Triathletes do all kinds of things to accelerate muscle recovery after hard runs. They stretch, take ice baths, wear compression socks, get massages, drink recovery shakes, and so forth. But a recent study suggests that something many triathletes do already for purposes other than recovery may do more than any of these measures to accelerate their recovery: swim.
The study, published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine and conducted by researchers at the University of Western Australia, involved nine well-trained triathletes. The subjects performed an interval run consisting of 8 x 3 minutes at 85-90% VO2 peak velocity on two separate occasions. Ten hours after the run, the triathletes either swam 2,000 meters or lay down for an equal amount of time. Fourteen hours after that, the subjects performed a high-intensity run to fatigue to assess how well their running performance had recovered from the previous day’s interval sessions.
Interestingly, the subjects who swam for recovery were able to run for 13 minutes and 50 seconds compared to those who had to lie still for recovery, who only managed 12 minutes and 8 seconds. That’s a 14 percent difference. The researchers also found that 24 hours after the interval run, the subjects who swam for recovery had lower levels of c-reactive protein, a biomarker of inflammation. This finding suggests that swimming for recovery enhances performance in a subsequent run by easing muscle tissue inflammation resulting from a previous run.
Many triathletes routinely schedule swims as their next workout following runs because it feels good to the legs. Now we know that it not only feels good but does good. If you’re not engaging in this practice already, start!
SOURCE:
Written by: Matt Fitzgerald
http://running.competitor.com/2011/03/training/swimming-for-post-run-recovery_22631