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?
actually, sports studies have shown that chocolate milk is a GREAT recovery drink.
That's right! I prefer a chocolate-flavored protein powder that I mix with water immediately after my workout. When I get home, my husband makes me a DELICIOUS smoothie with light vanilla soymilk, a banana, chia seeds (high in protein, calcium, omega-3s, anti-oxidants, and fiber), and organic blueberries that we pick at a farm ourselves. Between the two of us, we picked 50 pounds of those little suckers and froze them in quart size Ziploc bags to last until next year. He throws them into the blender straight from the freezer, so he doesn't need to use ice. His smoothies tastes incredibly delicious! :ohyeah:
actually, sports studies have shown that chocolate milk is a GREAT recovery drink.
That's right! I prefer a chocolate-flavored protein powder that I mix with water immediately after my workout. When I get home, my husband makes me a DELICIOUS smoothie with light vanilla soymilk, a banana, chia seeds (high in protein, calcium, omega-3s, anti-oxidants, and fiber), and organic blueberries that we pick at a farm ourselves. Between the two of us, we picked 50 pounds of those little suckers and froze them in quart size Ziploc bags to last until next year. He throws them into the blender straight from the freezer, so he doesn't need to use ice. His smoothies tastes incredibly delicious! :ohyeah:
