I AM A huge fan of science. Sports science, that is. I regularly slot in a range of recovery techniques to my weekly Swans training program to keep the body ticking over.
These days people realise that it is not so much about training harder, it’s about how you recover. And during the season it’s all about recovery.
Ice baths, ocean baths, spas, yoga, Pilates, healthy diet and bio-acceleration apparel all play a part in my body’s recovery during the week.
For instance, with the water based stuff, I may go a couple of minutes each of cold (ice bath) to hot (spa) a few times to promote the blood flow and work out bruises and soreness.
Lucky for the Swans we have upgraded our wet recovery facilities to include ice baths and spas. These amenities opened last December at the SCG and have been another vital cog in our 2008 campaign.
Added to this, I regularly jump into the ocean for a cold dip, which also serves the purpose of helping my body recover from the running an on-baller does.
Pilates and yoga are also a big part of my week. They are good for not only injury prevention but for strength and flexibility. Again, it just gives me an edge.
For the younger players coming into the game I definitely think being more open-minded to things like yoga and Pilates can make the mind and the body perform a little bit better.
Even what you wear can help aid recovery. Like many elite sportsmen and women, we use compression socks on flights to help tired muscles recover. And performance apparel like “Skins” – bio-acceleration technology, body hugging compression tights – can be worn at training for a similar effect.
It is all about getting through training during the week and keeping my body in its best shape to keep me playing at my maximum. After all, AFL is one of the most physically-demanding codes.
When I first began playing senior footy nearly a decade ago, a lot of these sports science ideas were around but I didn’t take as much notice of them as I do now.
However, the game has changed. It is quicker and you need your players out on the ground so there has been a natural transition into recovery-based techniques.
There are times during the season when your body feels like crap and these recovery techniques definitely help improve you. That improvement may be just a couple of per cent a week but it all adds up.
And knowing you’ve done it gives you a competitive mental and physical edge because you feel like you’ve done an extra session.
A lot of the Swans boys incorporate these recovery techniques as a standard part of their week, so I’m not the only one. We’re all profiting from this scientific knowledge.
Anything that makes me feel better is a positive — and when my body’s feeling great I know that I can train harder and, hopefully, extend my career.
ARTICLE BY: ADAM GOODES
From: AFL, 17 June 2008