Thoughts on Recovery for a Professional Athlete (works for regular people too)

Recovery thoughts:

Below is some advice I was asked to give to a professional ballet dancer for a supplement regimen to aide with recovery. As fellow respected Broscientists, I wanted to ask you guys for feedback/input. Please let me know if you think I missed anything. As an added challenge, I have also asked reddit for feedback. Lets see how you guys stack up against those neckbeards.

Dear [Random Famous Friend],

I will have those screen shots we talked about from [random friend #2] later tonight and I will pass them along. Those are from a book that Bill Romanowski wrote. He was one of the hardest hitting players in NFL history and whats even more impressive is that he was in the league and starting for 16 years (that's basically unheard of for a linebacker).

First, I would like to know a bit more about your in season diet or if it doesn't change in season/offseason just what you typically eat.

Basics: when you feel muscle soreness 1-2 days after a performance/hard workout this is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. This is a different kind of soreness than that beat up feeling you get after just being exhausted (thats just a pile of lactic acid that hasn't been swept out of your system yet). When you experience DOMS it is because your body is in the process of repairing all of the micro tears in your muscle fibers caused by physical activity.This is how your body increases muscular endurance, size and strength over time. Your body is reacting to a stimulus (the activity that caused the tears) and adapting. What is important is that you give your body what it needs to make those micro repairs as quickly as possible. That means having the right building blocks to get the job done (vitamins, minerals, macronutrients available at the right time).

Vitamins/minerals: I assume you are already taking some sort of multivitamin. If you are not you should get on that. Make sure you get one that is a big pack of pills for every day not just one pill (more on that point below). Wake up every morning and slam down a glass of water with them preferable right after you get up. You are most likely deficient in some areas as almost all athletes are. Most common deficiencies for highly active people are in calcium and vitamin D, the B vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium, as well as some antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, β-carotene, and selenium. (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/717046_8[2] ) I for one noticed a night and day diffence when I started taking ZMA (Zinc Magnesium Aspartate) before bed. Your zinc levels get depleted from working out and guess what else....drinking. I found myself having deeper more restful sleep and more energy throughout the day after taking ZMA even on the first time (should be taken in addition to the multivitamin).

[Side Notes: Many bodybuilders/crossfitters also use melatonin to promote deep restful sleep (I have not had the chance to try it yet because ZMA works for me). An added benefit of have your body stuffed full of the right vitamins/minerals is that you won't get hangovers....I shit you not.]

Because of the nature of ballet, I would also strongly recommend starting a pro-joint/cartilage/connective tissue support regiment (if you aren't already). Glucosamine and chondroitin when taken together work wonders maintaining your joints, cartilage and connective tissues. Old people with arthritis take it but you should be taking it preemptively as well. Fish oil as a source for omega 3s/6s (hard to find essential fatty acids). Milk-thistle and Liv 52: these are liver support and cheap. Anyone who drinks and works out hard should be taking at least one of these everyday.

Last note on vitamins and minerals: dosing: you are not the "average" consumer. You are pushing your body 100 times harder than most people ever will and you are doing it every day. For example, I currently take a multivitamin by Animal Pak that is intended for athletes and have almost 3x the levels of all the vitamins/minerals compared to like 1 a day or Centrum. I'm not saying you need the animal pak brand but it most likely has to be a packet of pills for every day not just one.

Macronutrients: I'm sure you have some sort of pre-show food you usually eat and whatever works for you is fine so long as your energy levels are not dipping during the performance aka: bonking and "hitting the wall" (complete Glycogen depletion). (http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/cience-of-bonking-and-glycogen-depletion/[3]). Timing on pre-performance/workout meal/snack should be 30-40 minutes before. This way all of the glycogen and glucose are hitting your bloodstream right when your cells need it for fuel. Post workout meal/snack should be had immediately- no more than 70 minutes after you stop activity (post workout foam rolling/cool down does not count). This is to take advantage of our body's natural insulin spike that we get from hard physical activity. Your body is primed to digest food quickly and get your cells what they need to replenish and repair. This post workout meal should be heavy on the protein side (think 2:1 protein to carbs). I would even recommend having a whey protein shake (with casin). I use http://www.optimumnutrition.com/products/100-Whey-Gold-Standard-p-201.html[4] and would be very careful/do a lot of research using any other ones. I add 2 scoops to a glass of whole milk post workout (raw whole milk is even better but that's a tough one to get in [our random US city]).

I would also highly recommend taking branch chain amino acid (BCAAs) supplements before and after a performance or workout. Amino acids are the essential building blocks of protein. Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are amino acids that have a special branched structure BCAAs are three of the eight essential amino acids (EAAs). Essential means that your body can't synthesize these aminos, so you must get them from food. Red meat and dairy are particularly good sources of BCAAs, but you can also get them in chicken and turkey. Free-form BCAAs are great because they're almost instantaneously digested and sent into your bloodstream. Taking a BCAA supplement before, during, and after you train is important because BCAAs can help prevent muscle breakdown and having them already in your system will speed the repair process (remember those micro tears above).

Last protein based, broscience secret: have a spoon or two of cottage cheese before going to bed as night (It has Casein which is a slow-digesting protein, which means, while you sleep your body will be able to keep using it, rather than being hungry for 8 hours/ breaking down muscles for energy (your body does this if you run out of glycogen and glucose stores).

Final notes: 1) all of this stuff is available at GNC/Vitamin shop, 2) I'm not picky on brands (with the exception of the Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein), 3) none of this will make you "big" or "grow" but it will speed recovery and increase your overall energy levels (NOTE: if you find yourself being able to push harder/go longer you may, over a long period of time gain muscle mass because that's what the body does in reaction to increased workload/stimulus). If taking the right vitamins and macronutrients were enough to increase muscle mass no one would have to got to the gym, 4) feel free to share this with anyone for additional advice or feedback for me ([not so random common friend] John Durant comes to mind) as I am not a doctor or nutritionist. I have no formal training and everything I know I've learned through trial and error/personal experience AKA BROSCIENCE, 5) there are companies that will mail you a kit to test for various deficiencies in your blood/urine and your doctor should also be able to run these kinds of tests, 6) this regiment is tailored to a female professional athlete like you, I would have some additional recommendations for guys (mostly regarding naturally promoting free testosterone levels).

Let me know if you have any questions or if you want me to go on a field trip with you to GNC.