Today many athletes are using speed and agility training to improve their athleticism. In the effort to improve these areas in an athlete’s arsenal of tools there can be many areas to focus on. An athlete needs to be strong, flexible, motivated and smart to name a few characteristics. One area that is often overlooked is recovery between workouts. The faster an athlete can recover between training session the faster they can get to their next full intensity workout and get stronger. This is an area that can separate an athlete from the pack and also prevent injuries.Younger athletes especially miss this point due to the fact that they naturally recover faster than older athletes. As I have become older I have realized the powerful effect of using effective recovery techniques. Younger athletes should take notice of this powerful tool to create good habits early that will last them a lifetime.

There are many different methods for aiding in recovery but a few of my favorites include massage, hot and cold hydrotherapy (alternating putting the body in hot water and then cold water), dynamic stretching and active recovery exercises.

Massage is great for removing soreness from aching muscles and speeds up the recovery process quickly. You can have someone else massage areas that are sore for you or you can do it yourself if you can reach the needed areas. I like to use massage lotion to keep the skin lubricated so that pressure can be put into the skin and muscle without pulling on body hair or sticky skin.

I use a simple technique of massaging in circle for a period of time and then do a long stroking motion that goes toward the middle of the body towards the heart. The circles seem to dig up the sore matter inside the muscles and the stroking seems to flush the area of the sore particles inside the muscle.

Hot and cold hydrotherapy is simply submersing the body into hot water like a Jacuzzi or hot bathtub for a period of time and then submersing the body into cold water like a cold plunge, cold shower or any cold body of water. I personally use a river sometimes.

The alternating of hot and cold water provides a flood and removal type effect on the muscles. The hot water brings blood to the muscles and the cold water takes the blood out of the muscles. In theory this alternation circulates the blood and helps take out matter in the body that causes soreness.

One of my favorite hydrotherapy patterns is 3 minutes of hot water alternated with 1 minute of cold water. Try this for up to 5 alternations and you should feel better.

Dynamic stretching and active recovery workouts are very similar in what they do for the body. These activities are exercises for the body at very low intensity levels (Heart rate under 130 beats per minute). High intensity exercise (Heart rate near or above 180 beats per minute) is what causes the soreness in the body. These low-level intensity exercises bring blood flow to the sore muscles and then start the circulation process similar to massage and hot and cold therapy.

The dynamic stretching and active recovery workouts also have some stretching type movements that help release some of the matter that can make the body sore. These activities are great to do early in the morning the day after high intensity training.

In closing I highly recommend using all of these tools to increase recovery time and prepare your body for your next high intensity speed and agility training session.

We have some great exercises and routines for active recovery and dynamic stretching in our online training program.