6 Essential Recovery Tips To Boost Your Running Performance
It's running month here at LOR Physical Therapy! And with the Olympics occupying our heads and homes over the next 2 weeks, it's a good chance to talk about optimizing human performance.
The journey to becoming a better runner involves more than just working harder for longer. These days, you also have to train smarter. And one of the most underrated aspects of smarter running involves what happens once you've finished running. Athletic recovery is now a multi-million dollar industry, yet it still doesn't get the attention it deserves.
Optimizing your post-running recovery can seriously improve your running performance and make those running gains more robust. We sometimes forget that improvements don't come while we're running, they only materialize with sufficient recovery. In essence, the path to better running actually leads us down the recovery path far more than we realize.
So with that in mind, here are 6 essential recovery tips to give your running performance a serious boost.
Active Cool Down
Once you've finished running do anything but sit down. One of the best and easiest things you can do is to keep moving. An active cool-down affords the body a much smoother transition to its recovery processes. It allows us to flush out any accumulated waste and congestion and decrease the risk of next-day muscle soreness.
At the very least keep moving until you feel your breathing rate and heart rate have returned to a more normal baseline. Your future self will thank you!
Deep Breathing
The ease and simplicity of deep breathing can sometimes distract from how beneficial it can be for post-run recovery. Conscious hyper-oxygenation of your system will help decrease the amount of time you spend in Oxygen Debt. This is the period of time post-run when your body requires increased oxygen to metabolize lactic acid and restore energy systems.
The more oxygen you can give your body at this time the faster you can move through it and on to the rest of your recovery.
Interestingly, slow, controlled deep breathing is also a fantastic way to help down-regulated a heightened nervous system post-run. Optimal sleep and recovery require a more parasympathetic state and conscious deep breathing can greatly influence this.
Avoid Ice
Despite its popularity, seriously consider avoiding ice for healing and recovery. For decades we've used ice to help limit swelling, pain, and inflammation. We've done so with the expectation that it speeds up the healing and recovery processes. Interestingly, we are now realizing that ice may actually slow down these responses rather than speed them up. The idea centers around the fact that pain, swelling, and inflammation are normal and a much-needed part of optimal healing and recovery. So we don't really want to impede them, just do whatever we can to help the body do what's it's already trying to.
For more information on why we shouldn't be icing, have a read of our ice-specific article here!
Having said that, ice baths still have much to offer in the recovery space - just not in the traditional way. Ice baths are great at down-regulating a heightened nervous system which is needed for optimal recovery. We just don't want to have one too close to your last run in case it impedes those running gains. Aim for an ice bath or cold shower early the next day for optimal results.
Passive Recovery Devices
We know an active cool-down is ideal to help optimize the initial stages of the recovery process post-run. But sometimes it's hard to be as active as we need to in between runs to allow for our tissues to de-congest properly. This is where passive devices like the Normatec and Marc Pro can be brilliant.
The devices can thoroughly de-congest your tissue while you're at your desk or on the couch - the Normatec through pneumatic compression and the Marc Pro via muscle stimulation.
If you'd like to take your post-running recovery to the next level with the Normatec device, come in and utilize our LOR Recovery Lab! You'll see how powerful the Normatec device can be!
Nutrition and Hydration
Any post-run recovery program is incomplete without turning your attention to re-fuelling and re-hydrating your body. An area that most can improve upon is prioritizing real food and drink over-processed foods and sports/energy drinks.
The important idea here is that your nutrition and hydration needs are going to be specific to you. So, it's important to have a professional in your corner to both assess your individual physiological and athletic needs and develop an appropriate plan to support them.
Thankfully, we are fortunate to have Melissa of Total Nutrition Counselling on our team! Melissa is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a Certified Specialty in Sports Dietetics/Nutrition (CSSD) with a masters in public health (MPH), so she knows her stuff. Allow Mel to help craft the perfect plan to optimize your running recovery and performance.
Have a Good Massage
This one's generally a no-brainer. A good massage is another tool to utilize when trying to recover post-run. As another passive recovery technique, massage can help de-congest tissue, flush out waste, down-regulate a heightened nervous system, and keep those tissues supple.
If you don't have a spare pair of hands or the money to pay for frequent massages, reach for a tennis ball or foam roller instead. This can be a great substitute and something you can do while watching TV before bed.
If you'd prefer a more professional touch, consider coming in and having a session with one of our lovely massage therapists - Gina or Therry.
At the end of the day, a good recovery program will allow you to keep doing what you love, for longer, and with less risk of injury. And if you'd like a little help with either your running technique or recovery options, don't hesitate to come in a speak to one of our skilled Physical Therapists or support staff.
Take part in our Recovery Lab or have your running analyzed in detail with our state-of-the-art video analysis technology.
Call us on (949) 443 5442 for more information!