recovery techniques

[Edward Smith]

I've asked about active recovery before. I was satisfied with the quality of the answers just not the quantity, and I have some new/unanswered questions.

The cross country coach at my school (my systems technology teacher), a very knowledgeable man in fitness, and I talk about training fitness and strength in class and he said 'if you can get your recovery dialed in, you've got yourself on the road to success' which I think is absolutely true but I was wanting to know some recovery techniques (between workouts/day-to-day).

I know some are, 1) recovery meal, 30g protein within 15 minutes post-workout 2) stretching, obvious one 3) massage, unsure to the effectiveness of this one. That's it many others and also how well do these work? ow and finally Coach you've suggested vitamin c and fish oil for tissue treatment would this help with recovery?

thanks for your advice (to come! hopefully!),

Ed

P.S the aforementioned cross country coach asked me to take a strength session with him and his runners!!!

[Blairbob]

Ed X. Look up a gentleman in the U.S. named Bill Sands since he and his group recently did some big research on recovery methodology and a point system. I actually taped the clinic last August but hasn't been dumped to video last I remember by my friend who is still at my former gym.

You forgot hydration in there, sleep quantity and quality, sauna/spa. Bill even labeled rest/recovery techniques like personal time and such. It was very interesting.

[Edward Smith]

Hydration

of course I forgot hydration, which is not only a great recovery technique/aid but in my personal opinion the best and sometimes overlooked performance enhancers.

George I'm not sure if you'll read this but I have started reading an 'Atkins' book. I've decided to start reading a few diet books, I'm gonna try on things related to Zone, Paleo, general diet and nutrition ideas and body function (i.e metabolism, digestion, etc.). Is there any books you would advise (as would anyone else advise), I know you suggested protein power but is that available in stores?

Ed

[George Launchbury]

Hi Ed,

I got Protein Power through Amazon, and would recommend the books by Loren Cordain as well. It is a long time since I read an Atkins book, but beware of books/info that are purely for 'diet' i.e. weight control. Paleo style nutrition is about a more holistic approach to health and longevity as opposed to a purely superficial approach to what appears to be health. Thin people die of cardiovascular disease, cancer, etc. as well, not just overweight people!! Being overweight is most often a symptom, rather than a cause, of poor health.

For interesting sources of information you could try:

> http://www.theiflife.com/ (start at the beginning)

> http://www.robbwolf.com/

> http://www.arthurdevany.com/

...you will soon notice that even those who advocate a Paleo way of eating/living disagree on maybe 5% of details, more often than not on the subject of whether saturated fat is safe/OK/desirable. There is also an amount of good discussion on http://www.performancemenu.com's forum.

These videos are also very interesting watching/listening: Jerry Brunetti's highly informative video lecture Food as Medicine (2005) where he lays out his experience with terminal cancer which he successfully overcame with eating healthy and different food than he used to eat until then.

> Part one

> Part two

Cheers,

George.

P.s. I believe all links in this post to be work/family safe.

[Edward Smith]

No, I do not buy into the whole weight loss diet thing either. I believe that if your diet (not fad) is in order and physical exercise is part of your life you should maintain a healthy weight and more importantly keep fit. I do however find the atkins book I'm reading quite interesting. It mentions some 'real' diet factors, blood sugar levels, ancestoral diet factors (yes!!! it refers to grains and carbs [well of course carbs) and other interesting facts.

I wish to get some books on paleo or similar. With Robb Wolf's site is it just a blog? cos that all it seems to me, don't get me wrong there is still great info on there.

[George Launchbury]

Absolutely. The main reason I subscribe to the Paleo way of eating/living is that it just seems to be such an obvious and logical concept. The health benefits that people are finding (when they comply 80-90% of the time) back this up.

I have found that by following a few 'blogs, you can get a lot more recent information. Dr Eades' blog is pretty good, and some of the info expands on, and even supercedes some of the details in his books. I have also recieved answers to questions I have emailed him about.

You'll find the 'blogs a whole lot more interesting once you have a good understand of the underlying concepts, mainly by reading a few books and connecting the commonalities.

Cheers,

George.

[Charles]

I'll second George's findings. The blogs are incredibly interesting to read and definitely eye opening. I count the days till I get out of college and can stop my reliance on grains.