Endurance Athlete Recovery Strategy: A Study

1. Introduction Engagement in sports, whether at a professional or recreational level, is highly demanding. Endurance athletes typically engage in extensive training to enhance adaptations and improve performance. These athletes prioritize their performance, investing substantial time and resources to optimize their success across all competition levels.

High-level performance requires intense training, which often disrupts the balance between stress and recovery. Stress destabilizes or deviates biological and psychological systems from their norm. Physical stress in endurance athletes is quantifiable through training loads—both external (e.g., distance completed) and internal (biological stress from training). Psychological stress, including mental fatigue, also significantly affects recovery and readiness to train. Athletes with high emotional stress may experience negative emotions that can compound overall stress, potentially impairing performance. Thus, monitoring both physical and psychological stress is crucial for endurance athletes.

Recovery involves a range of interconnected systems and is defined as a multi-level process, essential for re-establishing performance capabilities, rebuilding personal resources, and maintaining balance across various dimensions such as physiological, psychological, emotional, social, and behavioral aspects. Recovery strategies, which can be either active or passive, should be tailored to address both regenerative (physiological) and psychological components. Active recovery might include moderate exercise like walking or mobility training, while passive recovery could involve massages or baths.

Despite its importance, recovery remains under-researched compared to training and competition strategies, particularly concerning the effects of gender. Due to physiological differences, female athletes may benefit more from certain strategies like cooling methods and active recovery. There is also a need for more research on recovery strategies across different skill levels to mitigate risks of overtraining, injury, mental fatigue, and impaired sleep. Higher-tier endurance athletes tend to use more recovery strategies, including massage, napping, and sleep.

Currently, there is no standardized recovery protocol, leading many athletes to rely on personal experience rather than evidence-based practices. Additionally, some athletes may not fully understand the intended effects of specific recovery strategies. There is a need to assess which strategies endurance athletes are using and where they are obtaining their recovery information. Few studies have explored athletes' attitudes and beliefs about recovery practices, highlighting a potential disconnect between belief and implementation, particularly regarding sleep, which is recognized as highly effective yet underutilized. This study seeks to extend existing research by examining the current implementation, attitudes, beliefs, and information sources related to recovery strategies among endurance athletes.

3.6. Assessment of Recovery When asked how they determined recovery from practice and competition, participants primarily relied on subjective indicators such as bodily sensations, soreness, energy levels, and motivation to train again, along with heart rate. Recovery from competition was often gauged by readiness to participate in another event.

Discussion This study examined the current practices, attitudes, beliefs, and information sources regarding recovery strategies in endurance athletes. The athletes favored lifestyle recovery practices like hydration, nutrition, sleep, and rest, which they found effective and beneficial. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating the importance of hydration and sleep for recovery across all levels of participation.

Hydration was the most commonly used and beneficial recovery strategy, particularly during training. Proper hydration is crucial, especially after long endurance sessions in hot environments. Nutrition plays a vital role in supporting metabolic adaptation, maintaining health, and preventing injuries. Sleep is highly valued by endurance athletes, as sleep deprivation can reduce physical and psychological performance.

Differences were noted in recovery strategy use between training and competition. Strategies like foam rolling, active recovery, and self-massage were more common in training, potentially to minimize session impacts and achieve performance goals. Massage was more often used after competition, possibly due to time and cost factors, and its availability at competition sites.

Previous research showed frequent use of compression garments for recovery, but this was not reflected in the current study. Athletes valued compression garments more during competition, possibly due to differing physiological demands or injury prevention efforts. Ice baths and cryotherapy, although popular in other sports, were not commonly used or deemed beneficial by the participants, reflecting ongoing debate in the literature about their efficacy.

Psychological recovery strategies, such as relaxation techniques, were underutilized despite their importance in managing stress and enhancing recovery. Communication with teammates, coaches, family, and friends, however, was more common, especially among top finishers, aligning with findings that social networks play a crucial role in psychological recovery.

The study also highlighted gender differences, with female athletes and top finishers using more recovery strategies. Females favored massage and stretching more than males, though they did not consistently follow research recommendations. Top finishers were more likely to use and believe in the effectiveness of certain strategies, such as self-massage and active recovery, especially after competition.

Discrepancies were noted between beliefs and practices regarding recovery strategies. For instance, athletes believed in the benefits of massage and active recovery but did not always utilize them. Cost, time, and perceived effectiveness likely influenced these decisions.

Most athletes relied on coaches, fellow athletes, and websites for recovery information, which may influence their strategy choices. Women were more likely to get recovery advice from coaches, who often rely on informal learning and self-directed knowledge. However, the reliability of website information varies, highlighting the need for proper education.

Recovery was mainly determined by self-perceptions, with some athletes using heart rate measurements for additional insight. Combining subjective and objective measures, such as heart rate, provides a more accurate assessment of recovery status.

5. Conclusions This study provided insights into the recovery practices of endurance athletes, emphasizing differences based on gender and competitive success. Athletes predominantly utilized, believed in, and found lifestyle recovery practices (hydration, nutrition, sleep) effective. They based their strategies on both evidence and experience, often receiving recovery information from coaches or fellow athletes. Recovery was typically judged based on self-perception.

These findings are valuable for healthcare professionals, practitioners, and coaches in understanding and improving recovery practices among endurance athletes. Education on the benefits of different recovery modes, especially psychological and emotional recovery, is essential, particularly for those closely involved with the athletes.

SOURCE: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8883945/