RECOVERY

WHAT IS RECOVERY? By Thorndike-Barnhart Student Dictionary (Harper Collins Publishers, 1992, p.924) recovery means “coming back to health or normal condition.” This is the main meaning of this term, but the problem is to know what is the normal condition or in other words – the standard condition.

The sport science has no distinct definition of this term, it is too descriptive to be usable in our training. Nevertheless, we are operating with this term, using it more or less close to it meaning. We are guided mostly by our feelings: “I am tired, I need a rest to get back to normal”; “I feel not quite right”, and so on. But this is very subjective and depends on your perception of what is fatigue and what is normal.

Obviously such approach wouldn’t lead us to a good recovery and efficient training. There is always a chance to overtraining and undertraining. With this kind of estimation of our condition we are pretty much in a blurry state for our decision to start new training, new set, new approach. It is important to know your recovery time in order to develop some desirable training effect, when we are talking about developing your tolerance to fatigue or new level of speed.

Well, there is still no exact answer, which we would expect from science and coaches, but only some guidance related to our perception development, heart rate, lactate threshold, etc.

All of these guideline parameters are directed to one simple thing – define the time between one workout and the next one, one set and another, one rep and another. Mostly this time is related to sequences of reps and sets of training exercise, where time is defined as a standard by the recovery of your ability to repeat a given exercise on the same level of performance.

Since our goal in training is to adapt our body to a certain level of performance, then repeating this level is the main task. If from one set or rep to another the level of our performance goes down, then our performance is not directed to adaptation, as it is easy to understand. So our target is to keep repeating this level more times by maintaining the minimum time between sets and reps, allowing us to get back to the normal (working) condition.

If this time is not enough to get back to the normal working condition, then our body has some difficulties to adapt to the required level of performance. If the time between sets/reps is too long, then our body goes below its working condition and it is necessary to make additional efforts to bring the body to this level. Obviously, there is no sense in doing that.

Therefore there is a practical question what is a good length of time for recovery? One of the simplest and profound answers came from the research (Fred Wilt. Run, run, run… Tafnews, California, 1964) of two German scientists, Voldemar Gershler and Herbert Raindel, who in the 50-ies found that the recovery time during an interval training is 1:30. This is the time, necessary to get the heart rate after finish (they consider it about 170-180) to 120, in order to start the next rep again.

Since that time our understanding of the meaning of this 1:30 to 120 HR changed, but the numbers are still there. It is still accurate to say that, if our time of recovery to 120 is longer than 1:30, then our training is too hard. And on the opposite, if this time is shorter, then there is a good reason to make your training more difficult.

Certainly, we’ll work to find more tangible tests, parameters and signs of recovery in the future to make our training more profound and efficient in order to reach our potential without damaging our bodies and mind, but this is the work in progress for now.

Dr.Romanov