Sports Tips and Advice for Female Athletes

An athlete usually puts his/her body through hell in an effort to be the best at what He/she does. The actual practice sessions coupled with weight training workouts and extra conditioning take a toll on the body. The ability to recover from all of these stresses can be the difference between a champion and a loser. To insure optimal progress, you must be sure to utilize every recovery method you can. Below are the top ten recovery methods which should be used to maximize your rate of progress.

Take a post workout shake

Immediately after training, consume a mix of high glycemic carbs and rapidly absorbed protein. This drink should contain a two to one ratio of carbs to protein. A 200 pound man would consume roughly 80 grams of carbs and forty grams of protein. The exact number is based on insulin sensitivity, body fat levels and training volume but that should be a good start. Doing this will help to reduce cortisol levels as well as start to shuttle nutrients to the muscles and begin the recovery process.

Take a contrast bath after training

This is an old technique that originated in Eastern Bloc countries many years ago to speed up the recovery of their elite athletes. After consuming your post workout shake; use this method of
bathing in order to stimulate recovery. Begin by submerging yourself in hot water for one minute. Immediately jump into a tub of ice cold water for a minute. Repeat this process for up to ten minutes. This can also be done in the shower, which is more practical for most people.

Do not drop carbohydrate intake too low

Although low carb diets are in vogue these days, this is not an optimal approach for a hard training athlete. Even if you need to lose a good amount of body fat you should still be consuming at least 150-200 grams of carbs per day. Dropping carbs drastically will slow down your thyroid and testosterone production and cause losses in size and strength. To maximize your recovery, you must keep a decent amount of carbs in your diet. The energy system demands of hard training combat athletes are off the charts and these needs to be addressed with an adequate amount of carbohydrates. Focus on natural, organic sources such as fruits, vegetables, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, legumes and oats.

Take naps

Naps are a great way to speed up your recovery. During sleep, your body releases growth hormone and repairs the damage that has been done to your muscles during intense workouts. Taking a twenty to sixty minute nap once a day is a great way to make faster progress. If you are training two to three times per day, as many combat athletes are (conditioning in the morning, practice in the afternoon, weight training at night), taking naps is an absolute necessity if you want to maximize your performance.

Sleep eight to ten hours a night

As mentioned above, when you are sleeping you are growing bigger and stronger. Without sufficient sleep your results will be less than optimal. If you have difficulty sleeping, please do not ignore this. Do whatever you can to find a way to improve your sleep. There are many books that deal with improving the quality of your sleep and it is highly recommended that you read one. A few tips that have helped people achieve better sleeping habits are the following:

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
2. Unwind for an hour before bed. During this time you should be doing nothing but relaxing. Reading is ok here as long as it is not something that gets your mind over stimulated; fiction or something that is not at all related to anything you do is usually best here.
3. Make your room as dark as possible. There was a study once that showed that even a tiny light shining directly on the back of a patients leg, negatively effected sleep quality.
4. Avoid alcohol. This can negatively affect your sleep quality.
5. Don’t eat too much protein immediately before bed. Protein contains tyrosine which is the amino acid that sends a signal to your brain to become more alert. Having a huge protein meal before bed is a good way to insure that you will be up for a while.
6. Don’t drink too much water before bed. This is another way to disrupt your sleep quality because you will be up visiting the bathroom when you should be sleeping and recovering.
7. Keep your bedroom very cool. The optimal sleeping temperature is around 68-70 degrees for most people. Having your room much warmer than this can also negatively affect the quality of your sleep.

Stretch on your off days

This is a great way to increase blood flow to the muscles which helps shuttle in the nutrients necessary for optimal recovery. There is much debate on which type of stretching is best. In my opinion you should use every method of stretching available to you including PNF, static and dynamic.

Do recovery workouts

By performing a very light, high rep workout the day after an intense training session and getting some blood into the muscles, you can actually accelerate your ability to recover. For example, the day after a heavy squat workout your legs are likely to be very sore. Instead of doing nothing, try going for a ten minute walk with a lightly weighted sled.

Get a massage at least once a week

This is a great way to relax and speed up the healing process of sore muscles. Be sure to drink lots of water in the hours following a massage to help rid the body of toxins released during the treatment. If you can not afford a massage you could always do self massage or if you are lucky enough to have a girlfriend or wife that will assist you it’s always worth begging her. At the very least, you should be using a foam roller and performing a wide variety of self massaging movements by rolling around on the foam roller.

Avoid stress

This is obviously easier said than done, but it should be noted that excessive amounts of psychological or emotional stress can wreak havoc on your results. Stress causes the body to release cortisol, a hormone which eats muscle tissue. Excessive amounts of cortisol can also cause an increase in body fat levels, especially around the abdomen. As a combat athlete, your body already has enough stress to deal with so try to do yourself a favor and not make it much worse.

Take a week off

Every six to twelve weeks, your body will start to break down and demand a rest. Taking a week off will actually allow you to get stronger and come back fresh and ready to train hard again. The older and more experienced you get, the more frequently you will need to take a week off. Many of my older athletes actually take a complete week off every three to four weeks.

This is obviously not possible for some one who is trying to reach the highest level of combat sports but it should be paid attention to and you should realize that you probably take less time off than you should.

Remember, training is only half of the equation. Without proper recovery techniques your progress will never be optimal. Start using these methods today and watch your results skyrocket.

Reference:  Strength & Conditioning For Combat Sports by Jason Ferruggia