Recovery times

[Dave78]

Just out of interest, trained quite hard last night (Monday - BJJ and MMA Sparring 2.5hours) and if normal weeks are anything to go by, will not feel up to full strength again until Thursday! I can run today and tomorrow, but would not be able to lift weights or spar/roll effectively due to muscle ache and lots of aching/bruising. So i would say my recovery time is about 2-3 full days. I consider this slow recovery having spoken to others at my club (or are they just blagging to look 'ard)?!

What sort of recovery time do people experience?

What can i do to speed up my recovery time if anything?

[Bateman]

Phd do a Recovery drink thats pretty good, I do that with some other supplements which work and help speed things up.

[CraigSt.Clair]

Erm is your diet good mate?

Also Fish Oil will help with the aches I think :)

[DetoxGuru.com]

you could do a cold bath when you get home from training , hear this really helps, cant stand cold water tho :)

[CraigSt.Clair]

you could do a cold bath when you get home from training , hear this really helps, cant stand cold water tho :)

SHRINKAGE 10 cha

[MikeyL]

For me it depends on my diet, sleeping, patterns and how lazy I am with recovery stuff like streching, foam rolling, contrast showers etc

[CraigSt.Clair]

Do yas reckon that contrast showers/ice baths work? Sometimes its like 8 o'clock when I get in from training so can't be arsed lol. Also article in Fighting Fit this week said that they weren't that important :confused:

[Dave78]

I reckon my diet is pretty spot on (but who ever really knows?!). I eat balanced and supplement with protein and glutemine as well as mutli-vits etc. I actually had a really cold bath last night, so we'll see if it makes any odds, i gotta say though, i think aching was better than jumping in that cold bath and there may well have been some shrinkage lol

[Wiegieboard]

Sufficient Pre and post training nutrition as well as continuous good nutrition.

Muscular massage combined with flexibility sessions (foam rolling and deep tissue massage chair in my case)

Contrast showering or ice bath bathing.

Good rest during the day.

Sleeping plenty,

and reducing your general stress levels as to elevate your mood all work towards and often help to reduce recovery time.

I spent a lot of time working towards incorperating as many of these things as possible into my training and thus far, I've been making some of the best training gains in my life and have also been able to train more consistently than I have previously.
Granted I'm only training for fitness these days, but the gains have been continual and consistent for about a quarter of a year now. I've yet to have a session where I didn't progress.
P.S. My only suppliment is a multivitamin and greens at night before bed.
Have been thinking of incorporating protein supplimentation though.

[Bodyactive]

You need to use a recovery drink with a high ratio of fast release proteins and carbs within 30mins of finishing training. Theres loadsa choices but my favourite is Biorhythm Afterglow, it has everything your body needs to help recovery.

http://www.bodyactive-online.co.uk/Shopping/pdbiorhythm-afterglow.asp

If you dont want to splash the cash on recovery drinks eat 2-3 bananas after finishing and then try to follow that up with a good balanced meal as soon as you get home from training. Cold baths definately work but i could never do it!! Spend 10 mins warming down and stretching when finishing every training session. Try and drink green tea which is high in antioxidants throughout the day.

[Sledge]

Have you tried Arnica?? Get it in Boots or H&B. Help bruising recover quicker.

Also as said cod liver oil, high protein diet at regular intervals.

I find a combination of heat and cold makes you feel great. There is a place in Bracknell called Coral Reef that has the best sauna/plunge pool combination I have ever been in.

The sauna has 5 levels of seats and if you sit at the top you will be cooking and then just outside the door is a massive cold pool you can dive into. Repeat that 5 times over 30-45 mins and you feel like a new man when you come out.

[Dave78]

That sounds expensive Sledge!? I have a similar thing i do in my bathroom that involves a really cold bath and a lot of water on the floor :)

Thanks to all for their advice, i've found that the cold or cold/hot has helped a lot, been caning the Glutamine, which has also helped and also tried to work my training around my aching days, i.e. MMA monday night, Tuesday run, no weights till the weds and so on!