mattdsteele reviewed Good to Go by Christie Aschwanden
Two parts lit review, one part investigatory journalism
4 stars
If you spend enough time around amateur athletes you'll hear about all kinds of techniques and products to accelerate recovery, from "golden hours" that maximize supplement intake, to pneumatic compression pants. Good To Go investigates the science behind these products, and finds a lot of them to be overcomplicated, and claims overblown. Most athletes can maintain homeostasis by listening to their body, getting enough rest, and not overthinking it. But the author doesn't swear off every technique, and grants the value of the placebo effect. She concludes where I'm generally at: if it's not hurting you, and makes you think you're doing better, go ahead and enter that cryo recovery chamber.
One aspect I wish she'd have spent more time on were the systemic issues around this research. While she mentions issues like funding from the manufacturers, and shelving studies that show zero correlation, as a FiveThirtyEight author I was …
If you spend enough time around amateur athletes you'll hear about all kinds of techniques and products to accelerate recovery, from "golden hours" that maximize supplement intake, to pneumatic compression pants. Good To Go investigates the science behind these products, and finds a lot of them to be overcomplicated, and claims overblown. Most athletes can maintain homeostasis by listening to their body, getting enough rest, and not overthinking it. But the author doesn't swear off every technique, and grants the value of the placebo effect. She concludes where I'm generally at: if it's not hurting you, and makes you think you're doing better, go ahead and enter that cryo recovery chamber.
One aspect I wish she'd have spent more time on were the systemic issues around this research. While she mentions issues like funding from the manufacturers, and shelving studies that show zero correlation, as a FiveThirtyEight author I was expecting her to dive into p-hacking and other techniques to garner the desired results. She even starts with an example study testing beer as a recovery fluid, and finds no correlation for the overall group, but that it "works" specifically for women!
Still, a fast and enjoyable read.