Recovery Secrets from the Pros

Article in August Triathlete Magazine had some interesting recovery tips from various pros.  I can’t list them all, but some of the pros include Sarah Hammer (3x World Champion), Samantha McGlone (Olympian and Ironman World Champion), Ruvell Martin (NFL Wide Reciever) and Joe Friel (if you don’t know Joe Friel then you don’t belong here).

 

From this article there are two things that really stood out. 

 

1. Massage with foam roller.  Now I just started doing this and it is amazing.  I also bought ‘The Stick’ which is great for doing right after a race. 
   
   
   
   
2. Compression clothing.  In particular, they mentioned Zoot Tights. Of the eight pro athletes interviewed, five used compression clothes. I’ve been a skeptic of compression clothing and thought it was more marketing than proven science.  However,  given the endorsement from such accomplished athletes, I decided to order a pair.  Now these such is not cheap, which is another reason I stayed away.  However Pro Bike Kit out of the UK had the Zoot tights on sale, plus an additional 15% off with code: PBK15.  I’ll follow up on the results.

 

Some of the other items mentioned were ice bath (even the mention of that causes shrinkage), recovery ride and nutritional needs, such as Recoverite, etc.  I’ve noticed a big improvement when I started using Recoverite a few years ago.  Lately I’ve been using the Gatorade Recovery drink, mainly because it taste good.  There is also good old chocolate milk.