WE have all seen the videos and pictures of Floyd Mayweather visiting the Sub-Zero center in Las Vegas, but what is he actually doing?
This method is called Cryotherapy, a chamber that exposes the body to extreme temperatures of -130 degrees centigrade for a duration of between 2-3 minutes.
There is a mix between the scientific evidence supporting positive or no effect. Despite this, Cryotherapy is used by major sports clubs in football, rugby and American Football as a procedure to relieve pain symptoms, inflammatory responses, injuries and overuse symptoms.
Repeated treatments are apparently not able to have cumulative effects; however, the adaptation occurs when Cryotherapy follows or accompanies intense training.
What does this mean? Cryotherapy would be beneficial when under high-intensity training, however should not be used too often.
With sessions costing around £50, and with a mixed bag of evidence, we tell you how you can Recover without Money.
Get the basics right
A lot of athletes and recreational sport participants like to go for the fancy, niche products that have been proven (or in a lot of cases not) improve performance by as little as 1%.
First, you need to focus on the 10% blocks to build your foundations
Eat, Sleep, Train, Box
Sleep
- 30-36 hours of sleep deprivation can result in a loss of performance (physical, mental)
- Deprivation negatively affects hormone levels
- Sleep provides time for adaptation
Methods
- 8-10 hours sleep per night, monitor through sleep app
- Hot shower before bed
- Avoid reading, social media.
Eat
- Athletes need to replace sweat losses and maintain fuel stores while recovering from a training session.
- Inadequate refueling can affect muscle soreness and the immune system.
- There is a 2 hour window where nutrition can affect optimal recovery that athletes need to take advantage of
Methods
- 3:1 Carbohydrate : Protein drink/food immediately following training, a Yazoo milkshake is a great example.
- 4:1 Carbohydrate : Protein meal 60-90 minutes following training.
- Replace fluid lost (1 kg of body mass lost = ~1.2-1.5 litres of fluid)
Train
- Foam rolling can reduce muscle soreness while improving muscle function and range of motion.
- Mobility exercises following a workout can improve range of motion.
Methods
- Mild stretching to cool down 10 minutes
- Foam Rolling 10 minutes every day
- Mobility program once a day.
Box
- Managing your training loads is important to ensure you get the most out of your sessions, perform well in the hard sessions, and have the easy sessions in place for effective recovery and physical adaptation.
- Training with similar volume loads can increase training monotony, this can lead to overuse injuries, illness and training plateau.
Methods
- Plan a training week of heavy and light days
- Monitor sessions on rate of perceived exertion (RPE scale of 1-10)
- Have an active recovery boxing session of 30 minutes shadow boxing.
Get these 10%’s right and you will probably be on par with Mayweather!
For our FREE e-book ‘Punch Harder’ and to find out more about Boxing Science click HERE
