Fast and complete recuperation are two of the most important elements of improving your athletic performance – especially if you run a hard training schedule. Faster recuperation means you don’t fall behind: you can fit more training sessions in, and you’re not out of commission for a week or two after a big event. More complete recuperation means your training sessions will be more productive: you’re body is stronger and more fully healed, ready to push harder. And if you can train harder and more often without suffering the negative consequences of over training, your performance will improve, along with your general well-being.

To understand how to improve athletic performance and recuperate faster and more completely, it helps to know what it is exactly your body needs to recuperate from after you exercise. The five main recuperation issues athletes face are:

• Repairing and limiting the effects of oxidative stress;
• Healing damaged muscles;
• Recovering from inflammation;
• Fortifying the immune system; and,
• Building back up energy.

While they are separated below for simplicity, in truth each of the problems facing an athlete are interrelated: for example, free radicals can cause inflammation and muscle damage, and inflammation is a response to muscle damage.

The Problem: Oxidative Stress

When you exercise, you produce more free radicals – harmful molecules that can damage cell function and muscle tissue, causing muscle loss and inflammation. Furthermore, high free radical levels can continue to damage your muscles even after you’ve stopped exercising, delaying recuperation time.

The Problem: Muscle Damage

When you exercise intensely, tiny tears appear in your muscle cell membranes – this is called cellular microtrauma, and basically means your muscle tissue becomes damaged. If your body doesn’t receive the nourishment it needs to repair your muscles, recuperation is delayed or remains incomplete.

The Problem: Inflammation

Inflammation occurs after intense exercise, and helps cause soreness, central nervous system fatigue, and a delay in the regeneration of muscle.

If inflammation isn’t properly treated and your body is subjected to repeated intense exercise, then you risk developing chronic inflammation, which can put you out of the game for a long period of time.

The Problem: Weakened Immune System

For several hours after you exercise intensely, your immune system is more vulnerable to attack than ever. This means an increased risk of getting sick, which can throw your training schedule out of whack for weeks.

The Problem: Lack of Energy

Recuperation and healing take energy, and as your body diverts its resources to repairing itself, you may experience an overall drop in daily energy.

Additionally, cellular wastes can build up and make you feel tired and irritable. These must be cleansed from your body for full recuperation.

Your Solutions

Oxidative Stress Relief:

The best way to counter oxidative stress is to take a natural supplement that provides anti-oxidants that will work to neutralize the damaging free radicals produced by exercise. Careful though, not all anti-oxidants are created equal.

For more information on oxidative stress relief.

Boost Your Immune System:

While adequate sleep and good nutrition will help boost your immune system in general, what you need is something to take right after exercising that will give your immune system immediate protection. For athletes, immunoglobulins (also called antibodies) are an ideal choice because they have a triple function: immunoglobulins are bioactive proteins, meaning that they provide both a source of quality amino acids to help repair muscles; are clinically proven to help your body fight against invading bacteria and viruses; and also promote a healthy inflammatory response.

For more information on boosting your immune system.

Promote a Healthy Inflammatory Response:

To reduce recuperation time, you need to fight the inflammatory cytokines that assemble in muscle tissue after exercise. TGF-ß is a potent anti-inflammatory peptide, and surprisingly perhaps, so is turmeric, a spice found in much Indian cooking.

For more information on how to promote a healthy inflammatory response.

Feed and Repair Your Muscles:

Your muscles need nourishment to rebuild and repair. This means finding a high-quality source of essential amino acids such as immunoglobulins which are also proven to increase the transport of amino acids into muscle cells throughout the body, reducing recuperation time. Egg albumin protein is also ideal, as it is a slow-release glycoprotein, providing your muscles with a steady source of highly recognizable essential amino acids. It also serves an important osmotic function, preventing the water in blood from moving into the interstitial fluid. Papain (from the papaya fruit) can also help with recuperation as it is a digestive enzyme that breaks protein down into amino acids that are easily assimilated into muscle tissue.

For more information on muscle repair.

Boost Your Energy Levels:

To get more energy for recuperation and performance, you need to recharge and cleanse your cells of metabolic wastes, allowing them to produce energy more efficiently. Drinking adequate water throughout your day helps to flush out the wastes, but can be insufficient on its own. Calcium D-glucarate helps the liver to detoxify the blood of impurities, including waste products produced during exercise. Cell function can also be enhanced by other means (this should link to article on cellular energy).

For more information on boosting your energy levels.

Other Tips to Speed Post-Workout Recuperation:

Get your sleep: your body repairs itself when you sleep, so get a good night ’s rest.
Drink enough water: water helps your cells cleanse themselves.
Always cool down for at least 10 minutes immediately after exercise, and stretch.
Replace depleted fluid, protein and glycogen stores within ½ an hour of training.

References

1. Dwivedi C, Heck WJ, Downie AA, et al. Effect of calcium glucarate on beta-glucuronidase activity and glucarate content of certain vegetables and fruits. Biochem Med Metab Biol 1990;43:83–92.

2. Tarnopolsky, M.A., Bosman, M., MacDonald, J.R., Vandeputte, D., Martin, J., & Roy, B.D. (1997). Post exercise protein-carbohydrate and carbohydrate supplements increase muscle glycogen in men and women. Journal of Applied Physiology, 83, 1877-1883

3. van Loon, L.J., Saris, W.H., Kruijshoop, M., & Wagenmakers, A.J. (2000).
Maximizing postexercise muscle glycogen synthesis: carbohydrate supplementation and the application of amino acid or protein hydrolysate mixtures. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72, 106-111.

4. Nieman DC. (2000) Is infection risk linked to exercise workload? Med Sci Sports Exerc 32: S406 –S411, 2000.

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