I recently met with Ken Graham, an exercise physiologist at the NSW Institute of Sport at Homebush. This is what I learned from him.

We have become familiar with the tiredness following a heavy training session. The term "No pain, no gain" may apply, but in order to benefit from training, our bodies need to recover, before we can benefit.

Swimming, running & cycling for hours tend to deplete the body’s stores of glycogen (carbohydrates) as well dehydrate. We know that thirst is an inadequate indicator of hydration status, so I advise drinking water regularly during the day (1-2 litres) between training sessions.

Running downhill and gym sessions that involve strength work involve eccentric exercise. This results in the familiar muscle soreness following a workout. In these scenarios, we injure muscle, and may need additional protein intake.

Recovery exercise sessions benefit by stimulating the release of anabolic (building up) hormones like Growth Hormone, that increase adaptation to training and enhance the recovery processes. The exercise must be of high intensity to allow release of the hormones, but not too intense to result in fatigue. This equates to a heart rate of about 140 beats/minute for 30-45minutes in adults.

The best exercise is swimming, deep-water running (using a buoyancy vest), paddling (kayak) and cycling. This is another reason that running athletes benefit from doing other sports! During this exercise you should drink water, not carbohydrate drinks.

Alternating hard (high intensity) and light exercise days is probably the best way to ensure trouble free training. Many succeed by having consecutive days of hard training, but they need to pay more attention to recovery sessions, and may need at least one day of complete rest a week!

The body best appreciates drink within 20 minutes of finishing exercise. No, I don’t mean beer, or wine, but sports drink and water.

Meals that include protein from animal and vegetable sources (eg. lean meat, dairy products, bread, cereal, legumes) is sufficient, and I do not support the use of powdered protein and individual amino acid supplements for (endurance) athletes.

Sports Nutritionists recommend a protein intake of 1.5 – 2g/kg/day for most athletes, with the exception of strength training athletes who require larger protein intakes. High protein supplements can lead to an increased fat storage if exercising does not use up the energy value of the food (protein) intake. Endurance athletes who are vegetarian should be able to meet almost all their nutritional requirements, but need to take care with regards iron intake.

Sleep is good! Effective sleep to assist recovery and repair should include deep sleep for 1-1 ½ hrs to allow release of Growth Hormone. The room should be as dark as possible, and should be well ventilated rather than air-conditioned. A warm –hot bath or shower followed by a cool shower can result in a deeper stage of sleep.