The Effects Of Various Recovery Strategies On Post Exercise Recovery And Subsequent Performance.

Abstract

In order to accelerate the recovery process between training bouts many sports teams have adopted a wide range of recovery strategies, including ice bath immersion. Despite this, there is only limited scientific data available investigating the impact of such practices on the recovery process and subsequent performance.PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of 3 different recovery modalities following maximal exercise and to investigate the impact of each strategy on subsequent performance. METHODS: Ten trained male rugby union players (age 21 ± 2 years) were tested on three separate occasions. Each test began with a field based maximal aerobic endurance test (20MST), after which each subject completed, in a random order, one of three recovery strategies: passive recovery (PR), active recovery (AR) or ice bath immersion (IB). PR involved lying supine for 20 minutes; AR entailed stationary cycling for 20 minutes at 50% heart rate reserve; and IB required subjects to sit waist deep in an ice bath (5-8°C) for 3 × 30 second repetitions separated by 1 minute standing outside the bath. Following a 45 minute post-recovery strategy period, subjects completed six maximal shuttle sprints of a timed agility performance test (Illinois agility test) with 20 seconds recovery between each sprint. Blood lactate samples and muscle soreness ratings were measured at various intervals throughout each exercise and recovery trial. RESULTS: It was found that AR resulted in significantly lower blood lactate levels 5 minutes into the recovery strategy when compared to PR (p = 0.01). Muscle soreness was significantly lower for IB than for AR immediately after the 20 minute recovery period (p = 0.006). None of the other recovery indices were found to be significantly different across trials during the 45 minutes post exercise recovery period. Following the implementation of each of the 3 recovery strategies, no significant differences were observed for the subsequent performance test. CONCLUSION: The results of the current study indicate that although AR enhanced lactate removal and IB reduced perceived muscle soreness, none of the recovery modalities had a significant effect on subsequent performance outcome. Further studies are required exploring the effect of such strategies on recovery and subsequent performance.