GAA Muscle Recovery Tips | Expert Advice
By Brian Keane Fitness
Getting back to training? It’s that time of the year again when your focus and priority shift towards the upcoming season. The thoughts of togging out for the championship on a sunny day with a hard pitch swirl to the front of your mind as you prepare for a new year ahead. You run through your preseason checklist.
- Food plan – check.
- Gym program – check.
- Some light pitch work – check.
You might even add in some new football boots, gloves or supplements to your regime. Excitement grows as you get closer to your first full week back at training. Then it hits you like a metaphorically ton of bricks. DOMS! The DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) appears from exerting your body in a new way. Thankfully, it doesn’t last too long and you can largely mitigate against it with the right nutritional plan and high-quality sleep.
Whole foods made up of complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and complete protein sources mixed with 8 hours (minimum) of uninterrupted sleep every night will do the job nicely. But what about the marginal gains? The final 5%? That’s where things like your Epsom Salts Gel or Topical Magnesium and Arnica come in.
“With GAA, the difference between you and most of your competition can be how well you recover between sessions. If you recover well, you can train harder and play better. Add that up over several months and you’ll set yourself up for the best season yet.”
My personal regimen with the products mentioned is:
- A warm bath with 3-4 cups of ULTRAPURE Laboratories Epsom Salts after my most demanding training sessions (gym, pitch or game). I normally do it 2-3 times per week. If you don’t have a bath, then extra ULTRAPURE Laboratories Epsom Salts Gel can also work well.
- I use the Epsom Salts Gel on days when I’m exceptionally tight or stiff (normally my quads, hamstrings and calves).
- ULTRAPURE Laboratories Arnica on any niggle I get with training or games.
As mentioned, these tips by themselves aren’t enough for your recovery – your sleep, nutrition and training load determine that; but these are the things that can move you from a figurative 9 out of 10 to a 10 out of 10; and over the course of a long season, that really adds up.
About Brian Keane:
Brian is a qualified personal trainer, sports nutritionist plus strength and conditioning coach. He is also the best-selling author of the book ‘The Fitness Mindset’ and currently travels the world as a professional speaker. Brian also hosts the highly successful podcast ‘The Brian Keane Podcast‘. If you like Brian’s GAA tips above, please click here for more information on his GAA Lean Body Program.
