How to recover quickly after Ultimate Tri Camp
How to recover quickly after Ultimate Tri Camp
I have athletes that don’t fully understand the benefit of tapering for a race. They show up on race day feeling flat and tired and wonder why they don’t get that podium or personal best.
It’s definitely a skill to be able to tune into your body and feel if you are recovered from training or not. There are so many tools these days that you can track your training and use an APP to tell you if you should train hard or you need to recover. I use Garmin, HRV, Training Peaks to help my athletes gauge their level of fatigue but there is an inner knowing as well.
I believe in just asking your body and you usually get the correct answer. But will your ego allow you to rest? That is the question. So, I say experiment with different amounts of easy/recovery days after blocks of training days and find your own sweet spot. If you need to recover in a hurry these suggestions below work great!
Other things to consider about your recovery/taper leading up to a race. Is it short course or long? Is it an A, B or C race? “A” priority races definitely require a bigger longer recovery leading into them, if you want to have that peak performance. “C” races can be trained right through.
How many days you take is individual to you and your circumstance.
As a rule, the longer the race, the longer the taper.
- Ironman taper can be from 2-3 weeks
- 70.3 can be 7-14 days
- Olympic distance 5-7 days and a
- Sprint 3-5 days.
Some athletes need more or less depending on age and experience level.
With all that being said, if you need to get recovered fast, here are my top recovery recommendations and tools.
Sleep: Did you see that article about how much sleep Roger Federer gets a day? 12 hours!
Studies show sleep is the absolute best, legal ergogenic aid out there. My minimum RX for fast recovery is 8 hours, but 9-10 would be better for 2-3 days minimum. You will feel like a kid again with tons of energy after you get this much sleep.
Do some Working IN (my definition of building energy instead of depleting it). Examples of working in are taking a restorative yoga or Tai chi class. Don’t have that much time? Take 10-20 minutes and walk barefoot or simply lay on the earth, on the grass or the sand on a beach. Get in the ocean, lake or even a pool and just float around (not training). Meditate. Practice silence and listen to nature.
Breath Work – 1, 3, 5 or 10-20 minutes of just sitting or laying and breathing. If you type in ” Breath Work” into YouTube search there are a ton of videos teaching you how to breathe to improve energy. Try one. or check out Wim Hof – The Ice Man and follow his breathing techniques on Youtube.
Ice Bath- This can be uncomfortable but works sooooo well and is so worth it. As little as 2 minutes a few times a week combined with above breath work and meditation is like magic for resetting your nervous system and actually proving effectiveness against anxiety and depression! Even a 1 minute cold shower can stimulate the nervous system in a positive way. Check out my video here-on my Wim Hof Ice Bath Experience
(I am so excited to have just taken my first Wim Hoff Breath class and will be including his breath work and ice baths at my 2020 Ultimate Tri Camp!
Check out the breath work Video Here).
Massage – Getting a deep tissue massage every, or every other week can really help your muscles stay supple and recover quickly.
Contact Jeff Lindsay, he’s an FC favorite!
305-720-7920 / For a soothing or invigorating in-house massage.
Compression Socks – After a training session massage and an ice bath put on your compression wear for improved circulation and ultimately faster recovery.
Normatec or E Relax – or any other brand of segmented compression can improve circulation and help you recover quickly
Hyperice Hypervolt, Theragun Vibration Therapy or Marc Pro and Compex can all be helpful modalities to help your muscled recover quickly and of course there is good old fashion
If you are interested in learning more about Full Circle Coaching, call/text us at 786-586-6057 today or click this link to schedule a complimentary triathlon strategy call: http://www.scheduleyou.in/5ZIsVaU
Erinne Guthrie is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach since 1999 and Chief Motivating Officer at Full Circle Coaching, LLC since 2010. She has been training, racing and coaching triathletes since 1997. She is also a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 3, USMS Master’s Swim Coach, Motivational Speaker, Metabolic Efficiency Specialist, Mom and much much more.