When competing in a tournament, there’s no rest for the weary. Games are typically packed much closer together than normally during the season. With such limited time, it’s vital to make the most of it. Tournament success is dependent upon it.
The name of the game is recovery. Training adaptations are not the focus right now. That work has already been done and now it’s time to show off that hard work. Being able to perform optimally and show off that hard work every game is the trick. Proper recovery and feeling fresh is what will allow this.
Maximizing your recovery takes proper planning. How much time between each event and the resources available will dictate what recovery strategy is best. But regardless, you need to make sure to have a plan.
“If you fail to plan, you should plan to fail”
How much time between events is the first piece of the puzzle. Most of the time there is likely to be at least 24 hours between events. While not perfect, this does allow a good amount of time to get back to close to 100% if things are done properly. For those situations with multiple events the same day, a different plan needs to be in place.
Knowing the schedule and how much time between events is crucial. This dictates what recovery strategies we can implement for maximum effectiveness and efficiency. The more time that we have, the more opportunity we have to eat and also to recover. On the other hand with less time, we naturally have to focus on what can provide more immediate benefits.
Optimized recovery is key to tournament success
After the first event ends, recovery should start immediately. Nutrition wise we want to make sure we have protein and fluid readily available. The protein can help us build muscle but right now we are more interested in how it helps repair the muscles we just beat up. Immediately after competition our muscle’s are like sponges and rapidly take up the protein provided. Simple protein shakes can be great due to their convenience to pack and ease of drinking.
All of the sweat that was lost needs to be replaced too! Drinking plenty of fluid starting immediately after helps to rehydrate us. Even just a slight dehydration can negatively impact our performance as well as increase our risk of soft tissue injuries. To help rehydrate quicker, drinking something with some extra electrolytes (sodium in particular) is important. The extra sodium helps the body to absorb the fluid better as well as reduces urine production to help hold onto that water as well. Two birds, one stone!
Carbohydrates help with quick energy replacement as well. With multiple events in one day where there are just hours between, carbs can play an even more important role. That quick energy carbs provide help to refill our gas tank to be filled up and ready to perform again. Carbs are typically very easy on the stomach as well and can help to provide that much needed energy without feeling as though there’s a brick in your stomach afterwards. When grabbing some carbs though make sure to do your best at limiting fiber due to the increased time it takes to digest fiber. That could create the uncomfortable brick feeling just mentioned.
Listen to your body
Overall, if it’s a full day between events we can enjoy whole meals to replenish our needs. There will be optimal time to digest and absorb everything. Fruits and vegetables will be of increased importance as well to help reduce inflammation. Those typically take a bit longer to digest but with this amount of time it won’t be a problem.
Same day quick turnarounds don’t allow us to have full meals necessarily. We have to focus more on ‘snack’ type items for quick access and digestion. Things such as sports drinks, protein shakes, granola bars, bananas and fruit snacks can be great in this moment. The closer that you can get to eating enough to fully replace the calories burned in the previous event, the better.
You know your body better than any body though. With that knowledge making sure to eat something that you know sits well for you and that you enjoy takes a big priority. At the end of the day, tournament success is based on feeling good and performing great. And one thing that is undefeated research wise is that eating something is better than nothing! So make sure you have snacks, drinks and are prepared to make the most of the time available to you.