Recovery is king (especially during these five weeks of the Open season!). How we recover from our training sessions dictates the results expressed in our health and fitness. Similarly, how we bounce back from the Open workouts each week sets us up for success (or failure) in the proceeding weeks.
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Sounds simple enough, right? Train, recover, repeat. But are you truly recovering and maximizing this time like you do your training in the gym?
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The problem is that recovery is boring. Have you ever seen a video on social media of a top-level athlete sleeping 9 hours?
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Didn’t think so. What you see are big weights, hard metcons and intense training and that can lead to the misconception that this is the only piece that matters.
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Recovery, however, has to happen for sustainable progress and overall health. Here are the basics:
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Sleep: 8-9 hours each night. Sleeping in a cold room can promote deep, restorative sleep. Use a sleep-tracking app or wearable to keep a log of your sleep patterns. No screened devices within 45 minutes of bedtime!
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Nutrition: eating food in quantity and quality that supports your activity levels. Consuming adequate carbohydrates to promote recovery. Following a post-workout nutrition protocol to calm the nervous system and jump-start the recovery process.
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Rest Days: taking days off from intense exercise is a must to let your body recover. This doesn’t mean you have to be tied to the couch binge-watching Netflix. Go for a hike, play your favorite sport, swim. Actively recovering is a great way to recharge your batteries.
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Body work: massage and manual therapy, stretching and mobility exercises, rolling and “smashing” muscles.
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Bonus! Meditation: the benefits from regular meditation can go far beyond recovering from a workout, but adding this in to your recovery routine is a great way to lower stress and tension in the body. A simple 5-10 minutes each day spent in silent meditation can have amazing calming effects.
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Crushing weights in the gym, going hard on metcons, and setting new PR’s are sexy. Recovery not so much. BUT, focus on these things and watch your performance improve!
