Athlete Recovery Strategies Flashcards

Contrast water therapy (CWT) alternates between hot and cold immersion. What is its primary proposed mechanism for enhancing recovery?

Answer: Alternating vasodilation and vasoconstriction creating a pumping effect to clear metabolic waste

Alternating thermal stimuli cause repeated vasodilation and vasoconstriction, theoretically acting as a vascular pump to flush metabolic byproducts.

Protein intake of 0.3–0.4 g/kg is recommended immediately post-exercise primarily to:

Answer: Stimulate maximal muscle protein synthesis

Ingesting ~0.3–0.4 g/kg of high-quality protein post-exercise maximally stimulates muscle protein synthesis to support repair and adaptation.

Which approach to sleep hygiene has the strongest evidence for improving sleep onset latency in athletes?

Answer: Keeping a consistent sleep-wake schedule and minimizing blue light exposure before bed

Consistent sleep timing and reducing blue light exposure before bed are evidence-based behavioral strategies that reliably improve sleep onset and quality.

In the context of the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR), a ratio above 1.5 is associated with:

Answer: Increased injury risk due to excessive acute load spike

An ACWR >1.5 indicates the athlete's recent workload has spiked well beyond their chronic fitness base, significantly elevating injury risk.

Which recovery modality is specifically recommended to address exercise-induced arterial stiffness and cardiovascular strain post-competition?

Answer: Sauna/heat therapy

Repeated sauna use post-exercise has been shown to reduce arterial stiffness, improve endothelial function, and support cardiovascular recovery.

A swimmer's HRV scores drop significantly during a competition travel week. The most appropriate immediate intervention is:

Answer: Prioritize sleep, reduce training load, and address jet lag with light exposure timing

Circadian disruption from travel suppresses HRV; resetting sleep and reducing load while using light exposure to phase-shift the circadian clock is the evidence-based response.

Which amino acid is considered the primary trigger of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) through mTORC1 pathway activation?

Answer: Leucine

Leucine acts as a nutrient sensor that directly activates mTORC1, initiating the downstream signaling cascade responsible for muscle protein synthesis.