This week's series of 'How to Avoid the Hurdles of Hypo's and Hyper's' is all about recovery and making sure you don't suffer after exercise from erratic blood sugars. But it's not just blood sugars that you need to keep in check to allow you to train again, it's your body too. Training for sport is based on breaking the muscles in your body, so that they'll rebuild again stronger and allow you to train better the next time. But that's not to say that you shouldn't do your best to recover from the last session so you can make the next one just as good.
In the past I've struggled with achilles injuries and so I know that the in between your sessions is just as important as the actual session especially in terms of recovery. After a session I like to put on my calf length style of Protect it socks that cover my achilles, keeping it warm and supported. If it has been an especially gruelling session they're great to wear underneath my clothes throughout the day too.
Protect it socks offer a slight compression which means that you have the benefits of increased support and circulation. From a scientific point of view compression can be important both during sport and after because blood can often pool in the lower limbs. If the blood pools then so do the nasty by-products such as lactic acid that will slow down or inhibit a performance. So it's important to get those by-products moving and it might even cut down the cost of having to have regular massage in order to flush out the bad bits.
On the world athletic stage some of you might of seen athletes wearing the knee high compressive socks. This is often done for a slightly different purpose. During the running motion the impact of hitting the ground causes small vibrations to shoot up through your feet and lower limbs. Those tiny vibrations are what cause issues such as shin splints which can later lead onto stress fractures. However, when you're wearing compressions socks they help to reduce the effects of the muscular vibrations. Keeping your muscles compressed but allowing your muscles to function whilst running.
Unlike many sportswear socks, the Protect it socks are not made solely from synthetic materials and have a high cotton content. Which I believe is what gives them the soft and fluffy feel when walking around in them. Cotton is also a fantastic natural absorber of moisture, so when feet sweat as they naturally do during sport. The socks feel absorbent and keep my feet cool when I need them too. Runner's similarly to people with diabetes need to look after their feet, they're the tools of the trade and if wearing a Protect it sock can help get you back to training effectively the next day I suggest you give them a try too!
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