4 Recovery Methods You Need!

Recovery plays an impossibly large role in your body getting stronger and healthier. That being said, it is very important that you have a general idea of how to recover from your workouts. Now when you type workout recovery into Google, you may come across things like cryogenic therapy, massage, or spending time in the sauna. These recovery options are great, but they may be overkill if you are not prepping for a contest or in a sports season. These options also cost time and money, and if you’re like me, there’s not much of either to go around. With those recovery options out the window for the time being, there is still hope! Below is a list of four simple yet effective recovery options that you can implore to get the most out of your workouts and be ready for the next one!

Proper Nutrition

Eating healthy foods and eating enough of them plays a giant role in your bodies ability to recover from strenuous work. An easy way to look at this is thinking about your body being a car and the food being your gas or fuel. Junk food (fried foods, processed foods, sugary foods, etc.) would be like putting watered down gasoline in your car. You’re car is still going to run, but not to its full capacity. However, nutrient dense foods (fruits and vegetables, natural complex & simple carbohydrates, healthy fats, and lean proteins ) would be like putting high octane fuel into your car. This is going to allow you to run at your maximum efficiency and use your body's mechanisms to the best of their abilities. A simple way to ensure that you are eating nutrient dense foods is to choose foods that have a single or few ingredients. Things like rice, sweet potatoes, meat, eggs, and vegetables are single ingredient foods that allow you to reach both your macronutrient and micronutrient needs. Hitting these marks will allow you to recover from your workouts to the best of your abilities.

Sleep

Getting adequate amounts of sleep allows your body to rest and repair itself. When you are unable to get enough sleep your body is unable to fully recover from the previous day. Consecutive days without adequate sleep can hinder your bodies ability to produce work and recover from the previous work that was placed upon it. I am sure that you have heard that 7-8 hours a day is recommended for a good night's rest. However everybody is different! Some individuals only require 6 hours of sleep for their bodies to be fully recovered whereas others require more. This is something that you will have to experiment with to find out what is right for you. From my own personal experience, 7 hours seems to be the sweet spot. I am able to feel well recovered with 6 hours of sleep, although this only last for a few days before I start to feel the effects of less sleep. If you are unable to get enough sleep throughout the night, naps can be a life saver! A quick 20 minute nap can allow your body to rest and recover. However this is not as good as a full night's sleep, something is better than nothing.

Active Recovery

When you get out of bed the next morning after a hard workout, you'll probably be sore. With your sore muscles, you may think it would be a good idea to take the day off and relax on the couch to let your body recover. However, you would be wrong. Getting up and getting your blood pumping allows new nutrients and blood into those sore muscles, enhancing the recovery process. Staying stagnant is one of the worst things you can do because it does not allow for the new nutrients to aid in the recovery process. Working out the sore muscles at a low intensity is a great way to aid in the recovery process.

Contrast Showers

If you shower after a workout (which I really hope you do) a contrast shower is a simple yet effective way to aid in the recovery process. If you unaware of what a contrast shower is, it is essentially alternating between hot/warm and cold water while taking a shower. The hot water (as hot as you can tolerate without burning you) acts as a vasodilator, which increases the body's ability to pump new blood into the muscles. After about a minute of hot water, turn on the cold water! Again the water should be as cold as you can tolerate, which is going to test your mental toughness more than anything. The cold water constricts your blood vessels, limiting the blood flow to the muscles. After one minute, turn the hot water back on and feel the new blood rush back into your muscles! Complete this for a few cycles during your shower. I started this a few weeks ago after each of my workouts and have noticed a difference in my bodies ability to recover. This is a cost & time effective recovery option that is incredibly easy to implement.

Recovery is incredibly important in reaching new levels in your fitness or athletic endeavors. Give the options listed above a try and see how they impact you!