Sleep your way to the top

As gym attendances surge upward, the importance of resting between workouts is a message that gets increasingly lost, according to Eric McEntyre.

 

"Lack of recovery has filtered down to the mainstream population of weekend warriors, who attempt to emulate their favourite athlete, because they see them practising or training in the gym, but never see them using various therapies to recover from their activities," Eric says.

 

"There is also a great amount of information from media and the nutrition industries telling us to get out there and be active however there is little information on how to recover from exercise to help us improve performance.

 

"The most successful athletes take time out to recover from strenuous exercise. They are aware of its necessity for growing muscle and for helping the healing process. Athletes who do not take enough time to recover from strenuous workouts may become injured from overuse or they may find that their athletic progress stagnates."

 

Eric explains the benefits of adequate rest and recuperation between training sessions.

 

"Strictly speaking, strength and endurance do not increase at the gym, they increase during rest phases between workouts.

 

"A reason for plateaus in muscle growth or conditioning is the lack of recovery. Muscle fibres generally require 48 hours to recover from a workout, and without adequate recuperation improvement in muscle strength or endurance can halt.

 

"It is also important to remember that the more muscle you gain the more you need to recover because the workouts that you should be able to manage may be more intense.

 

"Also, your internal organs which support muscle growth do not grow (although they may become more efficient in their task) so there may be some added stress on them which means that additional rest would be required for continued athletic gains."

 

But exactly how much rest will do the trick?

 

"To optimise recovery you need at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep daily. During sleep the entire body repairs itself.

 

"Recovery is not just about sleep. Your nutritional intake is important also because it is necessary to replace the nutrients lost during your workouts. One trick is to utilise the window of opportunity that occurs during the hour after your workout where your muscle cells go into super-compensation mode and increase nutrient absorption efficiency.

 

"Consume a protein drink or bar that contains about 40% carbohydrates to take advantage of this window. After this period you can have a normal, well-balanced meal that contains protein, carbohydrates and some fats."