Muscle Recovery

[The SnowShow]

Like the OP, I'm trying to ski 5-7 days per week. I drink as much water as I can in the morning before starting the ski day, and after done skiing I drink as much water as I can throughout the evenings/nights at home...so it's annoying that I piss all the time at home. I don't drink water during the ski day, just so I can avoid stopping to piss, avoiding a belly full of sloshing water on the hill, avoid carrying water bottle, etc. That hydration schedule works for me at low-elevation Whistler, but not sure if it would be enough for me at high-elevation Colorado, etc.

SnowShow, if you're pissing that much but still think you feel "dehydrated" with headaches, maybe something else is off...like maybe your electrolytes or sodium level is getting low enough to make you feel weird, which can happen if you're sweating them out or pissing them out. Just a guess.

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That would make sense. What would be an optimal solution? Drink Gatorade and eat salty almonds after skiing?

[Vitamin I]

...
Other things that make a small difference:
Hot-Cold alternating showers or baths
...

I'm no expert, and I have no iron-clad conclusive personal A/B Testing about which things work and which don't, but I'm leaning toward these beliefs:

- Hot-Cold Alternating Baths (ideally with jets, or massage if you can):
This theory seems believable for speeding up delivery of nutrients to muscle cells, and flushing away waste products (e.g. lactic acid, etc.) from muscle cells. The hot cycle might actually "soak up the sponge" with a larger volume & flow of nutrient-rich blood, then the usual exchange of nutrients for waste products in the muscle cells---and then the cold cycle might actually "squeeze out the sponge" with its waste-product-rich blood, then repeat. I never bothered to try it until this ski season (21 days skiing already), because this year I also have an injured extremity that needs all the blood flow it can get (partially torn Achilles tendon). Whatever I'm doing is working, but I can't conclude that all the credit goes to these hot-cold cycles, because I'm doing other rehab & recovery too.

- Simple heat or hot tub by itself:
I suspect that would mainly just increase inflammation in my few troublesome joints. (A negative NOT worth any possible benefits for muscle tissue.)

- Massage or hot tub jets by itself:
Definitely feels good and relaxed, but I'm not convinced it would significantly improve skiing performance. Sure, seems like it would somewhat speed up the flushing away of waste products from the muscle cells.

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[jackstraw]

That would make sense. What would be an optimal solution? Drink Gatorade and eat salty almonds after skiing?

You could be over hydrating and yeah then your sodium level drops. Might be worth seeking out a pro for advice.

[Vitamin I]

That would make sense. What would be an optimal solution? Drink Gatorade and eat salty almonds after skiing?

Yeah, to start, try Gatorade for sure. After a few trials of that, see how you feel, maybe that's enough...or maybe you'll decide to try the salty almonds in addition. For my body, if I have a big sweaty sports day in hot summer, then I can eat lots of salty foods afterwards without feeling like I ate too much salt...but in winter, I don't sweat as much, so I make sure I don't overdo the salt at the end of the day. But for electrolytes, it seems like I can always drink more Gatorade without fear of overdoing it.

For an "optimal solution", a serious competition athlete should chime in here. An earlier post in this thread recommended that Recoverite by Hammer Nutrition might be more serious recovery drink than Gatorade, etc.

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[liv2ski]

Recoverite by Hammer Nutrition appears to be a solid muscle recovery solution from the reviews on it. I just ordered some.

[robnow]

Add Himalyan Rock (Pink) salt to your water, much better absorption. I'll actually drink a half litre before bed and won't need to pee in the middle of the night.

Also a great product to drink throughout the day and to help with recovery:
https://www.bodysystemslabs.com
Contains the 9 essential Amino Acids (including proper ratio of BCAAs) plus electrolytes. I still pee this out so would add extra rock salt and also Glutamine.

Heat should help as it will promote blood flow plus there is more and more new evidence suggesting heat exposure such as 30 minute sauna sessions a few times/week helps with health and longevity.

The KEY thing though is quality sleep. 8 hours of deep uninterrupted sleep. Make your room as dark and quiet as possible, even wearing ear plugs helps me a lot, especially with my snoring girlfriend. Good sleep has been proven to be the most significant factor in maintaining our androgen (testosterone) levels.

[auvgeek]

One thing I struggle with the day after a big hike or ski is feeling dehydrated (leading to a headache), even though I drink lots of water during and after hike/ski. What am I doing wrong?

Electrolyte imbalance is my guess. Try some sort of electrolyte supplement. Rapid Rehydr8 is pretty cheap on amazon, though there are probably fancier products from the cycling or skimo racing worlds. But most westerners are deficient in magnesium and vitamin d3, so I take 5k IU of D3 and 400-800mg magnesium a day anyway.

Also, gotta replace your glycogen stores within 30 min of finishing your tour/workout.

That's all addition to a healthy diet and 8 hours of sleep every night. No ibuprofen or antibiotics is also important -- gotta keep your gut happy.

[old goat]

One thing I struggle with the day after a big hike or ski is feeling dehydrated (leading to a headache), even though I drink lots of water during and after hike/ski. What am I doing wrong?

If you're getting dehydrated fast enough you may be drinking as much as you're losing, but the fluid you're drinking can't get into the cells and intercellular spaces fast enough. It is absorbed from your stomach into your bloodstream but a lot of it goes to your kidneys and we all know where it goes from there. So you piss plenty and take that as a sign you're rehydrated, but in fact your tissues are still dehydrated. Drinking a little, frequently (something I never do unfortunately) rather than taking big drinks can help, but only up to a point.

The other possibility is that you're overhydrating and diluting the sodium in your blood, which can cause headaches (and death). Unless you're in the desert in 120 degrees there should be enough sodium in the food it takes to keep you going to seat a lot to make up for what you lose, but not enough if you are grossly overhydrating.

I find I get headaches after a long hike or big ski day on a sunny day and that a shower makes the headache go away. I don't know what that means but I doubt I am absorbing water through my skin. I do kind of look like a frog though.