15 Aug 2019

The national senior women’s team is expected to arrive today after two weeks of training in Slovakia.

While in Europe, the team was exposed to a lifetime experience where players were taken through the best recovery process via cryotherapy.

Cryotherapy is a process where the body is exposed to cold temperature for some minutes in order to help it recover as well as relieve muscle pain.

According to Aqua City Poprad cryotherapy marketing manager, Lucia Blaskova her facility was normally used by popular athletes in Europe.

“A lot of football players in Europe visit this facility for recovery, regeneration as it boosts performance and also helps to improve the overall health of mind and body,” she said.

She said recently they had Arsenal, Leeds and Manchester United players visiting their facility.

“A lot of ice hockey teams and Russia national team visit our facility, so all these professional teams in Europe know about our cryotherapy,” she said.

Blaskova said the cryotherapy session also helped to boost hormones, adding ‘for the professional athletes, the most important thing is that it stimulates the internal organs that produce the hormones’.

Further, she said for good results it was important for athletes to visit the chamber quite often.

She said there were two chambers inside the cryotherapy for adaptation where the temperature was at minus 60 degrees, and they clients stay inside for 30 seconds as well as where the temperature was at minus 120 degrees where clients stayed for three minutes, after which they would go out and warm up for 15 minutes.

Sharing their experience of the whole recovery process, players said, given that it was the first time, they were scared when they were told they would use the facilities.

However, they indicated that while inside the cryotherapy they then realised that it was worth it because they came out of the chamber more rejuvenated.

Team captain, Bonang Otlhagile said ‘it was a life time experience, and after two weeks intensive training the players had recovered, and thanks to the cryotherapy’.

The team was in Slovakia to prepare for the Olympic Game qualifier against South Africa on August 30 and September 3. Ends