Doug;
Good point of discussion. My own personal experience is that an easy
work-out the day after or even the afternoon after a hard, higher intensity
session does speed recovery. In theory it helps flush waste products from
the muscle and brings nutrients to the muscle. The key is an easy work-out,
low stress. you are not trying to gain fitness. This is when
cross-training can be used effectively.
Regarding apparent conflict of philosophy, sometimes experience will
give us important information before it can be validated or understood by
scientific method. Sometimes science and experience appear to conflict.
for example, what has become current scientific dogma is that you can't
oxidize more than 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour during exercise yet
athletes consistantly consume greater quanitites than this with great
success. an example is Natasha Badmann. During her wins at the Hawaii
Ironman she consumed 80 grams of carbohydrate each hour and she is a
relatively small person. This is also true for the concentration of sports
drinks. There is probably substantial individaul variability and, perhaps,
increased absorption, tolerance and utilization of carbohydrate can be
trained.
Perhaps we should not view this as conflict but instead admit that we
have a limited amount of scientific information. We should not just dismiss
information that is based on experience just because it has not been
substantiated (yet)
Deborah
Deborah Shulman, Ph.D.
www.BodyScience.us
dshulman@...
(970) 481-2523