Episode #49: Christie Aschwanden and the strange science of recovery

We Run This

Recovery is important for athletes of all skill levels and abilities but in recent years the actual science behind how our body recovers has gotten a little confusing.

People are bombarded with ads for “cutting edge” recovery products and services: from drinks and recovery shakes to compression sleeves, foam rollers, electrical muscle stimulators, smartwatches, sleep trackers, and cryotherapy.

Christie Aschwanden is here to set the record straight about which the real ways to recovery and all of the unnecessary - and expensive - recovery products and promises to avoid.

Christie is the author of “Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery” and the former lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight. She’s also a frequent contributor to The New York Times and a former columnist for the Washington Post.

A lifetime athlete, Christie has raced in Europe and North America on the Team Rossignol Nordic ski racing squad and enjoys trail running, bicycling, skiing when she’s not investigating or debunking the newest recovery fad.

In our talk, Christie talks about the true science of recovery and discusses some of the findings in her book like whether drinking Gatorade really helps or hinders performance, how long a person should wait to get back into training after injury, the honest truth about ice baths, and much more.

**This episode is supported by Manscaped. Go to Manscaped.com and use the promo code WERUNTHIS20 to get 20% OFF and Free Shipping on your order.**

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