TRAINING & RECOVERY for elite athletes

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

Karel PARDAENS, PhD

Bloemfontein, 03-10-2009

03-10-2009 1

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?

2 03-10-2009

Supercompensation: the most fundamental training principle (Busso et al 2002)

Training (session or period) 3

Homeostasis

Supercompensation REST EFFORT Fatigue Muscle damage Metabolic acidosis Muscle cramps Pain ‘RECOVERY’ 03-10-2009

Supercompensation: the most fundamental training principle (Busso et al 2002)

Training 4 Supercompensation ‘RECOVERY’ 03-10-2009

‘Homeostasis’

EFFORT (EXERCISE) REST (RECOVERY) 5 03-10-2009

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?

6 03-10-2009

Fatigue “Common to everyone, a mystery to science”

7 03-10-2009

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’

10 03-10-2009

Long-term recovery

1 •

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

11 03-10-2009

•

Long-term recovery

2

Periodisation

= dividing training process into periods & mesocycles -

preparation period, competition period, transition perio

d -

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

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Long-term recovery

3 (Fry et al 1992)

13 03-10-2009

Note:

Overtraining vs. overreaching !

• • •

Long-term recovery

4

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 recovery

5

15 03-10-2009

Datum of periode 16

Short-term recovery

1 •

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

↔

elite

athletes !

subjects 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

indentified” (p.786) decrements have yet to be • 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?)

17 03-10-2009

When talking about ‘recovery’…

18

Recovery of performance (

clinical

)

vs

. Recovery of underlying parameters (

subclinical

)

e.g. blood lactate, CKs,…

03-10-2009

Short-term recovery

2

: 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 recovery

3

: 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 exercise

e.g.

walking day after a marathon

03-10-2009 21

Short-term recovery

4

: cryotherapy

• • I.e.

cold water immersion

Might

be appropriate

after

activities that cause some level of

traumatic injury

e.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) (Busso 2003)

03-10-2009 22

Short-term recovery

5

: contrast T° water immersion

• • i.e.

alternating

immersion in warm-to-hot and cold water

Might

enhance post-match clearance (study in rugby)

CK

•

However

: mechanism=

???

• Popular

but

probably no effect on

performance

after 4h

23 03-10-2009

Short-term recovery

6

: 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 recovery

7

: 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 recovery

8

: compression garments

•

3 varieties

: 1) for prevention/treatment of deep vein thrombosis 2) sleeves worn over limbs/joints to provide support or reduce swelling 3) 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)

26 03-10-2009

Short-term recovery

9

: stretching

• 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

03-10-2009 27

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 - Mg 2+ - 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 recovery

10

: 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

29 03-10-2009

Short-term recovery

11

: 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 recovery

12

:

rehydration & glycogen resynthesis • 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

!

03-10-2009 31

NOTE

: antioxidant supplementation

• • 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)

03-10-2009 32

To conclude…

1 • The most effective recovery ‘method’ is: 1) eating NSAIDs like candy 2) sleeping 10 hrs a day 3) a relative rest period 4) a massage by a beautiful masseuse 5) chatting on Facebook 6) 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 disappear 2) the interest in training arises 3) blood lactate levels fall to zero 4) fasciculations appear 5) the coach says so 6) DOMS no longer exists

03-10-2009 34