03-10-2009

1

TRAINING & RECOVERY

for elite athletes

Illus(trat)ions of the quest to speed up nature

Karel PARDAENS, PhD

Bloemfontein, 03-10-2009

TRAINING & RECOVERY• PART 1. Recovery: what’s in a name?• PART 2. Long-term recovery

- periodisation- relative rest periods- absolute rest periods

• PART 3. Short-term recovery- modalities - sleep

• PART 4. Concluding remarks: is it possible to expedite a natural process other than with rest?

03-10-2009

2

Supercompensation: the most fundamental training principle

03-10-2009

3

Training (session or period)

‘RECOVERY’

Supercompensation

Homeostasis

EFFORT

REST

(Busso et al 2002)

FatigueMuscle damage

Metabolic acidosisMuscle cramps

Pain

Supercompensation: the most fundamental training principle

03-10-2009

4

Training

‘RECOVERY’

Supercompensation

(Busso et al 2002)

‘Homeostasis’

03-10-2009

5

EFFORT (EXERCISE)

REST (RECOVERY)

Supercompensation: the most fundamental training principle• Most fundamental, but most difficult to

quantify !!

• ‘Sport is an art’

• Fatigue, pain, muscle soreness, thirst, hunger,… at the end of exercise: - how far do you need to go?- when is the time for another training session?- how much time for tapering-off?- when will the athlete be at its best?

03-10-2009

6

Fatigue

“Common to everyone, a mystery to science”

03-10-2009

7

Fatigue: what’s in a name?

• Central vs. peripheral fatigue• General vs. local fatigue:

- decline of overall performance- decline of a certain system’s function:

- cardiorespiratory system- neurological system (peripheral nerves, CNS, ANS)- endocrinological system (hormonal) - metabolic system (substrate availability)- gastrointestinal system (e.g. stomach problems)- musculoskeletal system (muscle damage, soreness,

…)03-10-2009

8

Muscular ‘fatigue’• Metabolic acidosis

• Lactate accumulation

• (Mechanical) muscular damage (CKs)

• Cytokine production

• Oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species, ROS)

• Release of ‘heat-shock proteins’ (HSP)

• Delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS)

03-10-2009

9

Fatigue & Recovery• ‘Recovery’

= much more than ‘recovery from muscular fatigue’!

• Cfr. all bodily systems

• Cfr. chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), overtraining syndrome (OTS): ‘fatigue’ can ‘accumulate’!

• Distinction (for the purpose of this presentation): → ‘chronic fatigue’ vs. ‘acute fatigue’→ ‘long-term recovery’ vs. ‘short-term recovery’

03-10-2009

10

Long-term recovery1 • Empirical necessity (cfr. performance declines / ameliorates)

cfr. nature, e.g. seasons (relative) rest periods are bio-logical

• All biological beings are subject to diurnal and circannual variation

• Impossible to be ‘in shape’ whole year long

03-10-2009

11

Long-term recovery2

• Periodisation = dividing training process into periods & mesocycles

- preparation period, competition period, transition period- mesocycles of 2-6 weeks, incl.:

(1) a load & rest phase (physical training)(2) a certain training ‘content’

= variation of the training frequency & intensity & time (volume) (F.I.T.) over the year

= (relative) rest of (a part of) the body

= variation of the physical demand by manipulating:- the (physical) F.I.T.-variables- the technical skills training - the tactical training

03-10-2009

12

Long-term recovery3

03-10-2009

13

Note: Overtraining vs. overreaching !

(Fry et al 1992)

Long-term recovery4

• Relative rest period =- stress other metabolic systems (e.g. aerobic vs. anaerobic // FT- vs. ST-fibers) (e.g. resistance training for a cyclist)- stress other muscles (e.g. tennis for a soccer player)- other coördination (e.g. MTB for a skater)- less stress on the body (training less & less intensive)(e.g. swimming 3 x/wk instead of 2 x/day)

• Absolute rest period = no sport activities

• Mental & physical:‘recharging batteries’

14

Long-term recovery5

03-10-2009

15

Datum of periode

16

Short-term recovery1

• Barnett A, Using recovery modalities between training sessions in elite athletes: does it help?, Sports Med 36: 781-796: 2006

• Most studies are based on (almost) untrained subjects↔ elite athletes !e.g. ‘repeated-bout effect’: prior training attenuates DOMS, muscle injury (CK), and loss of strength up to 6 (!!) months later

• “Biochemical, physiological or immunological markers that consistently detect an imbalance between training and recovery resulting in future performance decrements have yet to be indentified” (p.786)

• Main question = “is any the modalities more effective than rest?”(by enabling to tolerate greater training loads, or by augmenting the performance-enhancing effect of training at a given load?)

03-10-2009

17

When talking about ‘recovery’…

Recovery of performance(clinical)

vs. Recovery of underlying parameters

(subclinical)e.g. blood lactate, CKs,…

03-10-2009

18

Short-term recovery2: massage• According to studies:

- no effect on muscle blood flow- no effect on blood lactate removal- no effect on muscle strength recovery- slight effect on DOMS sensation → risk of overdoing !

• May even cause further trauma (upon tissue damage from exercise)

• Massage sessions may have important mental effects (cfr. e.g. cyclists during TdF)

03-10-2009

19

Short-term recovery3: active recovery• I.e. ‘cool-down’

• Well-established effect on blood lactate removal (cfr. ‘lactate shuttle’)

• HOWEVER: lactate is not a valid indicator of recovery quality !

• Might reduce muscle damage (cfr. CKs)

• No significant effect on performance after 4h

• May even be detrimental to rapid glycogen resynthesis

03-10-2009

20

NOTE: ‘regeneration training’• Bodybuilders: “feeder

workouts” (Croskery 1995)

• Very light AND very short training sessions may promote recovery from heavy training sessions→ cfr. hormonal response to exercisee.g. walking day after a marathon

03-10-2009

<Niveau> <Sporttak> <Discipline> <Module> <Vak> 21

Short-term recovery4: cryotherapy• I.e. cold water immersion

• Might be appropriate after activities that cause some level of traumatic injurye.g. team contact sports or martial arts

• However: only analgesic effect, no effect on DOMS

• Most recent research: “probably negative effects on training adaptation”(suppression of supercompensation)

03-10-2009

22

(Busso 2003)

Short-term recovery5: contrast T° water immersion• i.e. alternating immersion in

warm-to-hot and cold water

• Might enhance post-match CK clearance (study in rugby)

• However: mechanism=???

• Popular but probably no effect on performance after 4h

03-10-2009

23

Short-term recovery6: hyperbaric oxygen therapy• i.e. exposure to whole-body

pressure >1 atmosphere while breathing 100% oxygen

• Might increase rate of recovery from soft tissue injury by several mechanisms

• However: no (consistent) results both with regard to tissue injury markers and to performance measures

• Additional barriers:- cost of equipment & qualified personnel- risk of oxygen toxicity

03-10-2009

24

Short-term recovery7: NSAID• NSAID

= non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

• Inhibiting cyclo-oxygenase (COX) , enzyme involved in synthesis of prostaglandins, modulators of inflammation

• Bio-logical role of inflammation in muscle repair !!!!!!!

• Use of NSAIDs over extended periods might have detrimental effect on adaptation to training !!

03-10-2009

25

Short-term recovery8: compression garments• 3 varieties:

1) for prevention/treatment of deep vein thrombosis2) sleeves worn over limbs/joints to provide support or reduce swelling3) elastic tights and tops worn as exercise clothing

• Very popular

• Mechanisms:- recovery blood lactate removal- less increase in plasma CK- decreased perceived soreness- reduced swelling- faster recovery of force production

• However: no evidence of improved recovery on performance to date!(cfr. also Duffield et al 2008 & 2009, Davies et al 2009)

03-10-2009

26

Short-term recovery9: stretching

03-10-2009

27

• Possible functions:1) increase ROM around joints: +(by various modes of stretching) (Mahieu et al 2007)

2) performance-enhancing effect: +/-(dependent on mode of exercise & stretching) (e.g. Kokkonen et al 2007: +)

3) injury prevention: ?/+ (Woods et al 2007: +)

4) facilitating recovery: ?/-• Possible mechanism: dispersion of oedema?

may not be a desirable goal! also no preventative effect on DOMS (Herbert & de Noronha 2007)

• Conclusion: no apparent short- or long-term benefit from stretching as a recovery modality

NOTE: muscle cramps & fasciculations• I.e. unvoluntary contractions of (part of) the muscle• Fasciculations: may be a sign of recovery• In those times: muscles more prone to cramps• Muscle cramps:

- associated with (physical) fatigue - additional influence of:

- training status- caffeine- Mg2+

- mental stress - sleep

• Balance stress/recovery !→ AND: both stress and recovery: determined by body and mind

• TRAINING = continuous search for an optimal equilibrium

03-10-2009

28

Short-term recovery10: electromyostimulation• involves transmission of

electrical impulses via surface electrodes to peripherally stimulated motor neurons eliciting muscular contractions

• Mechanism: increased blood flow → ‘muscle pump effect’ → enhance tissue repair

• Few studies: no improvement of recovery process

03-10-2009

29

Short-term recovery11: sleep• Most explicit mode of rest

• Better than e.g. shopping !“A good athlete is a lazy one”

• Better than e.g. watching TV?Cfr. neurogenesis during sleep

• Practice of elite/professional athletes (whether or not on training camp): - napping during afternoon- extensive nighttime sleep (cfr. study in Belgian female elite runners)

03-10-2009

30

Short-term recovery12: rehydration & glycogen resynthesis

03-10-2009

31

• If appropriate volume & sodium content → fluid balance & plasma volume can be restored <4 hrs

• Unlikely that currently used recovery modalities would compromise rehydration

• Rapid glycogen resynthesis: especially important if >1 training sessions/day !

• CHO stores can be restored <24 hrs ↔ between sessions

• 1.2 g/kg/hr at regular intervals up to 5 hrs post-exercise !

NOTE: antioxidant supplementation

03-10-2009

<Niveau> <Sporttak> <Discipline> <Module> <Vak> 32

• Unaccostumed (eccentric) exercise → inflammatory response → ROS (free radical production) → oxidative stress upon tissue → secondary damage

• NB: exact nature of relationship between ROS production, exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) & soreness is unclear

• “Vitamin C & E (as well as HMB & proteins) before & after exercise appears to provide a prophylactic effect in reducing EIMD” (Howatson & van Someren 2008)

• “Effects are only exhibited when nutritional status is deficient. There are no convincing effects of supplementation in well-trained athletes.” (Margaritis & Rousseau 2008)

To conclude…1

• The most effective recovery ‘method’ is:1) eating NSAIDs like candy2) sleeping 10 hrs a day3) a relative rest period4) a massage by a beautiful masseuse5) chatting on Facebook6) going on holiday for 3 weeks without sports equipment

03-10-2009

33

To conclude…2

• You know that recovery is complete when:1) muscle cramps disappear2) the interest in training arises3) blood lactate levels fall to zero4) fasciculations appear5) the coach says so6) DOMS no longer exists

03-10-2009

34