By Cindy Engle
If you are in BHIP by now you most likely have seen or understand the benefits of regularly participating in a strength and conditioning program. Yes, consistent training plays a huge part in the journey to improve your health and wellness but so does proper rest and recovery. As much as we think we should just go, go, go, we also need to have time where we slowdown in order for us to get stronger and perform better.
Why is recovery important?
Repair
Strength training causes small tears in the muscle fibers. The body then works to repair the tears which is how our muscles grow. If we are constantly placing only stress on our muscles, they won’t be able to keep up with repairing the damage and eventually our performance will suffer or lead to injury. By slowing down, our muscles are able to properly repair the microtears from training and build new cells.
Adapt
Optimal performance requires a sharp central nervous system. Our systems need time to process training. Recovery gives the central nervous system time to adapt and make any adjustments. Similar to how our brain feels after learning new information, our body systems need time to recuperate and absorb new information after a workout.
Prevent
You cannot put your body through excessive overload during training and then expect it to repeat the same intensity day in and day out. Inadequate recovering can begin with small issues but lead to more serious problems if continued. Recovery helps prevent illness, extreme fatigue, injury, and burnout associated with overtraining.
Perform
More is not always better with training. Really pushing the intensity of your workout where appropriate, has shown to more beneficial in building strength and hypertrophy than working at a moderate intensity and pushing the amount(volume) you train. By giving your body the rest it needs, it will then let you really push your intensity. Without recovering our performance during workouts suffers and we are unable to push our intensity as much as we can.
Now that you understand why recovery is important, lets go over some ways we can help our body recover. Here are 5 easy ways you can improve our recovery.
1. Sleeping
Adequate sleep is essential for training. Sleep is when your muscles best grow and repair. Aim to get between 6-8 hours of sleep each night.
2. Fueling
Your car cannot run on empty and neither can you. Eating a proper diet helps improve your recovery from workouts and will replenish your depleted energy stores. Staying hydrated will also help improve your nutrient uptake.
3. Foam Rolling/Stretching
By rolling and stretching you will increase oxygen and blood flow which will help deliver nutrients to your muscles. Need more information? There is a pervious blog post dedicated to foam rolling!
4. Rest Day
Pretty simple here. Full day of rest equals enhanced recovery.
5. Hot/Cold Cycling
Instead of taking a shower in hot water, try cycling between hot and cold temperatures. This one can be uncomfortable at first. Exposing your body to the extreme temperatures will shock your system and wake you up. The cold will help decrease the inflammation from training and increase your recovery. Try something like 30-seconds of cold followed by 2-minutes of hot for 3-4 cycles.
Long story short, taking care of your body through rest is just as important as training. Now make sure you recover as hard as you workout!
