BBC Focus - 09.2019

Rest days are

important, so don’t

sweat it out seven

days a week.

ASTHERUGBYWORLDCUP

LOOMSLARGE,EXERCISE

PHYSIOLOGISTJOECOSTELLO

EXPLAINSHOWBESTTO

RECOVERAFTERA HARD

WORKOUT

NEED TO

KNOW...

HOWVITALISITTOALLOW

RECOVERYTIME?

Very.If you’rea recreationalnonelite

athleteandyoutrainforsevendays

withouttakinga break,youcould

developsymptomsofovertraining,such

asfatigue,sorenessandimmunesystem

dysfunction.Takingat leastonerestday

overthecourseoftheweekis essential.

Proathletesina competitionmaynot

geta sayintheamountofresttheycan

take.WiththeRugbyWorldCup,for

example,there’sa denedwindowduring

whichtheplayerswillcompetesothis

dictatestheresttimetheycantake

betweengames.Oentheoptimalrest

versusthepracticalityofwhattheycan

actuallytakeis dierent.

HOWMUCHSHOULDI DRINK?

Weighyourselfbeforeandaeryour

workout.If youhaven’teatenordrunk

anythingwhileexercising,thedierence

willbethemassyouhavelostvia

sweating.It’sa goodindicatorofyour

hydrationstatus.A litreofwaterweighs

onekilogram,soif you’velosta kilogram,

youneedtodrinkat leasta litreofwater.

WHATSHOULDI DRINK?

Yo uoe ns e ep e o p l eo nt h et r e a d m i l l

withcalorieladencommercialsports

drinks.e problemis thattheycouldbe

consumingmorecaloriesthantheyare

expending by exercise. If you are exercising for less than an hour

then water is all you need. If, however, you are training for several

hours at a time then you will be losing electrolytes in your sweat.

For every litre of sweat produced, you lose around one gram of

sodium, so then it may be sensible to have a drink that contains

some of these electrolytes.

WHAT SHOULD I EAT AFTER A WORKOUT?

It’s a good idea to eat 20g to 40g of high-quality protein within

an hour or so aer a workout. High-quality proteins, like sh,

eggs or dairy products, are essential for muscle protein synthesis,

which is the process of building muscle mass during recovery.

ARE PROTEIN DRINKS ANY GOOD?

ey’re no better or worse than eating a natural source of protein.

ey’re just more convenient. I caution people from switching

tothem entirely because natural food oers many additional

nutrients. It’s important not to replace your meal with shakes.

SHOULD I STRETCH AFTER EXERCISE?

We’v e a l l h e a r d a t r a i n e r s a y t h a t y o u n e e d t o s t r e t c h ae r e x e r c i s e

or be sore the next day, but there’s no evidence to back this up.

We can say pretty conclusively that stretching before, during or

aer exercise makes no dierence to the soreness you experience.

CAN SUPPLEMENTS AID RECOVERY?

We did a systematic review on this and found that both

antioxidant supplements and natural antioxidants have no

meaningful eect on soreness or performance aer exercise.

e important take-home message is this. Extras like stretching,

taking supplements or having an ice bath typically only infer

between 1 per cent and 2 per cent of an advantage, if any at all.

‘e three Rs’: rest, rehydration and replenishment should make

up 99 per cent of your recovery.

Eat a bit of protein

aer a workout, but

you don’t need to

splash out on

pricey shakes.

Stretching doesn’t

stop soreness,

despite what your

trainer says.

D R J O E

COSTELLO

Joe is an exercise

physiologist at the

University of

Portsmouth.

Interviewed by

Dr Helen Pilcher. ILLUSTRATION: VICTOR SOMA

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