The Importance of Recovery.
Taking the time to recover properly is preventing things like injuries and bad posture. It is also speeding up the results process - getting you what you want faster.
With everything on offer these days to make it more engaging, from dedicated stretch sessions and recovery tools such as massage guns and compression boots, there are no excuses.
What can we do to Recover?
FOOD Carbs to refuel and Protein to build. Please do not be afraid of carbohydrates. They give you the energy to fuel your workouts and your day. The more energy you have, the more you will get out of your workouts. Your body won’t just magically use stored fat for energy, our body taps into different energy sources depending on the type of activity we are doing - and activity requiring power (such as resistance training) needs carbs. Protein is a muscle builder not an energy provider. More power to workout and proper refuelling = more muscle mass. More muscle mass = more calories burned by your body as you go about your day-to-day life and that’s when it’s going to use the body fat (if that’s your goal). Find out about your ideal daily macro splits (carbs/fat/protein) and timing of food that suits your daily life, goals and workouts via a session or two with a nutritionist. It’s worth it.
STRETCH Please do not walk out of your workout class or gym session without stretching. You have just been shortening and tightening the muscles and you now need to lengthen them to avoid injury, pain and posture problems. Likewise, if you sit in a chair all day - you are shortening your hip and the leg is bent. Not taking the time to counteract and lengthen this is going to hinder your stride and limit even your walking. Tight muscles that get used without having gone through the proper recovery process are prone to injury. Damaged muscles cannot support joints properly. Keeping muscles long, lean and flexible simply allows you to move better - and you will be thankful of that as you age. Note - avoid static stretching without a warm up first, or use a massage gun.
SLEEP Replenishes energy but it is also during sleep that most damage is repaired - and therefore is when your muscles will grow. It is similar for your rest days - you are giving your body a chance to repair and recover but do aim to do something gentle, such as stretching, walking or working with a recovery tool for some targeted release. This will all keep muscle soreness at bay.
TOOLS Foam rolling, massage guns and balls are all tools that can be used before and after workouts for muscle and fascia release, reduce soreness, knots, tightness and inflammation. By incorporating tools with your stretching, you are amplifying the process; allowing the muscles to lengthen further and thus increase flexibility and range of motion. Using these pre-workout will help any tightness you have to get rid of but it is also warming up the muscles and switching them on - for them to be used their most efficiently and avoiding the risk of injury. Compression boots work similarly; they are promoting blood flow - which allows all the fresh nutrient rich blood to come in and repair muscles and the waste products to flush out. They are turbo powering what your body can do, meaning your results are on turbo time.
I use recovery tools from the Hyperice range, including the Hypervolt2 massage gun, Hypersphere GO vibrating ball and the Normatec3 compression boots. If you would like your own/want them incorporated into your workouts or have a dedicated stretch and recovery session, please do talk to me about it.