By Emma McIver,

Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, once said “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.” For the most part we seemed to have embraced the concept of moderation in terms of nutrition, but ignored it in terms of exercise. Commonly, individuals either exercise too little or too much, and those that do exercise too much are putting themselves at risk by not allowing their bodies to heal after exercise.

As research into healthy exercise practices progresses our understanding on how often we should exercise, has changed. More and more we are being told that over-exercising can do damage to our bodies. Data from a study conducted in 2014 compared the performance abilities of triathletes who exercised their regular amount, otherwise known as the control group, to triathletes who worked 30% harder than usual over a 6 week period (1). Both the control group and the test group performance abilities, sleeping habits were monitored, and they were required to fill out a health questionnaire every week (1). Half of the athletes who were over worked showed symptoms of being functionally overreached by having decreased levels of athletic performance (1). These overreached athletes also had less sleep and a higher susceptibility to upper respiratory infections (bacterial infections that cause cold symptoms) (1). The decreased levels of performance could be attributed to not giving their muscles the chance to repair. But why were decreased sleep and immunity found as well? Simply put, because the athletes’ bodies were working harder than usual to repair exhausted muscles, their equilibrium was put off balance, which in turn weakened their immune system and caused sleep problems (2). These symptoms tend to go hand-in-hand with overworked bodies; it is intuitive that people who are constantly over-stressed, sleep less and are more susceptible to illness.

The most important way to recover from exercise is rest (3). When we exercise, our bodies are being worked more than usual and thus need to recharge. Though sleep will help, giving your body structured rest days will help recovery even more. Ideally, athletes should take one rest day per week and one low intensity week every 8-12 weeks (3). A rest day can be anything from a low intensity workout, like a long walk or yoga, to a complete day off of exercise (3). The harder you exercise, the lower intensity your rest day should be.

Besides rest days, there are other methods that can help facilitate a “quick recovery”; for example, rehydration after exercise (2). A layperson may think that the best way to rehydrate after exercise would be to drink lots of water; however, drinking fluids high in carbohydrates and proteins not only replaces lost water, but also provides themselves with macromolecules needed to facilitate repair. A great fluid to consider drinking after exercise is chocolate milk. Evidence shows that athletes who drink chocolate milk after exercise have increased levels of protein synthesis in skeletal muscles compared to those who drink other carbohydrate heavy drinks like PowerAde or regular milk (4). An increased level of protein synthesis in skeletal muscles is an indicator that recovery is occurring. Besides rehydration, an athlete can also eat after exercise to replenish energy stores, stretch gently to avoid tightening of muscles, and sleep properly the night after a workout (2). Though these are labelled as “quick recovery” agents, it should be noted that these cannot replace time and rest, as your body still needs to undergo repair which cannot happen overnight.

To summarize, even though exercise is very important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it is also important to note that exercise takes a toll on our body, and recovery in the form of rest, replacing lost fluids and energy, as well as stretching are crucial in order to improve athletic performance and overall well-being.

 

 

 

 

References:

  1. Hausswirth, C., Louis, Ju., Aubry, A., Bonnet, G., Duffield, R., & Le Meur, Y. (2014) Evidence of disturbed sleep and increased illness in overreached endurance athletes.Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 46(5) 1036-1045
  2. Quinn, E. (2015, February 10th) 10 ways to speed recovery after exercise. About Health.Retrieved from: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/After-Exercise.html
  3. Laidle, S. (January 31st, 2014). How to recover from strenuous exercise. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
  4. Lunn, W. R., Pasiakos, S. M., Colletto, M. R., Karfonta, K. E., Carbone, J. W., Anderson,J. M., & Rodriguez, N. R. (2012). Chocolate milk and endurance recovery: protein balance, glycogen, and performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 44(4) (682-691).