Recovery is quite important as we spend most of the day doing other activities other than training. Here are some useful ways to employ recovery tactics into your training.

1) Stretching.

Keeping flexible may help you go faster in the long run as you are able to have more range of motion. Stretching may even prevent some soreness.

While static stretching is good (when you hold a stretch for a given amount of time) yoga may prove to be more beneficial to triathletes. As static stretching has been shown through some research to only improve your range of motion in the position that the stretch is held. That is OK however as a triathlete you want a full range of motion for the many dynamic movements that are use in triathlon.

Yoga may be better for this as it involves stretching with slow movements through a full range of motion in many cases.

2) Message.

They feel good and help to keep your muscles nice and relaxed. They are a great way to keep the blood flow going in your legs which in turn may help you recover quicker.

In addition it is a great way to break up adhesions in the muscle and loosen tight spots via trigger points.

Top professional athletes in many types of sports get messages daily.

3) Recovery rides and or swims.

Recovery rides and swims are a great way to aid recovery. In order to keep joints flexible we must move. Why is this? Are joints are not lubricated via the blood stream rather they are lubricated through are lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is not pumped through our body by the heart but by human inertia or movement. This is why more and more Doctors are telling people to move as much as possible when then have a sore back or other areas of pain.

Recovery rides and swims also raise your heart rate. (It is important to keep your heart rate way down in these work outs. Zone 1 (Friel) is what you want. This slight elevation in heart rate will help get a little more blood in and out of your muscles thus the theory is you speed recovery. I have found this seems to be true for me. A least I feel better on next normal work out VS sitting on my dumper and doing nothing.

4) Sleep.

Sleep rocks. It is when your mind and body have time to rest and recover, probably the most. This is also when your body releases quite a lot of human growth hormone. In order to maximize this, stay away from eating carbohydrates 2 hour before sleep as this will inhibit the body from releasing human growth hormone. Human Growth hormone has been indicated in many studies to play a large role in helping one recover and build muscle.

How many hours of sleep you need varies from person to person. Michael Jordan all through his playing days only slept for 3 hours a night. Most people need 7-9. Consistency is key in sleeping too. Going to bed and getting up at the same time can be useful in feeling the most energy when arising.

5) Elevate your legs.

The idea is to drain your legs via gravity as blood can pool. For every hour of training, elevate for about 5 minutes. Thus 3 hours = 15 minutes of elevation.

Lay flat on your back and keep them up above the rest of your body, you can prop them on a wall, stability ball, etc.

6) Compression socks.

This is a new one but I believe it has some merit. Often after a hard day of training I find that my ankles and lower shin can look swollen and feel stiffer. Compression socks have helped with this for me. I wear them after I train.

I'm have also employed the socks while traveling and I notice a reduction in swelling and my legs feel fresher. I Know some pros are doing this and I'm sure some of you triathletes out there have seen some people out there sporting these knee high socks in races.

7) Ice baths

Although not the most fun at times these can help. Ice baths reduce swelling and minimize the blood rush to the legs created by tiny micro tears in the muscle while working out. Research has shown The body will rush lots of blood to the legs after a work out. Ice baths help to reduce this mass rush which elevates some swelling.

Employ ice after a work out for 5 to 10 minutes.

In all, recovery is very important as it is when you body builds itself to be stronger and adapts to the training stress one has put it under. These actions to aid recovery may prove useful to you.

Kerry Sullivan is a certified USAT, USAC II, CSCS and NLP practitioner
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