This is something I never really gave much thought towards when I was younger, given that as a teenager banging out 6k and 7k workouts, usually twice a day, didn't seem that hard.
Nowadays though (late 30s), post-workout recovery is taken more seriously. Not necessarily because I want to get back to the pool ASAP, but because I don't want to be a human pile-up over the course of the day after a hard AM swim.
For me, my recovery routine ends up including:
1. Always doing at least ten minutes of warming down. I feel noticeably better in the hours after a hard practice if I spend some time doing easy swimming at the end of my session.
2. Packing a post-workout shake and banana. Takes about ten seconds to do, and it's waiting right there in my swim bag post swim.
3. Hitting the pillows and blanky like they owe me money. Where possible, of course.
4. A scotch at night. Master's prerogative, as they say.
What are you doing to make sure that you are recovering quickly after practice?
1. Workouts vary from 4000-7200m.
2. Scoop and a half of whey protein. There are better food items than bananas, I am sure, but my tummy loves them after those long swims and they are easy to mash into my mouth-hole with what little energy I have when I get out of the water.
3. Best workouts are almost always after a full night of uninterrupted sleep.
4. An n=1 trial of myself found that scotch has delicious, err, powerful recovery effects.
5. Get most of my vitamins and mins from food. Eat well enough; make sure to get outside for at least half an hour a day for that good old Vitamin D.
6. The whey protein is chocolate flavored. Covering my bases!
1. Workouts vary from 4000-7200m.
2. Scoop and a half of whey protein. There are better food items than bananas, I am sure, but my tummy loves them after those long swims and they are easy to mash into my mouth-hole with what little energy I have when I get out of the water.
3. Best workouts are almost always after a full night of uninterrupted sleep.
4. An n=1 trial of myself found that scotch has delicious, err, powerful recovery effects.
5. Get most of my vitamins and mins from food. Eat well enough; make sure to get outside for at least half an hour a day for that good old Vitamin D.
6. The whey protein is chocolate flavored. Covering my bases!
