There are different recovery methods that soccer players can choose. After an intense training session or exhausting game, players need to recover properly, so they can be ready for the next physical activity. Here are things that soccer players may do:
- Rehydration: Drinking a lot of water after training or a match is not enough. Soccer players need to know how to rehydrate their bodies. The liquid should contain enough sodium at 50 mmol/liter, some potassium and simple glucose (sugar). Most sports drinks are adequate and you need to replace all the fluid that you lose. Directly after a training session, you may need to drink 16 ounces of sports drinks. Throughout the day, soccer players may need to drink up to 120 ounces of plain water.
- Tapering: Tapering is a common recovery tactic that is performed by many soccer clubs. Tapering is essentially the reduction of training intensity or volume for a certain amount, so players can achieve consistent recovery. Proper tapering may allow soccer players to achieve about six percent of improvement.
- Compression: Compression shorts and sleeves are great for taking care of swollen muscles, due to impact or physical activities. It is a way to reduce inflammatory responses. You can prevent soreness and get back to intense physical activities within days.
- Cooling down: It’s a commonly known fact that you shouldn’t stretch after a physical activity. When you are dirty, sweaty, tired and hungry, you couldn’t care less about what you should do next. In this case, you need to stretch passively and allow blood flow to tired muscles that have micro tears in them.
- Ice baths: Ice baths is also known as cryotherapy and it offers players the biggest bang for their back in just a couple of days. By regularly dunking your legs for 15 minutes in a big bucket of ice, you should be able to reduce soreness and swelling quite effectively. It’s something that you can do while relaxing and watching TV
- Hyperbaric chambers: Inside hyperbaric chambers, soccer players stay inside an environment with higher oxygen level and slightly higher atmospheric atmosphere. This will force your body to absorb more oxygen, which will have great results for your body. You may take a nap for a while inside the chamber and your body will be more refreshed.
- Massage: Massage therapy is a direct manipulation of soft tissue and muscle, which are fatigued or damaged. Soreness and swelling are signs that your massages need to be treated. After a massage session, soccer players will feel much refreshed.
- Supplements: Proper supplements may include vitamins, amino acids, creatine and antioxidants. Ginseng has also been shown to deliver some results for fatigued soccer players.
- Rest: A straightforward way during recovery session is simply to do nothing. It has been shown that after a session of intense physical activity, you need about 72 hours of rest to regain the original performance. During the 3-day rest session, you may do stretching sessions to speed up the process.
