5 Tips to Improve Recovery with Short Rest Periods Between Games or Practices

Dealing with double-day practice sessions, multi-event competitions over a weekend, or a quick turn-around from an evening event to the next morning practice? 

What are some sensible tips for young athletes to replenish energy, reduce post-exercise soreness, and be best prepared for that next practice or game?

1) Get that post work-out protein

Protein is the building block of muscle tissue, and the first 30 minutes after exercise is an ideal time for protein intake to allow muscle repair and growth. A good rough suggestion is 30 grams of protein mixed in with some carbohydrate to increase the protein absorption. Good tasting, easily accessible and rather inexpensive suggestions include a glass of chocolate milk, a container of Greek yogurt, or a large serving of peanut butter.

Click here for more info on the virtues of chocolate milk

2) Don't miss out on necessary fluids

Being under-hydrated after exercise can be a major set-up for poor performance in the next workout or game. Ideally, any fluid losses from exercise should be fully replaced, and one easy way to monitor is to do pre and post-exercise weights. Young athletes should return to their pre-practice weight before the next exercise session. 

For suggestions on fluid choice (water vs. sports drinks), click here.

3) Berries and Cherries can attack muscle soreness

Either immediate or delayed post-exercise soreness can put a damper on future sport activity. Good studies have shown that berries, cherries and even tart cherry juice have natural anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce muscle soreness with far fewer potential side-effects than both over-the-counter and prescription anti-inflammatory medications. Not only do those fruits taste much better than medications, they also provide important fluid and salt sources.

For more on tart cherry juice, click here

4) Best time to stretch is after activity

Many of us adult-types were taught that stretching before exercise was best. That though is definitely old-school and been replaced with recommendations for after exercise, when the muscles are warmed up and more able to benefit from stretching. Now, probably the last thing anyone wants to do after a hard game or practice is to take the time to stretch, but those valuable efforts that take only a few minutes can prepare muscles to better handle upcoming demands.

5) Ice Bath Challenge?

Many athletes seek out a cold water tub for their lower legs or even their entire body (below the head) to reduce soreness and help foster elimination of muscle waste products after exercise. The evidence in support of ice baths is mixed- so probably a situation where some athletes will find benefit, while others will not. 

Do you have any other recommendations for assisting in post-workout recovery to better prepare for the next practice or game?

Chocolate Milk: A Solid Post-Game Snack Choice

Looking for an inexpensive post-exercise or post-game snack that aids in muscle recovery, delivers several key nutritional components, tastes pretty good, and will make both young athletes and their parents happy with your choice?

Look no further than chocolate milk.

Now, some might say that I have an inherent bias towards chocolate milk due to my medical school and residency years in the dairy state of Wisconsin followed by work in California (another prime milk producing region).

However, when one looks at the science, chocolate milk carries a fair amount of support.

• Chocolate milk has about 26 grams of carbohydrate and 8 grams of protein for a carbo:protein ratio that is fairly close to the 4:1 figure touted by experts to provide necessary substrates for glycogen replenishment and muscle/tissue repair after exercise.
• Reviews comparing chocolate milk to other recovery drinks including water or sports beverages found that chocolate milk may be as effective if not superior in promoting post-exercise recovery specifically by increasing post-exercise muscle protein building with an increased time to exhaustion with exercise. 
• Chocolate milk can be viewed as a more accessible and more affordable recovery beverage for many athletes, taking the place of more expensive commercially available recovery beverages.

What's even more exciting is that not only does one get the benefits of post-exercise carbohydrate (this is one form of carbohydrate  intake that can be endorsed even by a low carb diet advocate such as me) and protein, but let's not fail to mention other essential nutrients found in chocolate milk:

• With about 150 milligrams of sodium and 425 milligrams of potassium in a typical 8 ounce serving. chocolate milk can replace sweat losses of these key elements.
• Chocolate milk also contains about 300 milligrams of calcium that is more easily absorbed that other forms of calcium in food or supplements. Given the importance of adequate calcium intake especially for teenage females (about 1500 milligrams/day), chocolate milk can provide a significant daily contribution.
• Vitamin D fortified chocolate milk can provide 100 international units of Vitamin D/8 ounce serving to acts as a  key component for bone health.

So when it comes time for your post-game snack duty, or if looking for a favorable post-exercise recovery beverage, again, look no further than chocolate milk and don't forget to take in a few final key thoughts:

• Best to drink chocolate milk within 30 minutes of finishing exercise.
• Low fat chocolate milk has been studied the most, though overall fat content should not affect carbo:protein ratio or amount of other nutrients.
• If cannot tolerate or allergic to cow-based milk, can try alternatives such as almond, soy, or rice milk products.
• Best if served cold to enhance enjoyment.