Hydration, diet and rest all play key roles in how our bodies recover, short-changing our bodies in these areas can impact your training efforts. For instance, a radical change in my eating habits (under the guidance of dietician) resolved my ongoing chest infections and lack of energy when training.

Recovery

Cold/ice baths, compression garments and massage are some of the areas we hear about as tools to aid our recovery. You will find research to prove and disprove their claims, I've found all three to benefit me at different times in my training programme, listening to how my body responded to the different methods when I tried them has given me the information I need on how to use each one effectively.

While cold baths are free and a compression garment is a one off purchase, testing out massage can be hit and miss, so for me finding a therapist who plays sport is a massive plus. We also now understand why regular massage works, being a crazy endurance cyclist, I can definitely feel the benefits I get from regular sessions, not just for treating injuries. See our article on "How the mitochondria have fallen" to see what's happening in your muscles when you get a massage.