In this 2005 essay, Coach Glassman examines the growing emphasis on recovery modalities such as massage, ice baths, stretching, chiropractic treatment, and other forms of "pampering." Coach notes that throughout his career, the most effective training methods consistently revealed themselves through the performance of elite athletes. Yet he had never observed a group of top performers whose success could be attributed primarily to advanced recovery techniques.

Greg argues that most athletes spend too much time worrying about overtraining and not enough time training hard. He defines true overtraining as a neuroendocrine decline in performance, not ordinary soreness, fatigue, or the temporary need for more sleep and rest. In his experience, athletes are far more often limited by inadequate intensity or an inability to progress intelligently than by a lack of recovery interventions.

He does, however, identify nutrition as a notable exception. Athletes who closely follow his nutritional recommendations often appear able to sustain more productive training than those eating conventional high-carbohydrate diets. Athletic development occurs near the margins of overtraining and most athletes would benefit more from intelligent progression, proper nutrition, and harder work than from an excessive focus on recovery modalities.

https://brokenscience.org/what-about-recovery/