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When you finish your training, you’ve completed the first step toward improving your performance. Now comes the crucial second part: recovery. You can support this phase with various measures. Here are the five most important tips to help you achieve optimal recovery.

Competitive athletes differ from recreational athletes mainly in how much more time they devote to recovery. While a recreational athlete plans training around work and other commitments, a competitive athlete consciously eases off the gas pedal after training, reduces stress, and creates ideal conditions for recovery. Many successful athletes schedule not only their training but also their recovery using a regeneration plan. Because stress is always stress for the body—whether physical or mental.

How can you contribute to optimal recovery after training? Here are the five most important tips.

1. There are no shortcuts

When you create a training stimulus, you essentially cause a form of “damage” in different areas of your body, which it then tries to repair. And that’s not all. To get ready for next time, it pushes itself beyond the starting level. All it needs is enough time to do so. If you train again too soon, you start from a worse position. If you wait too long, your body adjusts the baseline back down. But if you hit the right moment, you’re stronger than before. Repeating this process over weeks and months leads your performance in the desired direction.

It’s important to understand that any training stimulus that is meant to trigger an adaptation always requires recovery time. There are no shortcuts, only ways to optimize recovery so that it’s as short as possible and not unnecessarily prolonged by factors such as lack of sleep, stress, or poor nutrition.

2. Use the metabolic window

When you train, your body needs energy. These energy stores must be replenished, just like the fluid lost through sweating. There are also repair, building, and adaptation processes in muscles and other tissues that require optimal protein intake. The best time to support these processes is during the metabolic window, within the first hour after training. With this—as well as by generally consuming enough energy—you also reduce your risk of injury and infection.

3. Get out of your clothes immediately

Especially during the colder season, it’s important to change out of your wet clothes as quickly as possible after training and put on dry, warm clothing. Make sure you don’t get cold, and stabilize your body temperature with a warm shower. Dry your wet hair thoroughly and wear a hat if necessary.

4. Treat yourself to a mini-break

If you’re someone who doesn’t make a living from sports, a short break after training can work wonders. After your shower, lie down for ten minutes on your bed or on a gym mat at the office. Try to consciously relax and focus on calm breathing. Use your phone only as a timer so you don’t miss the end of your mini-break. Avoid scrolling on Strava or other social media channels!

5. Make sure you get enough sleep

Sleep is probably the most important factor in post-training recovery. No other recovery measure comes even close to its effectiveness. During sleep, essential components of macromolecule biosynthesis are restored, and repair processes are initiated. Most people need 7 to 9 hours of sleep, and during intense training phases, even more may be necessary.