New Delhi: Cupping marks on shoulders, compression boots between events, ice baths after competition are all familiar sights at multi-discipline tournaments. At the ongoing Asian Games, athletes are being asked to compete again before their bodies have had enough time to recover.
PV Sindhu, for instance, had to play three matches within 18 hours, a schedule she said significantly affected her physical condition and recovery.
“The principle I coach to is simple: cold to recover, not to adapt. Match the intervention to whether the day’s goal is bouncing back or getting better,” he explained.
Other important recovery methods that still remain uncommon in India according to Lombard are, “Well-run hydrotherapy, contrast and cold-water pools with proper temperature control, not an ice bucket.”
Gulveer Singh raced and medalled in the men’s 10,000m, 5000m and 1500m all in a span of four days, while Vithya Ramraj ran the 400m hurdles, where she broke the national record, before returning the next day to anchor India’s gold-medal winning 4x400m relay team. Samuel Pullinger, Head of Performance Science, Inspire Institute of Sport, believes the foundation remains surprisingly simple. “Recovery of an athlete really is a three-pillar factor. Obviously, the sleep, the nutrition and the mental health or well-being of the athlete. “Once we get to the elite game, this is where the recovery modalities come and play a role as well. Nutrition follows. A food-first approach provides the macronutrients needed to repair muscle damage and replenish depleted glycogen stores, while hydration helps regulate core temperature, cardiac output and nutrient delivery. Wayne Lombard, an Athletic Performance Specialist from South Africa who works with multiple Indian athletes including Sindhu and the hockey team, believes combat athletes can incorporate yoga asanas to address sport-specific muscular and joint imbalances, alongside pranayama to manage stress, while cricketers can use pre-season fitness screening to monitor cumulative workload. “For instance, cold-water immersion works, but it works for a narrow, specific purpose.
Those are the three core components,” he told HT. “Sleep is the absolute foundation when it comes to recovery,” he said, pointing to its role in tissue repair as well as the consolidation of technical and tactical learning. Used wrongly, it can quietly cost an athlete the very adaptations they’re training for,” he said.
