What's the best way to recover from an intense practice or game? Find out.

Techniques to recover from hockey training have become of more interest to hockey coaches and hockey conditioning coaches for performance enhancement. Although there are many techniques that can used to recover from training, the most popular seem to be stretching, foam rolling, and post work-out snack or drink. Some athletes also used cold-water baths. However, the ultimate recovery tool is getting proper sleep.

Sleep – No myth, all truth

Sleep is the ultimate recovery technique because with proper quality and quantity of sleep, athletes recover properly from games, practices, and training, and will improve their performance.

One of the reasons sleep is so important for recovery from sports training is that there is a release of human growth hormone during stages 3 and 4 (there are 5 stages of sleep). As a result, the body does most of its repair work (from training) and regeneration during stages 3 and 4. Human growth hormone helps repair the damage that hard training does to the muscles and is key to improving sports performance.

Sleep research indicates there is a relationship between sleep and developing or improving skills and performance enhancement. Not getting enough sleep or getting poor sleep, poses a risk to improving hockey skills.

Foam rolling for recovery – we are still learning about rolling

Research, and practical application, on foam rolling as a recovery technique is starting to emerge. In one study the researchers wanted to find out if foam rolling after intense exercise could prevent performance decrements caused by sore muscles, and if rolling could reduce what is called “delayed onset muscle soreness” (DOMS – this is the soreness some athletes experience after very hard training, practices, or games). It was found that the foam rolling only slightly lessened decreases in sprint, jump, and strength performance caused by sore muscles. Likewise, there were only slight decreases in muscle pain (DOMS).

However, in a study done in 2013, the subjects did the same exercises to make the muscles sore, then rolled at 24, 48 and 72 hours post-workout. The researchers found that the foam rolling significantly reduced DOMS compared to the group who did not foam roll.

In another study done in 2014, the subjects did 10 sets of 10 repetitions of squats to make the quadriceps sore. Followed by no foam rolling or rolling right after the exercises, 24 hours, and 72 hours after. The researchers found that foam rolling significantly reduced quadriceps pain, and there were small to large amounts of improvement in sprint time, muscle power, and strength. The researchers concluded that foam rolling effectively reduced DOMS and decreases in performance caused by muscle soreness.

In conclusion, it appears foam rolling after intense training, practices, and/or games could increase blood flow, reduce muscle pain, and release endorphins. As such, foam rolling is a better choice after exercise, practices, and/or games than stretching, read on for information on stretching.

Stretching after training, practices, and games to reduce soreness – Myths and more myths

There is a lot of confusion about stretching to improve recovery, reduce muscle soreness, and clear lactic acid. Many coaches, conditioning coaches, and athletic therapists think that stretching after training, practices, and/or games (as a cool down) will reduce muscle soreness and help clear lactic acid.

However, multiple studies have shown that stretching does not aid significantly in lactic acid removal or to improve muscle recovery. In fact, it has been found that stretching actually decreases blood flow, which is not what we want after training, practices, or games. The research evidence suggests that stretching before, after, or before and after exercise, does not cause reductions in DOMS.

In regard to lactic acid, we have known for decades that lactic acid does not cause DOMS. And there is no benefit what-so-ever to stretching or doing a “flush ride” (riding a spin bike to help clear lactic acid) after training, practices, or games. Delayed onset muscle soreness is caused by damage at the microscopic level of the muscles (due to intense exercise).

Two researchers (Yuri V. Verkhoshansky and Mel C. Siff) are quoted as saying, “… stretching and … cooling down sessions have become well-accepted rituals, but does not imply that they are essential.”

Paul Ingraham, author of PainScience.com, has reviewed objective research as well as practical applications of stretching for recovery, reducing DOMS, and clearing lactic acid, and he is quoted as saying, “Unfortunately, the evidence strongly suggests that stretching does not prevent DOMS. Many studies have shown that nothing short of amputation can prevent DOMS and certainly not stretching. Whatever effect stretching has on inflammation in connective tissue, it does not add up to a DOMS cure.” 

Ice Baths – Not conclusive evidence, except they are COLD!

Ice, or cold water, baths are when an athlete sits in an ice bath typically between 5-15 C (41-59 F). The goal is to reduce body temperature, which is supposed to reduce muscle damage and inflammation. There appear to be short term vs long-term effects:

Short Term:

Cold water immersion after training, practice, or games could improve recovery by reducing:

• Fatigue
• Muscle soreness
• Exercise-induced muscle damage
• Muscle and tissue inflammation
• Could improve performance recovery in the short-term, and is perhaps ideal for competitions or games that are repeated over a weekend, such as a tournament where a team is playing two games in one day.

Long-term:

• Cold water baths might impair muscle building, recovery, and other training-related adaptations.
• Cold water baths may reduce “signaling pathways” to the muscles following a single exercise session, and reduce key long-term resistance training adaptations such as strength and muscle mass.

The research is mixed if cold water baths are an effective tool for recovery from high intensity training, practices, and games.

Naomi Crystal, a cold-water bath researcher says the following about their effectiveness:

“Ice baths are very popular as a treatment, but the research is really mixed as to whether they’re beneficial. They’re miserable. If it doesn’t work, don’t want to waste your time. Use them in tournament situations, use them with an athlete who has done something extraordinary hard (extremely hard exercise).”

 Post-Work-Out Snack – Truth about its Importance

There is so much information about consuming a post work-out/practice/game snack that it impossible to review it all in a brief section in the article. However, there is an elegant position stand published by the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2017. In this article, the authors have summarized the research on post work-out meal and the timing of the meal or snack. For ease of reading, the important points of the article are listed in bullet points.

• A post workout snack is important when the training, practice, or game is 60 – 90 minutes of high intensity exercise.
• Post-workout (within 30 – 60 minutes) consumption of a carbohydrate (CHO) snack (8 – 10 grams) has been shown to stimulate energy to the muscles.
• Adding protein (PRO) (0.2 – 0.5 grams) to the carbohydrate snack at a ratio of approximately 3:1 (CHO:PRO) has been shown to stimulate energy to the muscles to a greater extent.
• Ingestion of 6 – 20 grams of protein and 30 – 40 grams of carbohydrate within 3-hours after exercise, practice, and/or a game has been shown to significantly increase protein going into the muscle for recovery.

• Chocolate milk is an affordable recovery beverage for hockey players. Low-fat chocolate milk consists of a 4:1 carbohydrate:protein ratio and provides fluids and sodium to aid in post-workout recovery. Consuming chocolate milk immediately after exercise and again at 2 hours post-exercise appears to be optimal for exercise recovery and will help repair muscle damage.