Sports

Adam Vickers
Sports Editor

H~ you ever wondered, “What
can | do to not be so sore?” Well,
here is a chance to get some insight

on how to get rid of that post-workout
soreness faster. Although Over the
Edge by no means contains a doctor
on staff, here are the top five things we
think you should be doing to get the
best recovery after physical activity:

5) An ice bath. Ice baths are great

for recovery because they increas

the blood flow to sore muscles. Many
professionals use ice baths because it
works so well. Ice baths provides an
easy, quick, and efficient way to rebuild
the muscles. It is really easy to throw
some ice in a tub and lay back and
enjoy (If you like jumping into ice), The
professionals use it because they need
to, and athletes often use ice baths
during training camps because it allows
them to recover quickly. Recovering
quickly is essential during training camp

Ralph Posteraro | PG Hockey Cub

Top Five Recovery Techniques

because it is the key to reducing injury
and, the fresher your muscles are, the
harder you can train.

4) Foam rollers. This somewhat new
trend has become quite popular for
the average athlete. The foam roller is
a long, foam, stick-like figure that rolls
over sore muscle, allowing the muscle
to relax and for blood to flow freely.
A massage would be more effective,
but not many people can afford to
get a massage every day. The foam
roller allows a person get a relaxing
massage independently.

3) Exercising... wait, exercise more?
The idea behind this is to get the body
moving in any way possible: row, jog,
and walk, whatever gets your body
moving. Often, people make the
mistake of sitting around when they're
sore, which inhibits the body's ability

to recover. In reality, the more you
move, the more blood flow you get
and the quicker those sore muscles wil
go away. Just make sure it’s not too
extreme or it will all be for nothing.

Leading toa Successful Season

Clark Grieve
Contributor

ith the first quarter of the season

behind them, the Prince George
Cougars are shaping up to be a plucky
bunch, not to be underestimated. The
WHL hockey season is well under
way now, and there are two key
indicators of success for the Cougars.
The two keys to the Cougars success
are standout players; goaltender
Ty Edmonds (named Vaughn CHL
Goaltender of the week ending 6
October, posting two shutouts) and
the surprisingly strong performing,
local, talented, left wing sniper, Chase

Witala.

Witala has demonstrated consistency
so far, including an eight game point
streak bringing him to a team leading
ll goals and 22 points through the
first week of November. When looking
at the privilege to be a part of his
hometown team, Witala recognizes
that “it’s pretty soecial, you know you
don't see many kids being able to
play at home.” The franchise has left
an indelible mark since Witala was
younger and he reminiscences about
the success the team has had in the
past. "| can remember the days,”

2) A good diet; the diet is one of the
most important things in a workout
routine. Eating the right foods, getting
enough protein, and getting enough
water are all critical fo recovering
from a workout. With a poor diet, the
body cannot get enough nutrients and
it cannot build sore muscles back up,
making all that work pointless. To be
clear, diet not in the sense of watching
how many calories you eat, but diet in
the sense of watching which foods are
being eaten. The more food, the better,
as long as it is the right kind of foods.
If you're worried about getting fat, you
should know that if you are eating the
right food you shouldn't have to worry
about how much you eat. It is all a
matter of what you eat and having a
balanced diet that will allow for that
to happen. Think of it more like this; the
more you eat the stronger you will be,
the stronger you are the more you can
do, and the more you can do the more
calories you can burn. Food fuels the
metabolism!

Witala adds, “being here and the
crowd was just unbelievable so you
know it would be pretty cool to have
that in here again.”

In addition to standout play by Chase
Witala, this seasons Cougars also
features hometown talent from winger
Jari Erricson, defenseman Raymond
Grewal, and former BCMML Cariboo
Cougars alumni, Brad Morrison

and Brett Roulston. In all, this crop of
supporting players gives the Cougars
an added depth that will be drawn on
by Coach Mark Holick, entering his first
full season behind the bench.

While some organizations would be
content to just get by on the returning
core from last season, the Cougars
have made two key additional
acquisitions. One was selection of
Slovakian winger, David Soltes, with
the fourth overall pick in the 2013
CHL Import Draft. Soltes provides his
European skill set fo the offence and
is back on the ice, returning from an
injury costing him 12 games out of the
lineup early in the season. The other,
Todd Fiddler, who had over 4O goals
last season with the Spokane Chiefs,
provides maturity and a scoring sense
that the Cougars lacked last season.
The 20-year-old veteran was traded
for in early November to help out an
unproductive power play.

1) sleep; sleep is a major part of
recovery because without sleep you
cannot properly function. Sleep is the
number one because it is essential

to living a healthy life and restoring
strength to those sore muscles.
According to Muscle Tech magazine,
Henry Cavill, the actor who played
Superman in Man of Steel, was told
to sleep ten hours a day to keep up
with the load of preparatory workouts.
The ten hours of sleep was mandatory
because Cavill and the crew had a
very short time period to get ready
for the movie, and sleep was the key
to ensuring Cavill could maintain the
volume of training he did to become
Superman.

So these are the top five recovery
techniques everyone should follow if
they are facing large workouts. The top
five is set up so that you can use the
recovery techniques most important first
and, if those techniques fail to get rid
of soreness, add more.

Certainly the reorganization has
displayed a greater emphasis to

dress the most competitive tearm in
Cougar uniforms for some time. The
club currently holds onto the eighth
and final playoff spot and has since
the beginning of the season. Now
poised to move up the standings over
the winter, teams such as the Victoria
Royals, Tri-City Americans, and Seattle
Thunderbirds will be looking over their
shoulders for a primed Cougars team
which has hit the road with a quiet, but
growing confidence.

The Cougars will be away for the
majority of pre-New Year's play,

and the next faceoff at home is on

12 November, against the Medicine
Hat Tigers. Now with a new focus on
turning the corner and finishing 2013 on
a strong note, the Cougars are looking
to make a push for the playoffs. “Once
we make the playoffs,” says leading
scorer Chase Witala, “hopefully we can
go as far as we can.’ This season, the
team has shown a lot more resilience
over past campaigns and is looking
forward to some big matchups in their
remaining home against the Vancouver
Giants (29 and 30 November) and
the Tri-City Americans (6 and 7

December).