Live to Train Another Day: Our Top 10 Exercise Recovery Strategies

Fitness is a long term game and it’s all about consistency. The worst thing we can do is push too hard in the early stages, or ignore the body’s warning signs that it may not be the day to HIIT it hard! If we want to get the most out of our training, we have to position ourselves to come into our sessions in a state of mental and physical readiness - ready to rip $#[T up so to speak! Coming in achy, sore or fried is not going to bode well for us over the long term. Perhaps we would be better served to take it back a notch or make it a recovery day? Huh??? Whachu talkin bout Willis?

Exercise recovery is not a passive process - it is an active process that requires ongoing dedication!

Allow me to qualify. Contrary to what you may imagine, taking a recovery day is not a hall pass to sit on your 🍑 and eat 🍩🍬all day. In fact, the recovery process is far from passive. From the design of the program, the type and timing of our workouts, the duration and focus of our warm ups and cool downs... to the daily and weekly strategies we employ to promote mental and physical recuperation - it is an active process that requires ongoing dedication. Yet, if we want to train the way we do, focused recovery strategies are not optional - they are an absolute MUST!

Below are few of our favoured recovery promoters:

➡️ Move: I know this seems counterintuitive, but movement helps flush lactic acid and other inflammatory exudates out of our muscles. The right type of motion will also stimulate the parasympathetic, or “relaxation” branch of our nervous system. Here we are referring to gentle yoga (avoid long static holds or eccentrics), tai chi, qigong, animal flows, nature walks…

➡️ Spend Time in Nature: Try to get out for a nature walk/gentle hike, sit under a tree or by a stream, pull out the fishing rods… Whatever your thing is, getting outside in the elements and breathing in the sights and sounds of nature has an incredible effect on our feelings of wellbeing. In fact, according to a recent review “…outdoor natural environments may provide some of the best all-round health benefits… altering physiological functioning including stress reduction, restoring mental fatigue, and improving mood and self-esteem and perceived health.” (1)

➡️ Fuel For Performance: If we want to perform at our best, we need to fuel for it! One of the worst things we can do when embarking on a fitness regime is rob from Peter and Paul. Here I am referring to cutting calories or specific macronutrients (fat, carbs…) in an effort to meet body image ideals. While these strategies may hasten our weight-loss goals, they come at the expense of performance and recovery as the body’s nutrient and energy reserves gradually become depleted. Equally, the standard North American diet while high in calories/energy lacks important nutritional elements required to metabolize those calories and promote mental, emotional and physical wellbeing! 🤯

Live to train another day!

➡️ Hydrate: Water is the ultimate human elixir! It transports important nutrients throughout the body and helps regulate electrolyte/salt balance in our cells and tissues. And despite the media onslaught promoting sports drinks or supplements for post exercise hydration and recovery, the hydrating effects of water are unparalleled by any other fluid or supplement. Moreover, if we are fuelling for performance, we needn’t concern ourselves with expensive chemical/sugar laden “electrolyte drinks” as our diet is naturally high in these key elements.

➡️ Myofascial Release: Break out the foam roller. Roll GENTLY over sore muscles paying particular attention to trigger points or areas of irritation. Pause and maintain light pressure on those points until you feel them soften and release. Follow up with a gentle roll back and forth in the direction of the muscle over its entire length. Try not to be too aggressive. Pain encourages muscle contraction - our goal is promote tissue softening.

➡️ Magnesium Baths: One of magnesium’s key functions is to regulate muscle function; to antagonize the contractile properties of calcium and encourage muscle relaxation. Epsom salt baths are particularly effective for relaxing sore, tense muscles. Of course the simple act of relaxing in a warm bath is itself highly effective for neurological recovery. Add a few drops of lavender or frankinscence essential oils to stimulate the parasympathetic (i.e. restful) branch of the nervous system and well… Bob’s your uncle!

➡️ Meditation: This does not have to involve sitting in lotus posture and chanting for lengthy periods. Meditation refers to the simple act of calming our minds, observing our thoughts, and gradually releasing any emotional attachment to them. Consider an app to help guide your meditation. We use the InsightTimer app.

➡️ Contrast Showers: While not the most relaxing or enjoyable option, this is one of the most effective means of flushing lactic acid and promoting muscle recovery. To employ this strategy, simply run the coldest water you can handle over sore areas for 30 secs. to 1 mins. (longer if you can handle it) followed immediately by warm/hot water for 2-3 mins. The bigger the contrast - the greater the benefit!

It’s important to note that the benefits of exercise are not experienced in the workout itself - they are the end product of the adaptation or recovery phase. Despite almost universal acceptance of this adaptation principle, exercise recovery remains underemphasized in our current “balls to the wall” paradigm. When we emphasize intensity, or demand more and more of ourselves in each and every workout, our recuperative abilities suffer. This can present in various forms (ie. injury, exhaustion, weight gain, sleep issues, reduced coping capacity…. ). So, beyond the aforementioned strategies we need to schedule regular recovery periods into our long term planning. These 3-7 day active rest periods or what we in the industry refer to as “microcycles” break up the monotony of training, promote mental and physical recovery, increase motivation to train, and set us up for our next training phase.

In short - they help us “Live to Train Another Day!”

HIIT us up with your comments or favoured recovery strategies below - we’d love to hear from you!