Golf Performance
Recovery 101
The Work/Rest Cycle
Life moves in a cyclical pattern. Our bodies move through cycles, too. We cycle through the course of an athletic career, through annual training plans (which we call macrocyles), through smaller blocks of training (mesocycles), through the workouts in a week (microcycles).
These cycles depend not only on the periods in which we work but also on the periods in which we rest and build our recovery.
Recovery involves more than just the physiological or neurochemical processes at work. It also requires psychological restoration, or a renewed desire to train. Without this sense of enjoyment, your sport will not be a healthy part of your life.
Avoiding Overtraining
An imbalance between training and rest. It’s pushing the body to the brink and then yanking back before the athlete topples over the edge.
In order to prevent overtraining:
- Focus on your recovery nutrition
- Make sleep a priority
- Balance work, training, and relationships
- Wear compression clothing
- Practice restorative yoga
Active Recovery
Exercise at low intensity.
- Walk after a workout
- Light jogging
- Swim
- Sit in a hot tub
- Cycle in or outside
Managing Stress
Say NO, then you do not have to overcommit by juggling dozens of obligations.
What are your goals, plan ahead and learn to relax.
- Listen to music
- Yoga
- Meditation
Sleep
This is a huge topic and very critical.
Even a week of bad sleep causes adverse effects on glucose uptake and cortisol levels (engaging the sympathetic nervous system).
What is the optimal amount of sleep for you? You’ll have to really pay attention to this when you become a PGA or LPGA touring player.
One thing that has helped myself is listening to “delta waves”. You can open up Youtube and play lots of 8-hour videos.
Cold and Heat
Rule of thumb is use ice up to 6 hours after an injury or athletic performance to help reduce inflammation. When soft tissues are in an acute stage of damage, adding heat only aggravate this inflammation.
Heat has lots of great properties including a sauna, steam room or hot tub. They should all be very relaxing to help recovery.
Compression
The use of compression socks are great to help venous return and help blood flow.
Another option are compression boots, such as NormaTec boots, where you slide your legs in and then air compress different parts of your legs for 20-30 minutes.
