Perception of Recovery Is Related to Sprint Performance
Background Training recovery is vital for adaptation and performance, and to avoid cumulative fatigue and symptoms associated with overtraining. The use of cold-water immersion (CWI) as a recovery strategy is common; however, the physiological and biochemical rationale behind its use remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between body temperature responses to water immersion and individual perception of recovery, with subsequent exercise performance.
Methods Twelve male rugby players participated in a 3-week cross-over trial where an intense 60 min conditioning session was followed immediately by 15 min of either 14°C CWI, 30°C warm-water immersion (WWI) or passive control (CON) recovery intervention. Postexercise body temperatures and subjective ratings of the recovery intervention were recorded and subsequently related to performance in a 5×40 m repeated sprint protocol undertaken 24 h later.
Results CWI induced large reductions in core body temperature postimmersion (effect size (ES) range 1.05–3.21) and improved subsequent sprint performance compared to WWI (ES 1.04±0.84) and CON (ES 1.44±0.84). Both the degree of temperature decrease at 60 min postimmersion (r=0.6948; p=0.0121) and the subjective rating of the recovery intervention (r=0.5886; p=0.0441) were related to subsequent sprint performance. A very strong linear correlation was observed when these two factors were integrated (r=0.7743; p=0.0031).
Conclusion A combination of physiological and psychological indices provides an improved indication of subsequent performance and suggests an important role of individual perception in enhancing training recovery.
Bishop et al have identified 'training recovery' as the vital period between successive training sessions or competitions with the potential to improve subsequent performance, and highlight the fact that athletes will spend more of their time recovering than they do in training. Thus, the recovery process is a crucial component of the adaptive process and it is necessary for athletes to engage in effective strategies to avoid the potential maladaptive physiological and psychological effects of overtraining.
Hydrotherapy is one strategy that is commonly employed to assist in recovery and cold-water immersion (CWI) has been heavily researched as a strategy to mitigate the negative effects of muscle damage and has been shown to improve subsequent exercise performance. Repeated sprint ability has been demonstrated to correlate with on-field performance in rugby and in a male team-sport cohort, researchers have demonstrated that CWI improves sport-specific recovery to a greater extent than passive rest when performing repeated circuits that simulate rugby union games. However, the same researchers did not demonstrate this benefit in power tests. Additional studies have also shown either no benefit or even negative effects of CWI on subsequent exercise performance.
The equivocal results seen in the literature may be partially explained by discrepancies in the water immersion protocols, participants of differing training levels, variable measures of recovery that may not be related to athletic performance, gender effects and the fact that the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of CWI have yet to be fully elucidated. One possible mechanism suggested to account for the positive effects of CWI on subsequent maximal exercise performance is the marked effect on core body temperature, although other mechanisms including an attenuation of inflammation and an analgesic effect likely contribute to the effectiveness if the intervention.
Interestingly, in the study by Higgins et al, the detrimental effect of CWI on performance indices was associated with negative subjective measures of its effectiveness, suggesting the contribution of a psychological mechanism. Indeed, a psychobiological tool has been reported to provide valuable information regarding recovery and has been related to sprint performance. Further, psychological factors such as expectancy have been suggested to significantly contribute to the both positive and negative sports performance.
Thus, we suggest that 'training recovery' may be better accounted for by employing an integrated approach that combines the psychological perception of the recovery intervention with a range of physiological measures, including a decrease in body temperature. To test this hypothesis, the present study utilised a 60 min high-intensity conditioning session followed by 15 min of either CWI or warm-water immersion (WWI) or a passive seated recovery protocol. Specifically, the relationship between an individual's core body temperature perception of the recovery strategies were evaluated against repeated sprint performance undertaken 24 h after the conditioning session in well-trained team-sport athletes.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Background Training recovery is vital for adaptation and performance, and to avoid cumulative fatigue and symptoms associated with overtraining. The use of cold-water immersion (CWI) as a recovery strategy is common; however, the physiological and biochemical rationale behind its use remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between body temperature responses to water immersion and individual perception of recovery, with subsequent exercise performance.
Methods Twelve male rugby players participated in a 3-week cross-over trial where an intense 60 min conditioning session was followed immediately by 15 min of either 14°C CWI, 30°C warm-water immersion (WWI) or passive control (CON) recovery intervention. Postexercise body temperatures and subjective ratings of the recovery intervention were recorded and subsequently related to performance in a 5×40 m repeated sprint protocol undertaken 24 h later.
Results CWI induced large reductions in core body temperature postimmersion (effect size (ES) range 1.05–3.21) and improved subsequent sprint performance compared to WWI (ES 1.04±0.84) and CON (ES 1.44±0.84). Both the degree of temperature decrease at 60 min postimmersion (r=0.6948; p=0.0121) and the subjective rating of the recovery intervention (r=0.5886; p=0.0441) were related to subsequent sprint performance. A very strong linear correlation was observed when these two factors were integrated (r=0.7743; p=0.0031).
Conclusion A combination of physiological and psychological indices provides an improved indication of subsequent performance and suggests an important role of individual perception in enhancing training recovery.
Introduction
Bishop et al have identified 'training recovery' as the vital period between successive training sessions or competitions with the potential to improve subsequent performance, and highlight the fact that athletes will spend more of their time recovering than they do in training. Thus, the recovery process is a crucial component of the adaptive process and it is necessary for athletes to engage in effective strategies to avoid the potential maladaptive physiological and psychological effects of overtraining.
Hydrotherapy is one strategy that is commonly employed to assist in recovery and cold-water immersion (CWI) has been heavily researched as a strategy to mitigate the negative effects of muscle damage and has been shown to improve subsequent exercise performance. Repeated sprint ability has been demonstrated to correlate with on-field performance in rugby and in a male team-sport cohort, researchers have demonstrated that CWI improves sport-specific recovery to a greater extent than passive rest when performing repeated circuits that simulate rugby union games. However, the same researchers did not demonstrate this benefit in power tests. Additional studies have also shown either no benefit or even negative effects of CWI on subsequent exercise performance.
The equivocal results seen in the literature may be partially explained by discrepancies in the water immersion protocols, participants of differing training levels, variable measures of recovery that may not be related to athletic performance, gender effects and the fact that the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of CWI have yet to be fully elucidated. One possible mechanism suggested to account for the positive effects of CWI on subsequent maximal exercise performance is the marked effect on core body temperature, although other mechanisms including an attenuation of inflammation and an analgesic effect likely contribute to the effectiveness if the intervention.
Interestingly, in the study by Higgins et al, the detrimental effect of CWI on performance indices was associated with negative subjective measures of its effectiveness, suggesting the contribution of a psychological mechanism. Indeed, a psychobiological tool has been reported to provide valuable information regarding recovery and has been related to sprint performance. Further, psychological factors such as expectancy have been suggested to significantly contribute to the both positive and negative sports performance.
Thus, we suggest that 'training recovery' may be better accounted for by employing an integrated approach that combines the psychological perception of the recovery intervention with a range of physiological measures, including a decrease in body temperature. To test this hypothesis, the present study utilised a 60 min high-intensity conditioning session followed by 15 min of either CWI or warm-water immersion (WWI) or a passive seated recovery protocol. Specifically, the relationship between an individual's core body temperature perception of the recovery strategies were evaluated against repeated sprint performance undertaken 24 h after the conditioning session in well-trained team-sport athletes.