Although it's not fun to admit, as a thirty-eight year old it takes longer and more effort to recover from strenuous training than it did when I was twenty-five or even thirty.
This was brought home to me in a serious way last weekend when twenty-four hours after a session of power-cleans and deadlifts I was struggling with fatigue, so much so that I decided to read up on it in order to prevent feeling so shitty again.
For about 36 – 48 hours after the lifting session I was experiencing all the hallmarks of central nervous system fatigue – tired, low mood, low motivation, low foolishness tolerance, reduced motor skills. It ruined a perfectly good weekend for me and made me difficult to be around for the family.
So how to prevent it?
Be aware of volume and intensity of training. I personally cannot train optimally if I'm lifting heavy and intensely three times a week.
Nutrition: Ensure that food and hydration are sorted. Last weekend I missed my whey shake post training and didn't eat well prior to training. Branch Chain Amino Acids are crucial for preventing fatigue.
Rest: I did not get to bed early enough or for long enough last week.
On to the physical plane..
Now, more than any other time in my life, warming up, stretching and foam rolling is a key part of not getting injured and not feeling like crap the day after training.
Before every session I warm up with shadow thai boxing, stretch (especially hip flexors, shoulders and hamstrings) and foam/hockey ball roll. Foam and ball rolling have been a revelation, helping with back tightness, shoulder pain and even sciatica. I strongly recommend checking out Joe De Franco's 'Agile 8' and 'Scarecrow' routines.
Another idea that I'm very keen on and feel to be important is active shoulder health. The bench press is well documented as leading to shoulder problems, particularly with the rotator cuff, and Jo DeFranco recently came out against the military/overhead press as an exercise that is in direct opposition to the structure of most trainees' shoulders. With this in mind I do ALL my main pressing movements with a swiss bar. This requires some adjustment and experimentation but I feel that it's worth it – since doing so I've had no shoulder problems. Add in to this full range dumbbell work and band work and I'm feeling good!
Here's to staying healthy.
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