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FIT TO PLAY - SMART RECOVERY GUIDELINES
With present day pressures of work, school and family it is difficult if not impossible to
ensure proper recovery between training or playing sessions. Being smart about your
training and recovery means recognizing non-adaptive responses to training such as
prolonged fatigue, elevated resting heart rate, sleep disturbances, pain and inflammation
in any joints or muscles. Some people work out or play even when they are sick and
sometimes they do too much, too fast, too hard and too soon risking problems associated
with over-training or overuse injuries.
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Respect the warning signs your body is sending you. Common
sense should always prevail.
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Recovery:
Is a generic term used specifically with reference to the restoration of the physiological
systems and regeneration of psychological parameters that have been altered during
activity.
Rehabilitation:
Refers to recovery from illness or injury which may or may not be the result of
over-training but utilizes recovery techniques.
Recovery sessions must be incorporated into sports specific training programs. The benefits
of structured recovery sessions are well documented both in terms of improved performance
and decreased injury rates. Coaches and athletes alike need to be more aware of the
importance of restoration and regeneration following heavy workloads and how to use the
equipment, facilities and modalities available to facilitate recovery.
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Your responsibility as an athlete is to minimize the effort it
takes to recover.
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Do not commence heavy training until you have fully recovered from previous training,
competition or travel. Allow adequate time for recovery, and modify training to optimize
taper and peak if getting ready for an important competition. Following are some practical
tips to help keep you Fit to Play.
Re-Hydrate
Drink plenty of water or clear fluid. Try clear juice or sports drinks cut with water, the
minimum is - 1 liter per hour's training. The goal is to have clear urine. The harder,
higher and hotter conditions you train or play in, the more you need to drink.
Pre-hydration and immediate re-hydration are key since once you become de-hydrated it may
take 24 hours to top up your tank and that means 24 hours of potentially impaired training
or playing.
Re-Fuel
Ensure that adequate nutrition (carbohydrate fuel) gets back into the muscles as soon as
you can post-training. Try eating 50-70 grams of carbohydrates within 20-30 minutes
post-match or of stopping training. You can get this by eating a small potato, 1/2 cup
raisins, cereal (1/2 cup raisin bran or other cereal) and milk (1 cup) or a variety of
Sports Drinks or Sports Bars if available. Be sure to check the label. Slower carbohydrates
are best and even better if mixed with a little protein (30 %).
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CONTINUE 
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