Active Recovery Explained

Training and Fatigue

Hard exercise can lead to fatigue. This is hardly a startling claim; it is now well established that heavy muscular and aerobic exertion can result in the release of lactic acid into the tissues, causing pain and tenderness in the exercised muscles. Briefly, lactic acid accumulation causes an increase in the concentration of positively charged hydrogen ions in the blood and interstitial fluids, and these ions are registered by nerve endings in muscle tissue as pain. Clearly, it becomes more difficult to continue exercising when muscles are highly charged with pain.

Conventional wisdom has, until recently, recommended that athletes rest fully after workouts and training sessions. The basis of this recommendation is to aid in the removal of lactic acid – exertion causes it, therefore relaxation must result in its (eventual) clearance. Recent research, however, has inquired into whether there may be more optimal methods for clearing lactic acid accumulation than ‘passive recovery’ (resting). Chemically, lactic acid is broken down and cleared when it oxidizes (combines with oxygen). Clearly, any measure which results in increased oxygen in the tissues following heavy exercise could be exceptionally helpful in diminishing the concentration of lactic acid which, in turn, will reduce pain.

Fighting Fatigue with Activity

A research study which appeared in the April 1996 issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (Vol. 4, pp. 450 – 456) strongly suggested that a form of gentle exercise immediately following a sports event or intense workout was appreciably more effective in aiding recovery from lactate accumulation than full rest. Two exercise groups were studied – one rested completely following intense sporting or training events, the other exercised at 30% of full activity during intervals between more heavy exertions. The second, active group achieved a higher power output throughout the entire event or workout, and succeeded in reducing lactate levels significantly faster than the ‘passive’ recovery group.

Another study strongly suggested that active recovery (low, 30% intensity exercise) instead of total rest following a sporting event (a rugby match was used in this particular study) not only did not diminish athletes’ recovery rates but positively enhanced their mental attitude, largely by facilitating relaxation.

More significantly, additional research findings published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in 2003 showed that active recovery exercise significantly increased lactic acid clearance and accelerated athletes’ recovery.

While these findings appear to suggest that active recovery significantly enhances athletic performance, other studies strike a more equivocal note.

Contradictory Evidence

A study from Australia compared the performance of nine moderately-trained adult males who were asked to make four repeated sprint tests on a cycle ergometer, consisting of six four-second bursts of high speed cycling, with each burst separated by an interval of 21 seconds. The men performed the tests every seven days. What happened in the 21 second interval proved to be significant: in two of the tests, the subjects were asked to rest completely (i.e., practice ‘passive recovery’). In the other two, they were asked to continue cycling at 32% of VO2max (a measure gauging the maximum amount of oxygen an athlete is capable of using at peak exertion). This was the ‘active recovery’ part of the study.

Researchers then compared the performances on the men in the two trials, analyzing samples of muscle tissue before and after each cycling test for traces of phosphocreatine, creatine and lactate. While for both trials there was a drop in peak power output between the first and remaining sprints, the drop in peak power in the final sprint was greater for the active recovery trial than the passive one. Moreover, the active recovery trial consistently yielded higher lactate levels and lower phosphocreatine levels. The researchers claim that their findings suggest a less positive verdict for active recovery – it appears in this study to have a suboptimal effect on muscle metabolism and did not enhance performance (quite the opposite, in fact).

Even so, the researchers concede that, in training for competitions, there is little to be gained in suggesting that team athletes merely stand around between repeated-sprint events. They may benefit from active recovery exercises during these intervals, in the sense of stamina-building in preparation for team sport competitions.

An Ambiguous Conclusion?

In a nutshell, the science appears to be ambiguous. On the one hand, some studies suggest that active recovery enhances blood circulation after intense sporting events, thereby assisting in the removal of lactic acid and improving muscle recovery. On the other, different findings imply that active recovery has a depressing effect on muscle metabolism and may even impair performance. It should, perhaps, be noted that the subjects used in the Australian study which cast doubt on active recovery’s value, while moderately fit, were not themselves top athletes in the peak of condition. It may be that active recovery varies in its effects depending upon the level of fitness of the athlete, and that individuals who are in top physical shape will notice greater benefits than those who are in average or poor shape.

As athletic performance is frequently undermined by muscle soreness, some of the findings are important in pointing the way toward reducing this problem. A typical pattern, especially well known to weight-lifting athletes, is referred to professionally as ‘DOMS’ – Deferred Onset Muscular Soreness, a painful tenderness which usually sets in 24 – 48 hours after an intense workout. Trying to train with this degree of discomfort is usually impossible. Again, studies comparing passive recovery with active recovery tend to suggest that the latter strategy is far more effective in reducing this condition’s effects, and therefore increasing an athlete’s ability to get back to his or her training sooner.

Active recovery techniques are aimed simply at increasing blood flow to the exercised muscles following an intense workout or event; they are not to be thought of as continuations of strenuous exercise. Rather, active recovery techniques should be viewed as proactive methods of recovery and pain prevention, and should only be undertaken under the guidance of a professional trainer.

Can't get rid of your stubborn belly bulge? Are you looking for a balanced plan to reach and maintain the image that you crave? Click Here to get access to Vince Delmonte's solid fitness tips as well as highly practical advice. Click here for UltraFitnessDynamics Review of Vince Delmontes' Six Pack Quest program.