The most dedicated athletes are often the ones who spend the most time on the track, in the weight room or doing drills after practice. They take everything into account: their form, breathing and their technical skills. Yet all of that happens when they are in practice. What many athletes do not know is that the most critical step-ups in their performance often occur when they are at home. Recovering properly is a key step to avoiding perilous injuries, actually feeling the gains of practices and keeping the body ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Recovery can be loosely fitted into two categories: regular recovery and injury recovery. Regular recovery is the first step in preventing injuries and is critical for everyday performance.
Oak Park High School senior and varsity cross country runner Michelle Vu put it best:
“Recovery is just as important as the effort you put into practice,” Vu said. “Putting in those extra steps to take care of yourself ensures that you are building instead of breaking.”
One workout nearly all athletes do from time to time is weightlifting. They spend hours in the gym looking for muscle gains, but without proper recovery, they won’t be seeing much. When someone lifts weights, they create microscopic tears in their muscles, which is a normal part of muscle growth. However, without proper recovery, these tears never heal. Healed tears result in larger, more conditioned muscles, whereas tears that aren’t properly suited to by recovery result in larger, more dangerous injuries.
The same can be said for many different types of exercise. Consistent exertion will result in muscle tears that can prove to be dangerous down the line if they aren’t properly treated. That being said, how can an athlete actually properly recover?
“For recovery, I make sure to get lots of sleep, as that is super important,” sophomore and varsity track athlete Malcolm Caughey said. “I hydrate a lot, eat a lot and also use a massage gun on my legs to help my muscles move along in their recovery.”
Caughey mentioned three important factors: sleep, hydration/nutrition and external factors. Sleep is probably the most important of the three. Sleep is what actually gives your body an opportunity to recover from the earlier mentioned muscle tears. This is done during deep sleep, when the body releases Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, which is critical for tissue regeneration and overall healing. Sleep is also critical for energy levels, as it increases blood flow to muscles..
Maintaining proper nutrition is something every athlete needs, yet takes for granted. It seems easy enough, but consuming a high protein diet is something that takes serious thought and proper monitoring. On top of that, hydrating throughout the day is equally important for energy. Setting alarms or making meal plans can help for both of these things.
The final step in a basic recovery plan is trying alternative methods.
“Along with the massage gun, I use the foam roller pretty often,” Caughey said. “Something else I like to do to recover is alternate between heat and cold therapy.”
All of these things are especially important for varsity athletes who are consistently exerting themselves past a certain threshold. Still, every athlete should try to implement them in some way, as it will only help ease pains that pop up throughout the season. These pains, especially if consistent, shouldn’t be ignored. They are the first sign that a serious injury is about to occur. Oftentimes, athletes wait way too long to act on their injuries, leading to severe consequences. Dr. Brett Darrington, the owner and founder of Dr. Brett’s Sports Therapy, has seen this all too often,
“Step one of handling an injury is proper identification and diagnosis of the injury,” Darrington said. “This requires communication between the athlete and their doctor. Most athletes ignore symptoms until it is too late and end up prolonging their injury.”
Acting early on an injury helps athletes reduce the time they are out for. However, even if an athlete does see symptoms too late, the best way to treat any basic injury is simple.
“Resting with very basic home protocols is good,” Darrington said. “Icing, heating, rolling and stretching—avoid stretching higher level strains—are all helpful.”
For more severe injuries, pursuing sports therapy is a great option.
“When an athlete decides to visit a clinic a therapist will first conduct a proper evaluation,” Darrington said. “The therapist then decides based on the severity and nature of the injury which modalities and therapies can be applied safely and in what order for optimal recovery.”
The message is clear to all athletes: If you get injured, there are always support systems around to help. However, the best way to avoid this and to ultimately boost performance is to recover just as vigorously as you workout.
