The Ultimate Guide to Comprehensive Athlete Recovery Strategies
Recovery is one area that a lot of athletes tend to skip in their training.
Many athletes don't think about recovery because they are not injured, have busy schedules, or prefer to focus on intense workouts.
But you want to know what sets apart the average athletes from the elite ones? It’s their recovery practices and work ethic. They understand that you have to put forth effort in all aspects of their training, from nutrition to recovery to strengthening practices, to get maximum payoff.
As a physical therapist specializing in treating athletes, I’ve helped a lot of injured athletes or those who deal with the same injury repeatedly because their recovery practices aren’t quite up to par.
I’m sharing my top tips for elevating your recovery and unlocking your full performance potential on the field so you can learn how to recovery techniques for athletes to improve your athletic performance.
We’re covering the basics behind these important recovery strategies:
Muscle repair and recovery and myofascial release - foam rolling, massage gun
Nutrition
Hydration
Sleep and hours of sleep per night
Deep breathing and visualization
Muscle Recovery and Myofascial Release
Myofascial release is a term used to describe a technique that decreases tension in the muscle and fascia, the heavily innervated connective tissue that lies on top of the muscles and tendons.
Foam rolling and using a percussive device (aka your massage gun) are excellent ways to work on improving muscle recovery, increasing circulation, decreasing tension, and increasing tissue mobility. It’s like hitting a manual “reset” button on your body
Of course, you can go to a massage therapist or physical therapist every week, but most people don’t have the time for that. There’s a lot you can do at home in the meantime.
Myofascial tools to use at home:
foam roller
tennis ball
myofascial release ball
massage gun
Aim for completing your myofascial release mobility 3-6 days per week.
The following are a couple of my favorite foam rolling and massage gun routines.
My Favorite Foam Rolling Routine:
This 10-minute routine targets total body mobility and decreases muscle tightness. Just foam roll over each of the designated areas for 30 seconds on each side at a tolerable intensity and move onto the next one. I recommend using a timer to stay on track.
Quadriceps
Shins (just lateral to the shin bone on the meaty part of the muscle)
Calves (rotate foot pointing in and out while rolling)
Hamstrings (rotate knee/leg pointing in and out while rolling)
Glutes
Mid back (keep hips on the ground)
Lats (can use tennis ball instead)
Pecs (can use tennis ball instead)
Foot (can use tennis ball instead)
The Best Massage Gun Routines:
Upper body routine for athletes x 30-60 sec each area
Neck/upper traps
Pecs
Biceps
Triceps
Forearm front
Forearm back
Hands
Lower body routine for athletes x 30-60 sec each area
Quads
Hamstrings
Calves
Shins
Glutes
Sole of Foot
Side of low back
Yoga and stretching for recovery in elite athletes:
Yoga and stretching both target mobility of the muscles, tendons, and joints, so be sure to add it in a couple times per week. Choose routines or classes where you move through a full range of motion is a slow and controlled manner. Focus on your breathing and use props or modifications if needed to do the movements correctly.
Other options for recovery for athletes:
Epsom salt foot soaks or baths are one of my favorite recovery practices. It helps to soothe achy muscles and sore feet, decrease swelling, reduce cramping, and improves quality of sleep. The magnesium in the epsom salt is the key ingredient. Do this 1-3 times per week depending on the intensity of your training program and how you feel. Mix a cup of Epsom salt in warm water for a foot soak (or 2-3 cups for a bath) and soak feet for 20-30 minutes.
Active rest as a recovery technique
Active rest is a great thing to incorporate into your weekly routine as well. This isn’t a “do nothing” day, but there’s an emphasis on self care. Sitting on the couch all day isn’t necessarily the solution for optimal rest. But try going for a short walk, doing a yoga routine, or spend some extra time foam rolling or working on breathing and visualization. This allows your body to work harder the next day in training.
Hydration and water intake for athletic recovery
Let’s be honest, staying hydrated is difficult for a lot of athletes. You have to pay attention to your fluid intake, the quality of the fluids you drink, and it’s something you just can’t make up for at the last minute. The goal is to drink more water than anything else.
It doesn’t matter what type of water you drink, pick whatever you like to drink the most (bottled, alkaline, tap, filtered, etc) and go with it.
How much water do you need?
A great rule of thumb - drink half of your body weight (measured in pounds) in ounces of water per day, spread throughout the entire day (not all at once). You may need an additional 30 ounces of water for every hour of activity or exercise.
Ex. If you’re a 140 lb athlete, that means a minimum of 70 ounces of water
Add high-quality electrolytes (capsules, drink mixes) to your water daily because it will:
Optimize body chemistry
Allow muscles to function better
Reduce cramping
Make sure you replace energy drinks before practice with caffeinated options (ex. Nuun + caffeine)
Nutrition
When you’re eating to perform your best you need to make sure you’re putting premium fuel in the tank. Focus on high quality foods and drinks that make you feel good and support your training and performance goals. There’s so much more to this, we’re just barely scratching the surface.
Consulting with a sports nutritionist is a great place to start (if you haven’t met Liz at Cognition Nutrition, you should - she’s the best).
Proper nutrition is key to making athletes stronger and less resistant to injury. If you aren’t eating enough of the right foods or getting adequate calorie intake (keep reading for how to calculate), then you’re setting yourself up for injury. You can’t expect your body to perform at its best if you aren’t putting gas in the tank. The body responds best to high quality foods and healing is optimized.
Here’s some fast facts about basic nutrition for athletes:
Aim for 50% carbohydrates + 20-30% protein + 20-30% fats
You have to have carbs for brain and muscle health
Choose fresh vegetables, fruits, and proteins
Healthy protein sources: meat, poultry, beans, seeds, nuts
Don’t skip meals - 3 per day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) + snacks
Choosing the wrong foods and drinks to fuel with can have a detrimental effect on your performance. A lot of times I see athletes consuming too many foods that cause inflammation and contain empty calories. These foods lead to less healthy tissues, increase the risk of injury, and because you aren’t getting as many vitamins and minerals, can also contribute to muscle cramping. The truth is, you can’t out-work a poor diet.
Here’s a list of some of the foods and drinks to avoid if you want to perform at the top level:
Energy drinks
Soda
Fried foods
Candy
Game Day Nutrition and Fueling
Your game day routine is a major contributor to your energy levels, performance, and recovery. If your everyday nutrition is the long game, this is the short game. And it matters!
Follow these tips to ensure success:
Go with what you know - this isn’t the time to try something new!
Eat 1-1.5 hours before warm-ups
Bring a small snack and water with electrolytes to have 30 mins before the game
Reduce cramping, keep energy levels up
During the game - Water, electrolytes, and energy chews
After the game - have a water, recovery drink, meal, and magnesium
Body absorbs nutrients best within 1 hour of activity
Recovery drink like chocolate milk (something with 3:1 carbs:protein ratio)
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) for muscle recovery
Eat a meal or snack with good balance of carbs, protein, and fats
Find magnesium rich foods or supplements to decrease cramping, improve muscle soreness, improve sleep
Total Calorie Intake Calculation
Hope you don’t mind doing a little math! Here’s the equation and calculation that Liz from Cognition Nutrition (link) recommends to her athletes for a starting point with estimating calorie intake:
First we are going to find your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the absolute minimum number of calories you need to stay alive and functioning, using the basic Harris-Benedict formula:
MEN: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) + 5
WOMEN: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) – 161
Now let’s account for your activity level! Apply the appropriate intensity multiplier as follows to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) - and figure out what YOUR body needs:
Little to no exercise (sedentary and desk job) = BMR x 1.2
Light exercise (trains 1-3 days per week) = BMR x 1.375
Moderately active (trains 3-5 days per week) = BMR x 1.55
Very active (trains 6-7 days weekly) = BMR x 1.725
Extremely active (double-day training and intense physical job) = BMR x 1.9
EXAMPLE: Female, weight 135 lbs (61.2 kg), 5'3" (160.0 cm), 31 years old, and train 5 days/wk
BMR = (10*61.2) + (6.25*160) - (5*31) - 161 = 1296 calories
Total Calorie Intake = 1296*1.55 = 2008 calories per day
Sleep and recovery for athletes
Getting the right amount of sleep is absolutely essential to your recovery! In fact, if you don’t sleep, you can’t recover. You need a minimum of 7-8 hours of continuous sleep per night. Interrupted sleep doesn’t allow you to have complete sleep cycles, and when you aren’t able to get into deep sleep or REM (rapid eye movement) cycles, your body can’t repair itself.
Sleep helps to reset the nervous system and recharge the body. Build your own routine and include things you like to do, such as breathing, reading, visualization exercises, or mediation, to get started. Silence notifications on your phone to reduce temptation to pick it up and scroll (“do not disturb” mode exists for a reason).
While sleeping, your muscles repair, tissues heal, strength increases, and your nervous system recovers from your busy day. If you aren’t willing to work on getting enough quality sleep, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. You’re likely to be slower, weaker, and have more difficulty concentrating on the task at hand. So do yourself a favor and start working on getting enough sleep.
Deep Breathing and Visualization as recovery practices
Deep breathing is one of the best hacks we have as rehab professionals to downregulate your nervous system.
Deep, diaphragmatic breathing works to stimulate the vagus nerve and takes you out of “fight or flight” mode. Doing so allows for more optimal tissue recovery, decreased cortisol (a stress hormone) levels long term, and helps your body work more efficiently in sport mode. It helps to reset the brain and jumpstart recovery through activation of the entire nervous system for rest and tissue healing. It also helps improve mental focus.
Start with just 5 minutes per day and increase from there once you get more consistent with it. Use a guided breathing exercise or meditation routine from YouTube to try it out. Remember, it takes a little practice to feel comfortable and get the hang of a new routine.
Visualization is another way that you can incorporate deep breathing and take your performance to the next level. This is what to pros do. It helps to narrow your focus and improve your performance in your sport.
The 5-Minute Visualization for Beginners:
Pick your favorite pre-game pump-up song and turn it on
Sit or lay down with eyes closed
Start with deep breathing - in through the nose, out through the mouth
Decide the emotion you want to feel during the game (choose joy, calm, confident vs. nervous, anxious)
Visualize your game or race and channel that emotion
Actually yourself performing at your best - running fast, feeling great
If you want to know more about recovery techniques and why recovery is important for athletes, check out this blog.
If you're looking for guidance and recovery treatment, you can book a free discovery call to see how Game Changer can help you. We specialize in keeping athletes healthy and reducing their risk of injury and would love to help you.
