Sleep is a very important aspect of day-to-day living. Late nights, minimal sleep, stressed out at work. It is all bound to catch up with you sooner or later.

Everyone can relate to having a late night (finishing an assignment or going out for drinks) and then had a few hours sleep before waking up and going to work, the gym or to school. Everyone
knows and remembers how bad you feel after only a couple of hours sleep.

We feel so bad, lethargic and lazy after a few hours sleep because our body hasn’t had time to recover from the day before. Whether you went to the gym, went for a run or had back-to-back
meetings all days our body, physically and mentally you need to recover (sometimes mentally is more important.)

If you just keep on going when feeling tired and run down your immune system will get weak and you are susceptible to illness, most commonly a cold or flu. So if you are feeling tired and worn
out slow down or you will get sick.

When we are asleep it is when our body can dedicate all of its time into recovering our muscles, nerves and brain. That is why a protein rich dinner is very important. Dinner is when we need to
make sure we have sufficient nutrients such as vitamins, protein, minerals etc in our diet. This is very important for children.

Children under the age of 12 need approximately 10 hours a sleep a night. This is due to the fact that their bodies are continually growing and changing. Adults need an average of eight hours a
sleep a night.

As you get to now your body and know when your body needs a rest and you must act on what it tells you. If you had a healthy breakfast (full of complex carbohydrates) and are slow and lethargic
all day maybe you need to slow down and have a rest. Power naps are great for a lunchtime snooze.

If you are stressed out at work sometimes this can be more harmful to your body because when your brain is stressed your body become stressed as well. Find something that is good for stress
management, this will help you in handling stress and sleep better as well.

Finally listen to your body is it tired due to bad nutrition choices or because you are over run? Act on what your body is telling you and you’ll live a life full of energy, illness and stress
free.

Recovery After a Judo Session

Do you ever wake up the next day after a grappling or weights session with sore muscles?

Many people wake up sore and uncomfortable after a session of judo, weights, running or any other intense exercise. A great deal of people surprisingly don’t have much idea about how to recover
from a session, or even where to begin.

This article is going to give you brief explanation of what steps you should take to help your body with recovery.

There are many different means of recovery from massage, nutrition, hydration, compression, sleep and cryotherapy.

But many of these forms of recovery are expensive or not readily available to athletes no training at a sporting complex. Therefore we must use other means in order to recover in between
sessions, especially at training camps where there are 2 or more sessions in one day.

First step: Hydration

The first step in recovery is hydration. If you are dehydrated you cannot perform at your optimum level so make sure you are hydrated throughout the training session. A good way to know if you
are hydrated at during a session is to weigh yourself before and after to see if you are the same, if you are lighter it means you are less hydrated than the start.

During vigorous training try to drink at least 200ml of water every fifteen minutes.

For general knowledge sake room temperature water (although is not as nice) is more easily absorbed than cold water.

Please also be aware that the best fluid to re-hydrate from is water. Many sports drinks have a lot of sugar with little or no re-hydration value, despite what the label may say.

Second step: Cool down and stretching

After your session it is very important to cool down and stretch. A cool down should consist of low impact exercise (eg walking around the mat) and stretching all muscles worked. Hold each
stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds each.

Third step: Nutrition

Immediately after your session try to ingest some sort of simple sugars, eg piece of fruit, sports drink (not for the hydration value but of sugar) muesli bar or some lollies. This is especially
important at training camps where you have multiple sessions in one day. You must recover as quickly as possible between sessions.

You have a window of approximately 1 hour after a session when your body is craving nutrients. So as soon as possible eat a meal high in complex carbohydrates (to replenish energy stores) and
plenty of protein (to repair muscles) as well as a glass of water to re-hydrate.

Many body building companies make supplements that are to be taken purely after a training session. These protein supplements are full of fast acting proteins (for quick absorption) as well as
simple and complex carbohydrates to give your body more energy.

Bear in mind that when dieting for competition recovery after a session becomes very important but also tricky due to the fact that many athletes don’t ingest carbohydrates at night time.
Therefore these athletes must get a protein meal as soon as possible.

Fourth step: Shower

The shower is the best place to complete hot and cold periods. 1 minute cold and 1 minute hot is the best way to remove lactic acid and other waste products from your body.

Fifth step: After shower

After your shower (because your muscles are nice and warm) you may like to stretch again. Place emphasis on the muscles that really are still stiff and sore.

Sixth step:

Make sure you also get a good night sleep, everyone is different but studies suggest a minimum of eight hours sleep a night is recommended due to the fact that your body does all of its recovery
while you are asleep.

Seventh step: Following day

If you are still sore the next day then make sure you start the day with a protein and carbohydrate rich meal of some sort. This may include eggs, bread, cereal, oats, milk, yoghurt etc. If your
muscles are still sore have anther stretch after your morning shower or on your lunch break at work.

These guidelines are what I believe will aid recovery between training session and this is very important during regular training but especially at training camps.

Please note that these guidelines are something that I follow and are in no way meant to replace that of a medical professional. If you need more info talk to your coach as well as some of the
older athletes at your club and get some ideas about what they did in order to recover from training.