Posted on February 12, 2015 by Jenny Cromack

One of the most common questions we are asked as personal trainers is, “what is the best way to recover between workouts”. There is definitely no straight forward answer to this as it all depends on the type of training you’ve done, the phase of training, the intensity, the protocol you’re working on and your training age.

Let me give you an example, a runner that has completed a 6 mile steady state run 65s/ mile below race pace, simply has to refuel their glycogen stores, replace some of the electrolytes, consume a small amount of protein to help stimulate protein synthesis and bam they are good to go again tomorrow.

However, compare this to a runner who completes a negative hill session, this means they sprints down the hill and walks back up,  the runner can forget running efficiently for the next 2-3 days, maybe more if they’re in poor condition. Training in this manner causes massive eccentric contractions, which in the world of training means one thing…. DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). Recovery from this session, requires repair of the torn muscles, the ligaments need time to recover, the nervous system will be stressed, not to mention replacing the fuel sources. How can you aid this recovery, well in reality for the majority of individuals not a lot, sleep, good nutrition and effective timing of these two variables is a good start.

Keeping on the the topic of DOMS I would like to dispel a massive myth, just because you can’t feel muscle soreness doesn’t mean you’re fully recovered. The best way I can demonstrate this to you is a 1 rep max will cause very little in the way of DOMS, 1 rep at a maximum weight will in fact cause significantly less than 15 reps at 70% 1RM, however you’re more likely to be able to repeat the 15 reps the following day with DOMS than have any chance of getting close to your 1RM the next day. There are also other factors at play.

So, whilst I have said recovery depends on the session done and each individual. Here are some tips to help you recover between workouts.

• If you have an opportunity to sleep, take it. Aim for 6-8 hours a night as a minimum
• Get your nutrition in following a workout as quick as possible, this means quick carbs and fast releasing protein.
• Try and avoid alcohol on training days, this will delay recovery.
• Get back in the gym the day after, work through the same movement patterns using mainly concentric contractions, it is possible to perform lower body movements such as the squat daily once you become accustomed it.
• Ensure you stay hydrated, water, water, water