As we all start to sit down and take in arguably the greatest tournament in the world, the football World Cup, I’m sure a common question on people’s lips is ‘how do the players recover so quickly between games in what is a very dense period of fixtures?’

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All teams will play 3 group games within a one week period, and then the teams who progress will continue to play every 3-4 days until they are knocked out. This alone will require the players' recovery strategies to be on point in order for them to perform at their best every few days, but add in the heat of the desert and they’ll have another major factor to contend with when trying to recover.  

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Now, we all know that these players will have access to the very best resources and environment when it comes to recovery, but what exactly does this consist of?

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Massage therapists & Physios

Each team will have a MDT (multidisciplinary team) on hand around the clock to provide soft tissue massage and treat any potential injuries.

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Nutritionists & Chefs

Teams will have chefs and nutritionists to ensure they are fuelling their bodies as well as they can and at the right times with foods their bodies are used to consuming (important when training in a foreign country).

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Sleep

Players will have ample opportunity to sleep when they aren’t training or competing, so will make sure they get the optimal amount of uninterrupted sleep.

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Hot & Cold Therapy

This helps to reduce muscle soreness, another cog in a recovery wheel available to players to enhance their recovery from session to session and game to game.

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Hydration

The MDT will make sure that the players stay well hydrated, monitoring and adjusting water intake as necessary throughout the day. This will be even more crucial in a tournament based in the desert.

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Compression Technology

Another tool teams will have access to if they want it. The aim of this is to flush byproducts of training out of the system.

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Downtime

When the players aren’t training, competing or doing other tasks expected of them such as media work, they’ll get plenty of time to unwind which allows the body to rest and aid recovery. 

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To some these strategies won’t seem to be groundbreaking and the majority are accessible to non-elites too, but to a lesser extent due to finances, time restraints, sleep disruption, etc.

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However, getting these ‘basics’ right, which are often free or cost next to nothing, are the most valuable when it comes to recovering well. This means you as an everyday athlete could emulate at least half of the elite recovery strategy in order to be able to compete at your highest level with a short turnaround just like the pros. 

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Looking to bulletproof your body and recover like the pros? Back2Action can help. Get your first physio session at a discounted price here.

Or explore our training options here.