Athletic Trainer Reveals the Post-Super Bowl Recovery Secrets NFL Athletes Use to Bounce Back Fast

This weekend, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks face off in Super Bowl LX. And while one team will spend the following week celebrating a hard-fought win with champagne showers and cigars, the other will naturally be in mourning. Still, both teams will surprisingly have one thing in common: recovery efforts after a high-adrenaline game.

"The first 24 to 48 hours are critical when it comes to recovery," says Chris Leary, head athletic trainer at Southern Connecticut State University. "Re-fueling takes priority. An NFL player can burn on average of close to 2,000 calories alone from the game."

Pre-game preparation is important for peak performance, but post-game recovery is equally important for protecting the body and maintaining that performance across a full season. During sport, the body burns through key nutrients like carbohydrates for energy, protein for muscle repair, and electrolytes for fluid balance. Post-game recovery is all about replenishing these stores.

"If players don't start the re-fueling process within a few hours after the game, the body will move into a caloric deficit that delay the whole process," Leery says.

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Of course, NFL players have access to a range of high-tech recovery tools, from red-light therapy to compression devices and cryotherapy. While these gadgets are fun to use and can certainly contribute to recovery efforts, the basics matter most.

"The basic tenants of sleep, nutrition, and hydration are extremely important, and often overlooked. The risk of injury dramatically increases when an individual sleeps less than eight hours a night, eats under their caloric needs, and fails to hydrate effectively," he adds.

Basically, fancy recovery tools can complement these habits, but they certainly can't replace them. So even if you see your favorite Super Bowl stars posted up in a hyperbaric chamber following the big game, remember that the bones of recovery doesn't always look as glamorous.

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