Recovery After Workouts Needed for Young and Old

You can't workout like a beast every day....your body needs time to recover and get bigger, stronger and more powerful.

A study from Griffith University in Queensland, Australia found that recovery times from intense workouts are the same for old and young athletes. This is true even though muscles weaken with aging because of decreased muscle fibers (the remaining muscle fibers work as well as those for a younger athlete).

The tests were performed using two groups of experienced cyclists racing in 30-minute time trials on three consecutive days. The first group had an average age of 24 while the second group's average age was 45.

Both groups maintained their average power, had the same amount of muscle damage and had the same drop in their maximal heart rate during the third time trial.

Loss of muscle fibers may be part of the reason why older athletes must work harder to stay even with younger athletes.

I was listening to an interview of a professional football player and one question was this: "How do you keep your body prepared to meet the demands of your physical sport?" He said, "I get massages after every practice and game and I get as much rest as I can between workouts, games and practices."

This man performs at the elite level of the football profession---The National Football League! He is basically saying that recovery is just as important as the workouts or games. Recovery also includes getting the necessary nutrition for your body to rebuild itself stronger.

You can also do self massage with self myofascial release with foam rolls (SMFR). SMFR is like getting a massage.

The foam roller is one of the most effective techniques for releasing tension while improving mobility. Foam rolling exercises will release and organize your muscles, as well as release and align your skeletal system. Muscle injuries such as strains and tears and broken bones can be avoided with proper flexibility and skeletal alignment.

You'll immediately feel the effectiveness of SMFR and its something you can do every day at home.

Train hard and smart (recover)!

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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