Evaluation of the use of recovery methods amongst Spanish amateur runners

Abstract

Physical exercise involves implementation of a large amount of energy resources.
In order to continue performing, both at a competitive level and in daily routines, an adequate recovery is required, particularly for those athletes who are not competing on a professional level. Fatigue is a multifactorial process that emerges when there is an imbalance between activity demands and physical and psychological capabilities of each athlete. Middle and long-distance running races are one of the most demanding events in which muscle fatigue is more noticeable, which is why the need for carry out a planned ‘invisible training’ and an increase recovery strategies adapted to the needs of each one. The main aim of this study was to evaluate how frequently amateur long- distance runners (between 5 and 42km) use ‘invisible training’ methods to aid their recovery. An ad- hoc questionnaire was developed from the literature review, which was administered to a sample of 495 Spanish amateur runners. According to the results obtained, it can be seen that the most used methods/strategies were related to diet, food supplements and performance monitoring; being the runners involved in longer distances the ones who usually claimed to use them.