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Feeling tired, stiff and irritable? That's part of everyday training life. Sports scientist Dr Tierney has rounded up these ‘SHIT’ days to provide recovery tips for each symptom.

(Almost) everyone is familiar with them, those days that are simply ‘shit’. When you can barely manage to pull yourself out of bed, put one leg in front of the other and each movement seems to use up an extra dose of energy. There can be many reasons for this. One drink too many the night before, a strenuous training session with your sports club or a heavy workload. Perhaps it's even just the cold wind from forgetting to take your scarf with you as you left the house in a hurry. And now you're sitting on the edge of your bed and asking yourself how you're going to make it through the day – let alone your next training session. 

These days are ‘shit’. However, some people can’t imagine doing without their favourite daily activity. Nevertheless, you should think carefully about what to do if you're feeling ‘shit’. Dr Peter Tierney, a senior researcher at Lululemon and a long-time sports and healthcare scientist, developed the ‘SHIT’ Recovery Framework for precisely this purpose. It differentiates between four ways of feeling ‘shit’, whose starting initials spell out the word ‘SHIT’ and suggests how to quickly and effectively recover from these feelings. 

To train, yes or no? The SHIT framework provides simple recommendations for action.

Stiff: Dr Tierney describes stiffness as a condition in which one can no longer move in the way they would like. This might include knee pain, tense muscles or muscle cramp. His recipe for a rapid recovery: get yourself and your muscles moving, ideally with a (self) massage or hot bath to get the limbs going again. The hot-cold method also works wonders, for example by quickly changing the temperature between hot and cold while in the shower.

Heavy: that notorious feeling after a tough workout the day before. Dr Tierney initially recommends one day of increased protein intake to prepare the muscles for action again. Ice water (e.g. over the affected area when showering in the morning) or compression clothing such as tights for heavy legs after a long run can also help. 

Irritable: just like with physical discomfort, this model also includes mental blocks. If you're in a bad mood, meditating, yoga or doing something meaningful can help to clear the head. However, it's often a lack of sleep that is making us irritable. Do you have time for a 20-minute power nap? Can you shorten your day and go to bed earlier? These are all ways to soon feel more alert again. 

Tired: unlike irritability (which is not necessarily due to fatigue), all you can think about when you’re tired is getting some rest and lots of sleep as soon as you can. If possible, go for it! However, we often need to plough through the day instead. This is best done by drinking plenty (opting also for caffeine-based drinks). Meals containing carbohydrates can also help but should be consumed with caution as excess carbs can add a few grams of subcutaneous fat.

The ‘SHIT’ Framework should always be taken in context according to its finder, Dr Tierney. If you're only feeling a quarter ‘shit’, these recovery methods will usually help you quickly get back on your feet. However, if you are meeting two, three or even all of the ‘SHIT’ criteria, you should try to combine as many recovery methods as possible, adapt your training for the day where possible or even do away with it altogether in extreme cases. In particular, if you are suffering from an illness beyond the symptoms of the ‘SHIT’ Framework (stomach ache, respiratory issues, etc.), you are often forced (due to fever or inflammation) to take a break from work and sport. May those ‘SHIT’ days soon be over!