With the AFLW Season such a whirlwind filled with quick turnarounds and demanding regimes, recovery post-match is so important.

Personally, I have three key aspects to help my body recover and be ready to go for the next match or training session.

Ice bath or contrast therapy

I always do a 10-minute ice bath post-match to help my lower body recover as quickly as possible.

Some girls in the team prefer contrast therapy which is hot/colds.

They will do two minutes in the ice bath, then two minutes in the spa three times.

Whilst there are differing opinions out there about ice baths and their effectiveness, I have learnt recovery is all about what works best for you as an athlete.

I will also go back to the club 24 hours post-match and complete another ice bath.

We were extremely fortunate to visit the Peninsula Hot Springs last week between our tough five-day turnaround.

We took part in the ‘Fire & Ice’ experience, which is a different kind of contrast therapy.

The team went from the sauna to cold plunge pools ranging from 16 degree to just 4 degrees.

I have no doubt that it went a long way to helping the team recover and get us all ready to face Melbourne after such a short break and interstate travel to boot.

Nutrition & Hydration

A priority for me post-match is refuelling.

After a big training session or game, it’s important to eat a meal that is high in carbohydrates and protein to help refuel and repair.

We always weigh ourselves pre and post training/matches to see how much fluid we have lost.

This is a really good method for working out how much you need to drink post-match.

A simple method for working this out is:

1.5 x weight loss =  how much fluid needs to be consumed in Litres.

Sleep

The single most important part of my recovery is quality sleep.

After a game I will always sleep as long as I possibly can.

Sleep has a significant impact on muscle recovery.

At St Kilda, we value sleep so much that we even have our own sleep specialist!