Maximise Recovery - The 4 Rs - Webber Nutrition

Nutrition Advent Calendar – Day 11

The 4 R’s of Recovery

Recovery is an integral part of an athlete’s nutrition and training. Doing lots of intense training is great, but if you’re not eating and drinking the right things after training, you’re not going to get the desired adaptations of that session.

After training your energy stores (muscle glycogen) are depleted, muscles are damaged and you’re dehydrated. Therefore, feeding your body with the nutrients it requires will maximise recovery, allowing your body to adapt and have more energy to train harder and for longer next time, thus improving performance.

Maximise recovery with these 4 R’s:

Repair – protein to heal damaged tissue and promote training adaptations

Replenish – carbohydrates to replace lost muscle and liver glycogen to fuel your next workout

Rehydrate –fluids to replace body water and electrolytes lost through sweat

Rest – sleep & rest to recharge, promote healthy brain function and emotional well-being

Poor recovery can negatively affect:

Performance
Growth and repair
Injury rates
Illness
Muscle soreness

Take home messages:
Include a quality source of protein (20-40g)
Consume easy to digest carbohydrates – quantity based on the training you’ve just done
Drink plenty of fluids to replace sweat
Include salts either from food or drink to enhance rehydration
Get a good night’s sleep and rest between training

If you’re struggling to recover after training and performance is being affected, get in touch to see how your nutrition can improved to support your training.