block, heavily influencing the recovery of our muscle fibers. Both the quantity and quality of our protein matter. Dietary protein provides amino acids that assist in the synthesis of muscle protein. There are nine amino acids that cannot be naturally produced by the human body thus they are considered to be “essential”. These “essential” amino acids must come from our diets. The quality of the protein you’re eating is determined by the number of essential amino acids that are found within them. When a food contains all nine essential amino acids at sufficient levels it is considered “complete”. Animal proteins such as meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy are all “complete” proteins. Other foods such as quinoa, hempseed, soybeans, and buckwheat may also be considered “complete”. The net balance between muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown will impact our anabolic (growth) and catabolic (breakdown) states. Each gram of protein amounts to 4 calories. Research recommends that 1.3 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram per day (g/kg/day) for strength and team sport athletes split into 3 to 4 different meals will optimize muscle protein synthesis. For an 80 kg (176 lbs) athlete, this could be between 104 to 144 grams of protein each day.

 

Carbohydrates are critical fuel for athletic success. The body breaks down carbohydrates that we consume and converts them into glucose that is stored. Glycogen is the stored form of glucose and the body's predominant source of energy during moderate to high-intensity physical exertion. It is what helps us recover from high-energy outputs and prepares us for our next bout. Without enough carbohydrates in a diet, athletes will lack glycogen stores and thus lack energy. We’ll become incapable of exerting high amounts of energy in training or competition, experience an energy deficit throughout our non-athletic activities, and become less able to fight off colds and flu that may also eventually keep us off the field. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that the majority of your carbohydrates should come from whole foods such as grains (ex. rice, oats, or quinoa), fruit, tubers (ex. potatoes or yams), root vegetables (carrots, beets, parsnips), beans, legumes, pasta, dairy, and freshly made bread. This guideline also recommends avoiding foods high in calories from added sugars such as candies, cake, soda, and many kinds of cereal. Each gram of carbohydrate amounts to 4 calories. Research recommends 4 to 7 g/kg/day of carbohydrates for athletes. For an 80 kg (176 lbs) athlete, this could be between 320 to 560 grams of carbohydrates each day. 

 

Dietary fat is a great source of energy to meet daily nutrition requirements. Each gram of fat accounts for 9 total calories. Fat is not only important for its high calories but it also plays many important roles throughout our body systems that help us perform better. A study conducted at the University of Worcester which was published in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has found that low-fat diets (<20% fat in total caloric intake) can decrease testosterone in men by 10-15%. Fat also helps provide energy at lower intensity levels and aids in the absorption of various vitamins and hormone production. There are various types of fats that can be consumed. Research recommends that monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids (ex. various types of nuts, cold-water fish such as salmon, flaxseeds, olive oil, and avocados) are better for consumption because they are more capable of boosting testosterone levels and assist in regulating inflammation while omega-6 polyunsaturated fats (mainly vegetable oils) may damage the cell’s ability to produce testosterone and will potentially increase inflammation, slowing down recovery from training. It is recommended that fat makes up 20-35% of the total caloric intake for athletes.

 

In his book, Peak, Dr. Marc Bubbs writes, “Your total energy intake is the greatest signal to your body to say “build.” Dr. Marc Bubbs points out that an important aspect of maintaining an energy intake that promotes growth rather than breakdown is adjusting your total caloric intake according to the intensity and demand of the activities you’re participating in. A study from Liverpool John Moores University that measured the energy intake and expenditure of English Premiere League (EPL) soccer players found that professional soccer players' caloric intake varies each day. The main shifts were between training days and match days. On training days, players averaged 2956 kcal while on game days they averaged 3789 kcal. These differences are apparent because exercise intensity during a competitive match or high-intensity practice is much higher than the intensity of a regular practice. Caloric intake must match this shift in intensity to ensure athletes will recover. Carbohydrate consumption had the most significant macronutrient intake variation, likely because of the significant connection between muscle glycogen availability and high-intensity performance. Both professional soccer and rugby athletes have been observed to increase carbohydrate intake by up to 5g/kg when getting closer to a competitive match. Maintaining a high work output over a long period of time (pre-season, in-season) will often lead to overtraining when total energy intake does not match the demands of training. Research found that athletes consuming even 8g/kg/day of carbohydrates couldn’t fully replenish glycogen stores in fast-twitch muscle fibers 48 hours after training. If athletes aren’t replenishing glycogen stores throughout the practice week this will have implications on their in-game performance, fatigue, the quality of their training, and ability to recover. Caloric intake does not need to stay within the binds of the listed recommendations above if a higher intake is needed for adequate recovery.

 

Making sure you are getting all the nutrients you need in your diet can be difficult. Step one would be to measure where your nutrition is at right now. Over the course of two to three days, record everything that you consume from serving sizes to macronutrients and vitamins. This will give you an average of your day-to-day intake. From here you can start to figure out if your diet is on the right track or if you’ll need to add some things to it. Finding a dietician who can help you center your diet around your training goals is highly recommended.

 

Sleep

Both total sleep time and sleep quality are related to various athletic qualities. Unfortunately, it is common for most to sleep less than they are recommended. In a recent study, it was found that 35% of adults in the United States sleep less than 7 hours each night and at least 15% of working adults sleep less than 5 hours each night. The less sleep we get, the worse the implications on our health, performance, and recovery. Surprisingly, sleep researchers have actually found that it is not absolutely necessary to get 8 hours of sleep per night depending on your situation. A study found that a sleep duration of 7-8 hours per night was most favorably associated with health among adults and older adults. Even so, still consider that some of us need to get more sleep than others but most of us are not getting it. Are you a young person with a developing body? You’ll need more sleep. Are you physically active throughout the day exercising, doing manual labor, or competing? You’ll need more sleep. Are you sick or dealing with injuries? You’ll need more sleep. The more energy we expend and the more we have a need to grow or recover, the more we’ll need sleep. For some extra information on how sleep affects you and how to improve your sleep check out this article here.

 

There are two main ways that poor sleep can negatively affect your training outcomes. The first is impaired hormone regulation. The second is cognitive function. 

 

Sleep plays an important role in hormone regulation. With relation to our training outcomes, its role in the hormone regulation of testosterone, growth hormone, and cortisol is especially important. Research has found that testosterone is critical for promoting muscle growth, bone density maintenance, strength, aerobic endurance, muscular power, and faster recovery from high-intensity exercise. A study from the University of Chicago found that when young, healthy men (average age of 24) were restricted to five or fewer hours of sleep each night their testosterone levels dropped by 10-15% in just one week. Testosterone levels naturally decline as we age, by losing sleep we may be speeding up the process. Sleep doctor Matthew Walker, in his book Why We Sleep, states that poor sleep may effectively “age” a man ten to fifteen years in terms of testosterone virility. Among the effects of testosterone listed above, those with low testosterone levels also report having difficulty concentrating, reduced confidence, increased fatigue, and a decreased mood: all qualities that are important on game day. 

 

Growth hormone, which heavily supports muscle development, bone development, metabolism, and cognitive function, and speeds up the healing process when we are injured, surges while we are sleeping. In adults, it has been found that nearly 75% of growth hormone is released during sleep. With a lack of sleep, we will be forfeiting a ton of potential recovery gains due to impaired growth hormone production. 

 

Cortisol is a hormone we typically associate with stress. It significantly impacts how well we can fall asleep because it is an alertness-boosting hormone. The more cortisol (the more stress) we have later in the day, the harder it will be to fall asleep. Studies have shown that with a loss of sleep, our cortisol levels will actually increase. Increased cortisol levels prompt the body to store more fat and use other soft tissue, like muscle, as energy. Rather than building muscle after training, we will be losing it if we let our cortisol levels get out of control. A study found that when participants on a similar calorie-restrictive diet tried to lose weight, the outcomes for the participants who attained more sleep (8.5 hours/night) showed greater overall weight loss and fat loss, and maintained more muscle mass, versus those who slept less (5.5 hours/night). High cortisol levels also result in a suppressed immune system making us more susceptible to colds, flu, and other contagious illnesses. Less sleep equals more cortisol. More cortisol equals more difficulty falling asleep which then equals even less sleep. An increase in cortisol has a slew of negative effects on our recovery which is more the reason why it must be managed with good sleep.

 

Sleep is critical for our cognitive function. Qualities such as attention, communication, reasoning, reaction times, and mood all take a hit when we lose sleep. A study found that basketball players who increased their average sleep time from 6.6 hours to 8.5 hours per night were rewarded with a 5% increase in speed, a 9% increase in free throw percentage, and a 9.2% increase in three-point shooting percentage. Dr. Cheri Mah of Stanford University, who was involved in the mentioned study, found even more improvements after extending total sleep time in athletes of various different sports. After extending sleep by at least an hour, football players’ speed, swimmers’ speed, and tennis players’ serving accuracy all increased. Without enough sleep, athletes become accustomed to training and performing below their highest standard. Studies have found that sleep time and quality in athletes can be a direct predictor of winning or losing in a competition. One study connected poor sleep quality as an independent predictor of losses in competition after assessing the sleep quality of over 500 elite male and female Brazilian athletes. Another study found that the two teams with the highest placement in a four-team netball tournament had significantly greater sleep duration and higher ratings of sleep quality than the other two bottom-ranked teams.

 

Our ability to learn new things and retain information are other cognitive training variables that will be affected due to lost sleep. A motor skill is a function that involves various movements of the body’s muscles to perform a certain task. Much of training and performance is centered around our ability to learn and execute various motor skills. Some of these skills could be our ability to squat, sprint, jump, throw, or swim. Learning begins with initial task acquisition, the introduction of new information to the brain. Then, consolidation, the process by which the memory of learned information becomes stable. Last, is recall, the ability to access the information after it has been stored. How well we execute the myriad of human movements involved in sports, lifting weights, and other physical activities rely on our ability to learn, retain, and recall the information needed to coordinate said movements. Studies have found that sleep is the cord that fastens our motor skills in place. Without enough sleep, athletes will fail to effectively execute or build upon the things they’ve previously learned in training, hampering potential performance gains.

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Recovery is a pivotal part of an athlete’s success. By properly managing your own recovery, you may see yourself reaching new heights in your performance.