Recovery has become as important in athletes’ lives as training itself. Recovery has been proven to aid in the restoration of physiological and psychological processes in order to help athletes return to the same appropriate level of training or competing. Some of these physiological processes include; reduction in inflammation and fluid accumulation, reduced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), aids in removing toxins through the lymphatic system, helps to increase joint and muscular range of motion, enhances circulation. Recovery and performance is dependent on and affected by numerous factors including the duration and type of exercise performed but also a series of outside stressors. Therefore for adequate recovery you must also consider the below factors;
| Health | Illnesses, infection, injury, muscle soreness and damage |
| Lifestyle | Quality of sleep, amount of sleep, schedule, leisure/social activities, relationship with team members, coaches, friends, family, work / study situtation |
| Nutrition | Carbohydrate, protein, other nutrient intake, fluid and electrolyte balance |
| Psychological Stress | Stress and anxiety from competition |
| Training & Competition | Volume, intensity, duration, type of training, degree of fatigue, recovery from previous training/competition |