FITNESS RECOVERY IS a growing trend and you don’t have to be a pro-athlete to reap the benefits of a good rest day.
If you’re looking to get stronger, leaner and fitter, it’s easy to believe the fastest way to see results is to go hard with your exercise – as often as possible. But there’s growing emphasis on how what you do outside of the gym is just as important as time spent sweating and racking up reps.
Recovery isn’t a new concept, of course – but thanks to the rise of high-intensity workouts, the term has become a lot more sophisticated than just taking a day to lie on the sofa and catch up on Netflix. There’s now a growing trend for supercharging your rest days with dedicated gym classes, gadgets and techniques designed to help you recover better and faster.
So why is recovery important?
It’s the time the body takes to adapt to the stresses of exercise, replenish energy stores and repair damaged muscle tissue. When we workout, we make minute tears in our muscle tissue, which is how we get stronger. During recovery, the body repairs these tears, making them more resilient to future exercise. Without recovery, you’d continue to rupture your muscle, which can eventually result in injury.
There are other negative effects to not recovering properly too. If you’re not employing proper recovery strategies, you may see sub-optimal results from your training and slower progress. Lack of proper rest can also impact your immune system, your susceptibility to illness, your mood and your sleep too.
It’s important to remember that you do not adapt and grow during your workout, you adapt and grow when you recover. For many people who like to push themselves, the problem is not over-training, it is actually under-recovering.
How much rest and recovery is required?
As a general rule of thumb, average muscle recovery normally takes between 24-48 hours.
Many people can suffer from DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) for up to 48 hours after a hard workout especially if you’re new to exercise, have had a long period off or are starting a new training cycle. If you’re finding the soreness is lingering for four to five days after though, you may be training with too much volume and intensity.
Rest and recovery doesn’t just mean doing nothing, though. Fitness recovery can take many forms, such as Jumpga rebounding, yoga, foam-rolling or even focusing on your post-workout nutrition.
Nutrition is really key – and following a high-protein diet is important for anyone who trains hard. Protein’s primary role in the body is growth and repair, and this can help to minimise muscle soreness after a workout. Diets can be set up to help combat inflammation, and avoid foods that put the body in a pro-inflammatory state.
In an inflamed state, it’s not only the risk of injury that increases, but the time taken to recover too. Eating a diet rich in green vegetables and essential fats containing anti-inflammatory omega-3s, like oily fish, whilst limiting overly-processed foods is a good rule to follow when looking to reduce inflammation.
Foods that are pro-inflammatory include refined sugar, alcohol, trans and hydrogenated fats, pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats like seed and vegetable oils.
‘Active recovery’ is also a thing
Staying active, moving your body and using your muscles is important, even when you are recovering. This essentially means undertaking low-intensity exercise between heavier workouts, which can help pain by promoting better blood-flow and nutrient delivery into areas that are sore.
Types of active recovery that are low-impact and not overly taxing on your body can be things like a gentle walk, swim or bike ride, rebounding, or even yoga. Massage or using a foam roller can help increase circulation and nutrient delivery while ‘breaking down’ tightly-bound muscles.
Thanks to a rising demand for recovery solutions from gym-goers, studios are now scheduling dedicated classes that guide people through the process. For instance, a ‘stretch’ class which utilises myofascial release techniques to release muscle tension. Some gyms have their own dedicated recovery lounges, with all kinds of gadgets to help speed up the repair process, such as compression stockings that are designed to boost circulation post-workout. The high-tech boots, which are slipped onto the feet and legs, utilise compressed air to massage limbs and mobilise fluid.
Even our workout gear is getting in on the recharge game, with mineral-lined fabric that’s designed to reflect infrared light back to your body, which claims to help restore muscles faster.
Recovery isn’t just for the body though – rest days are important for mental health too. The boom of franchise and independent studios focusing on relaxation and recovery is not a coincidence.
The growth of the health, fitness and wellness industry in recent years has been instrumental in getting people to sit up and pay more attention to recovery as part of a greater appreciation of our health.
Whether you’re training for a dedicated fitness goal, or just getting into the workout game, the time to take your recovery seriously is now.
