How do you recover after a meet?

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:24:39 GMT

My next meet is an other short local meet. I expect to be there 3 to 4 hours and I will try the following. - stay well hydrated with water during the meet - warm up and down after events (hopefully the outdoor pool is open for warm up/down) - cool down ~500yds if the outdoor pool is open - Endurox immediately after my last event - pack something to eat (peanut butter sandwich maybe) to tide me over until I can get some real food - eat a healthly meal washed down with water - hit the gym a little later for 1-2k yoga swim + hot tub - workout Sunday First, I feel much better right now than I usually do after a meet. This is a recap comparing what I said I would do, to what I actually did. - Stayed hydrated: 96oz during the meet - 500yd crowded warm up before meet - no warm up cool down during the meet. There was one 5 minute break during the meet that wasn't helpful to me. - Didn't stay to see if we cool cool down after the meet - PureSport immediately after last event mixed with 30oz of water - 16 oz of gatorade ~10 minutes after last event - forgot to pack something to eat for after the meet - 30 minute drive home - ate boneless skinless chicken *** with BBQ sauce and mashed potatoes - drank another 16 oz of water with lunch - 2 ibuprofen - get to the gym about 1 hour after the meet - swim 900 ez until I get kicked out because they are hosting a meet - drank another 30oz of water while at the gym - no hot tub - back home to shower and dry clothes finally - chocolate cookies, glass of whole milk - 2 ibuprofen - Emergen-C (like zip fizz, vitamin c+b complex drink mix) That was about 3 hours ago and I am still fully functional. I don't think warm up and cool down affect how I feel out of the water. I am positive that I will feel better tomorrow when I get in the water because of that 900 yards I was able to get in at the gym today. Swimming ez after the meet was pain free today. If you add up all the liquid I drank today, it was a lot. So one key to me feeling well post meet is lots of liquid, plus restoring the lost electrolytes right after the meet. Previously, I have always drank lots of water, but I think the puresport and gatorade most meet allowed me to retain the water instead of... pissing it all away :) Eating quickly after the meet was a plus, because I am usually starving by the time I actually eat after a meet, but I am not so sure this was a deciding factor on how I feel. The b-complex I think helped with a headache, but it might have just been that I needed more ibuprofen. Hopefully my copious details will help anyone else who is trying to avoid the post meet zombie effect. Thanks for the suggestions from everyone, and I would love to hear from anyone who is experimenting with their post meet recovery routine.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:22:38 GMT

I do almost exactly this with two exceptions. Why would you not drink Heed during the competition and then Hammer Recoverite Recovery Drink after? And I skip the Advil. Makes me tighten up/ feel hung over later. I've been toying with the following formula for a while and it works for me. Warmdown after last event if possible, usually 200-300 nice and easy. Long shower with lukewarm to cool water. Drink 500ml of Heed or G2 immediately thereafter. Change into comfortable clothes and shoes. Stay off my feet as much as possible. Eat a high-protein meal within an hour, preferably with some complex carbohydrates.* Drink lots of water and take 2-3 Advil before bed. Go to bed early. Take the following day off from working out, mentally and physically unplug. I find that if I do these things, along with drinking plenty of water and getting electrolytes during the meet, I feel OK the next day. Yes, there will be residual soreness but nothing too bad. The key is to listen to your body and keep it hydrated. I also think cold showers help too since they reduce muscle swelling. Call me strange, this is what works for me. *beer and fries count as complex carbohydrates.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:52:21 GMT

qbrain, you answered your own question! I assume you mean the SMU meet. What suit are you wearing? I was at D&J today. If the outdoor pool isn't open, you can be sure I will be begging Bobby to take a break during the meet. I find that stretching and a few jumping jacks is a very good substitute for cool down, along with "wonder woman" arm/body swings. But stand in one place, don't twirl around. LOL, I answered my own question? If you read the responses before my answer, I just consolidated them to try out at SMU. So I sorta answered my own question by stealing everyone else's answer. :) I am just wearing a practice suit. I am pretty sure I want more cool down than a couple wonder woman twirls, as entertaining as that would be. I think I know who you are, and if I am correct, it should be easy for you to pick me out. I will be the only person you don't already know :)

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Doug Adamavich — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:14:51 GMT

Why would you not drink Heed during the competition and then Hammer Recoverite Recovery Drink after? During competition I drink water and Alka-Selzer, that seems to work best for me. I tend to sip it and not chug it in between events. The Heed gets consumed in a few minutes after I am done. Feels really good too, very impressed with the results. And I skip the Advil. Makes me tighten up/ feel hung over later. I find it helps with inflammation, especially if I am doing a lot of breaststroke. All this seems to work for me after several years of error and error. Somehow I stumbled upon the right combo that enables me to feel OK even after tough meets. Note, I focus on long course and summer training. Most of the meets I swim are during warm/hot parts of the year. I felt great at Portland even after the locals said it was hot :D

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Doug Adamavich — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:15:54 GMT

I've been toying with the following formula for a while and it works for me. Warmdown after last event if possible, usually 200-300 nice and easy. Long shower with lukewarm to cool water. Drink 500ml of Heed or G2 immediately thereafter. Change into comfortable clothes and shoes. Stay off my feet as much as possible. Eat a high-protein meal within an hour, preferably with some complex carbohydrates.* Drink lots of water and take 2-3 Advil before bed. Go to bed early. Take the following day off from working out, mentally and physically unplug. I find that if I do these things, along with drinking plenty of water and getting electrolytes during the meet, I feel OK the next day. Yes, there will be residual soreness but nothing too bad. The key is to listen to your body and keep it hydrated. I also think cold showers help too since they reduce muscle swelling. Call me strange, this is what works for me. *beer and fries count as complex carbohydrates.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:39:27 GMT

I will let you know after the meet Sunday. Esp. after a 5 hour trip back home. I wonder how I will feel on Monday and Tuesday.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:47:37 GMT

Most of the meets I swim are during warm/hot parts of the year. So, Feb - Nov for you?

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Doug Adamavich — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:37:02 GMT

So, Feb - Nov for you? Nah, it's only toasty May-September. The rest of the year it is pretty nice, although it can get frosty from Dec-Feb.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:47:08 GMT

Pinot Noir. After Zones. Maybe a 2006 MacRotsie Carneros, since I know you are interested.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:34:59 GMT

CreamPuff, I really thought you were swimming two a days with the kids. if you are getting very tired by the end of the meet, to the point that you think it is affecting your times in your last event(s) -- then in preparing for your main meet(s) of the season you need to do one of two things: reduce the number of events you enter, or change your training to improve your ability to recover from multiple all-out swims. My first event and my last event are the same, so I should be able to comment on my conditioning after the meet fairly accurately.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:33:21 GMT

Usually after a meet I am wiped out. I am looking for suggestions on how to prevent the post meet zombie effect. Pinot Noir.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:31:24 GMT

According to "its a slow show", Cheetos Cheese Puffs are the answer. Now THAT is something I'm willing to try!

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:25:26 GMT

But the reason I say it is misleading is that "yardage" alone is a poor metric of training volume anyway. They physical, mental and emotional toll of a meet is (or should be) greater than practices of the same length. This prompted me to review my yardage swam from my last meet @ Auburn. I averaged 3250 yards a day which is about 46% less than what I swim @ practice. Another interesting point that's worth sharing is that in my practices with USS, I can be swimming entire sets with girls who in meets swim :51 in the 100 fr; 1:51 in the 200 fr; :55 in the 100 fly; 5:00 in the 500 FR; etc. You can be sure that the boys are much faster than that and they may be in my lane as well. So. . . for me, going to the Auburn meet and most masters meets is a nice break as I was in heats with people my speed - :58s and slower in the last heat of 100 fly and so on. So for me, I'd have to say the emotional toll in practices prepare me for fun meets. This also applied when I would race the boys in masters practices - often racing the big boys was/ is much more difficult than racing *most* of the gals in a masters meet. And this reminds me - I'm off to my one on one speed session today coached by an ex-UGA standout and USS coach of the year. He *kills* me. I'd say this weekly practice is more challenging than a meet b/c I want to please him (hard to do - don't think I ever have) and I'm racing the clock which is much more brutal than any competitor. Well. . . upon second thought, racing the girls who hit :51 in the 100 frees are worse to deal with!

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:14:18 GMT

She-Puffy and I might be twins on this. This is exactly the same as me. I usually have a great workout the next day and then start to feel a bit rough but forge through. I actually really look forward to a hard workout the day after a meet figuring there might be some taper left. I would love to be the female version of Geek. I will work on it further. :)

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:07:53 GMT

Well, not sure what would happen if you trained 80K a week. I would bet your body would put a stop to it pretty quick. :afraid: I currently swim 4x a week with the kids and 1x a week with masters (5 swimming sessions a week) averaging 30,000 yds a week. I did average more last summer when I trained for the 25K, but I no longer do that. This 30-32K is about what I averaged when I swam masters. So to answer your question, I did have the same post meet results when swimming masters or with the kids. The only time I felt AWFUL post meets was the first couple of years when I started up swimming after a 12 year break - and I was a physical fitness mess. :D I'm liking your current plan. What I normally do - not stay hydrated at the meet - not warm up and cool down before and after events - leave immediately after the meet - do not eat for at least an hour after the meet - eat an unhealthy meal washed down with alcohol when I do finally eat - do not workout for at least a day At my last meet - drank 96oz of water during the 4 hour meet - warmed up before events and a short (~100yds) cool down after - everything else the same I felt much better than normal after that meet. My next meet is an other short local meet. I expect to be there 3 to 4 hours and I will try the following. - stay well hydrated with water during the meet - warm up and down after events (hopefully the outdoor pool is open for warm up/down) - cool down ~500yds if the outdoor pool is open - Endurox immediately after my last event - pack something to eat (peanut butter sandwich maybe) to tide me over until I can get some real food - eat a healthly meal washed down with water - hit the gym a little later for 1-2k yoga swim + hot tub - workout Sunday After zones, my post meet will resemble Daaaave's and I should have no trouble achieving the pain level Patrick so enjoys. CreamPuff, Did you feel differently about post meet before you started training mega yardage? Maybe all I need to do is start training 80k/week.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:59:41 GMT

What I normally do - not stay hydrated at the meet - not warm up and cool down before and after events - leave immediately after the meet - do not eat for at least an hour after the meet - eat an unhealthy meal washed down with alcohol when I do finally eat - do not workout for at least a day At my last meet - drank 96oz of water during the 4 hour meet - warmed up before events and a short (~100yds) cool down after - everything else the same I felt much better than normal after that meet. My next meet is an other short local meet. I expect to be there 3 to 4 hours and I will try the following. - stay well hydrated with water during the meet - warm up and down after events (hopefully the outdoor pool is open for warm up/down) - cool down ~500yds if the outdoor pool is open - Endurox immediately after my last event - pack something to eat (peanut butter sandwich maybe) to tide me over until I can get some real food - eat a healthly meal washed down with water - hit the gym a little later for 1-2k yoga swim + hot tub - workout Sunday After zones, my post meet will resemble Daaaave's and I should have no trouble achieving the pain level Patrick so enjoys. CreamPuff, Did you feel differently about post meet before you started training mega yardage? Maybe all I need to do is start training 80k/week.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:17:36 GMT

I can remember doing a "recovery run" of 10 miles on Sunday after a hard 5k, 10k, or triathlon when I was 35 or 36. At that age, it wasn't unusual for me to do a 40 mile bike ride on Sunday as recovery and then do a 10 mile run in the afternoon as more recovery. If I did that now, no matter what kind of shape I am in, I think I'd have to stay in bed for a couple of days! Gotta admit, I never could do all that you listed above at ANY age - 18 or otherwise. I guess it's all relative. Pretty sure we've talked ad nauseam on this forum regarding more recovery is needed as we age. I see a huge difference (and not for the better) between 16 and 36. It flat out sux. And yes, when I hit 40 I've been told that I've got two feet in the grave at that point. :afraid::cane:

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

The Fortress — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:41:17 GMT

- stay well hydrated with water during the meet - warm up and down after events (hopefully the outdoor pool is open for warm up/down) - cool down ~500yds if the outdoor pool is open - Endurox immediately after my last event - pack something to eat (peanut butter sandwich maybe) to tide me over until I can get some real food - eat a healthly meal washed down with water - hit the gym a little later for 1-2k yoga swim + hot tub - workout Sunday I try to do this, although I never cool down 500. But I force myself to cool down some after the last event, swim easy the next day and hot tub. If it's a one day in season meet, I'm OK in a day or so. If it's a 2 day taper meet and I've traveled, I just don't feel great for a few days. And I'm not exactly in horrible shape. Usually, I haven't slept well in the hotel and I'm exhausted from the mental/physical exertion. Plus, even though I drink mega water, I'm still somewhat dehydrated from the caffeine. Those of you with no ill effects, more power to you. I'm sure you're all younger than me.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

ande — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:30:33 GMT

Train hard far and often so you are in great shape going into the meet Do one practice every week or 2 that is like a meet Warm up before races and warm down after races Stay Hydrated (drink) Rest between events Lotion if you've got dry skin Massages Soak in a hot tub or bath Sleep Usually after a meet I am wiped out. I am looking for suggestions on how to prevent the post meet zombie effect.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:23:24 GMT

1. hot shower, ceremonial drying and folding of the sacred tech-suit 2. dry, warm clothes that don't stink of chlorine 3. good meaty dinner, not too much liquor (pinot, burgundy, cotes du rhone), quiet with good friends, limited post-mortem 4. if you have to ask, well then....

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Tim L — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:09:43 GMT

LOL - This thread really interests me. I'm never tired after a meet. I typically have great practices right after the meet. Interesting - same here and my practice times are typically fast for several weeks after a big meet and then I will fall back into more of a routine. I don't put in even half of your yardage so I attribute the faster hangover practices to actually remembering how to swim fast during the course of the taper/meet. Tim

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Patrick W. Brundage — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:04:26 GMT

I totally forgot to mention the perfect, post-meet meal: a double-double with grilled onions from In-n-Out burgers (www.in-n-out.com/menu.asp). Far better than Cheetos. For those of you heading from the east & midwest for Nationals, there are locations of this most awesome of fast food burger joints in Clovis and Fresno.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Former Member — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:35:38 GMT

Cream Puff, before someone beats me to it, I would like to invite you to enjoy an In-n-Out with me at the next meet we both attend. No onions, please. --Your first and still most devoted stalker, Jimby. I think I can fit you in at some point after my greatly anticipated Obamagasm which I'm SURE will happen tonight! However, although I can make a concession and forgo the onions, I do have a nasty habit of slathering EVERYTHING in guacamole. Are you partial guac with a dollop of salsa? I'm feeling a gridge here of rather large magnitude. . . was *possibly* planning on a colonies zones meet in the LCM session. I will bet anything on a distance or fly event. :angel: BTW, best recovery meal EVER after my 25K - Don Pablo's Conquistador combo platter followed by several margaritas on the rocks and topped off with some fried ice cream. Oh - and this was the ONLY race in which I took 10 days off from swimming. Then back to normal.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

jonblank — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:30:47 GMT

According to "its a slow show", Cheetos Cheese Puffs are the answer.

RE: How do you recover after a meet?

Chris Stevenson — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:09:59 GMT

I don't get all that tired from most meets, but it depends a lot on what I swim, how many days the meet is, the type of meet (eg trials/finals format is much more tiring, and "significant" meets at the end of a taper can be more mentally draining), and whether significant travel is involved. Absolutely agree with Allen that meets -- especially mid-season -- should be viewed in the context of training. They are like high-quality workouts. So if I train the next day I'll usually do something other than quality stuff, especially if it was a multi-day meet. And I agree with the poster (maybe multiple?) who suggested that doing nothing can sometimes be worse than getting in and doing something, even if it is all easy. As an aside: I remember watching the Tour de France when the commentators talked about what the riders would do on their rest days. What they would NOT do is just rest, they all went out for longish rides. They commented that if the riders took it too easy on the rest day, they would actually do worse on the following day. Of course, the TdF is not quite the same as masters swimming :) but I think there is something to the principle. Sometimes even during "heavy" training -- no meet involved -- I feel worse after a day off. If you are having a hard time recovering from meets -- more specifically, if you are getting very tired by the end of the meet, to the point that you think it is affecting your times in your last event(s) -- then in preparing for your main meet(s) of the season you need to do one of two things: reduce the number of events you enter, or change your training to improve your ability to recover from multiple all-out swims. Of course, there is the saying that nothing prepares you for racing quite like racing. That's true in practice, but it also means doing enough meets that you know what to expect at state champs, zones or nationals (or whatever). So doing meets is also "training" in that sense. As far as CP's comment that meet yardage is significantly less than practice, that's a little misleading. Even so, you might be suprised if you add up all the yards you typically swim in a meet, including the meet warmups, warmup & recovery for each race, etc. I think last summer at Sr Champs, between trials and finals I swam about 6000 LCM each day for 3 days, that's nothing to sneeze at. Much of that was low-intensity of course. But the reason I say it is misleading is that "yardage" alone is a poor metric of training volume anyway. They physical, mental and emotional toll of a meet is (or should be) greater than practices of the same length.