The Importance of Recovery

You work hard in the gym to change your body.  It’s outside of those walls, when you rest, that change happens. If you don’t make time for recovery, change will slow to a halt, and so will you. When athletes “bonk”, “hit the wall,” or “crash”, it’s usually because they didn’t give themselves enough rest between hard workouts. When you feel lethargic, crabby and “off” it might be that you’ve gone too long without a real break. Exercise fatigue happens when your rest is too short or doesn’t exist.  Your body gets irritated, inflamed, and achy.  Ugh.

What should you do?

The time we spend between workouts is considerable. The hours we spend at home, at work and with our families outweighs the hours we spend in the gym (I hope). The way we spend this time is critical to how our bodies respond to our hard work and how well we recover. Do you hit the gym to “get away” or relieve stress? Probably. And that’s a darn good reason. But if your life is totally hectic, hurried and you are constantly at wits end chances are you aren’t giving your body the rest it needs to change and perform at its best.

While we can’t eliminate all the craziness that makes up our wonderfully wild lives we can pay attention to making certain we take time to relax in the middle of it all.  I’d always avoided yoga because it made me feel strange and anxious. But since taking a Bikrim Class (really hot yoga!) in January I’m hooked.  Even one or two classes a week makes me feel lighter, calmer and I think I can deal with the world with a calmer mind. I remember to breathe.  I’m inspired to eat well and drink more water to make that good, clean feeling last.

What does it for you? When do find your thoughts quietly drifting away? There isn’t one right way to decompress – you just have to do it.  Spend more time with your pets. Go to more comedy shows. My husband takes long walks and zones out on the coach reading a magazine or watching silly T.V.  A good friend swears by bubbly, hot baths. Spas are popular vacation destinations for a reason!  Just remember you don’t have to try and cram rest into your busy day, just take a few moments to think about what makes you feel best and try to do more of that thing.  Crawling in bed 30 minutes earlier than usual give mes time to read and write before falling asleep.  Getting enough sleep is essential for real recovery.

On the food front…

Eating high quality food in the right quantity will help you reap the benefits of your hard work and help speed the recovery process.  Drink plenty of fresh water in the gym and out.  Incorporate a wide variety of fruits and veggies in your daily diet.  And you’ve got to eat enough.  Even if you are on a mission for fat loss, wait, especially then --- don’t stress your body out more by denying it the nutrients it needs!  Make sure you are consuming enough good calories to fuel your workouts and the change process you are working toward.  Don’t go too low in calories.  Give yourself no more than a 500-calorie deficit daily.  If you are working out consistently for more than seven hours a week you need to make sure you are eating enough to keep it up and burn fat.

Checking in…

If you are tired all the time and aren’t sleeping well you might be overdoing things.

If you aren’t losing weight and you aren’t seeing gains in your performance it might be time for a rest.

If your personal life is suffering, you are losing interest in workouts or feel depressed, take time out for your mental and physical health.

If your muscles are sore and tender more often than not, stop!

Try this…

Take a week off. Really. A whole week. Take long walks and refresh your energy levels.

Take a yoga class, go swimming, and make sure to vary your routine.

Eat nutrient rich foods, especially before and after workouts.

Do something relaxing and enjoyable everyday.

Try to get about 8 hours of restful sleep every night.

I know for certain when I don’t rest enough, when I ignore the symptoms of overtraining I finally catch that stupid cold, I struggle to find the energy to teach my classes, I just don’t feel good.  Sometimes we just keep going, and going and don’t notice that we’ve gone to far. But aren’t I supposed to be working hard all the time to get what I want?!?! Nope. Think about it. If you didn’t ever stop to relax and look around you’d never have the chance to notice everything you’ve done!

Rest well,

Remy

References:

Research Review: Nutrition and Exercise Recovery – Part 1

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-recovery