Recovery: Could your Lack of Self-Care be Stalling your Progress?

Alright, I think we can safely say we’ve all been there: you have been on a roll with your fitness and nutrition choices recently! You wake up every single day at 6 am, go to your workout class or crush an at-home workout, then without cooling down, you rush to eat a quick breakfast, get some work done, make dinner, get ready for the next day, and by the time you’re in bed, it’s far too late to get a good night’s sleep, and you’re absolutely exhausted. Eventually, you find yourself dreading your early-morning workout; you wake up and feel so drained and sore that you just snooze your alarm and go back to sleep. Needless to say, you then find yourself taking a week off because the extra hour in bed just feels soooo nice… And suddenly, your weight-loss journey is set back a couple of weeks. 

            I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been here- I think we all have! Without allowing our bodies and minds to recover, we’re not only exhausting ourselves- we’re preventing progress! So how do you ensure you’re recovering from your workouts- without taking weeks off at a time? Let’s talk about the importance of recovery, what active recovery is- and we even have a little free surprise for you at the end! 

 Why is recovery so important? 

            It might seem obvious, but many underestimate the importance of recovery; if your goal is to become physically active and live a fit lifestyle, then recovery should be just as important as the exercise itself! By making time to recover from your physical activity, you’re allowing your body to adapt to the stress of exercise. By allowing this adaptation to happen, you’re allowing your body time to improve at the activity in question, whether it be lifting heavier, running farther, or improving your cardiovascular fitness! This adaptation is where the true benefits of training occur. 

            During strenuous exercise, the body goes through some very taxing mechanisms; fluid loss takes place, muscle tissue is broken down, and energy stores are depleted significantly. With adequate recovery, these issues are quickly repaired, and the muscle tissue tears actually lead to muscle development! However, these benefits are impossible without a recovery phase. Inadequate recovery means that your body is unable to restore any damaged tissues or replenish its energy stores, which can lead to injuries, fatigue, decreased performance, and many other negative side effects. Needless to say, recovery is an essential part of a fitness routine, and without it, the taxing nature of intense exercise could lead to more harm than good. 

Okay, I get it… I need some recovery in my life! What is the key to proper recovery? 

            Luckily, the path to proper recovery is far simpler than most of us make it! To properly recover from your workout and feel your best, you should … 

Cool down after you exercise! 

            Honestly, I’m guilty of this one myself; after I leave the gym, I want nothing more than to lay on the couch and gather dust while filling up on my favorite snacks. However, active recovery is so important- you should be doing low-intensity exercises following every workout, as well as days where there’s no planned workout. This will allow your body to break up the lactic acid accumulating in your muscles, thereby reducing soreness! It will also keep your muscles flexible and increase your blood flow, all while keeping you active and ready for your next workout.  If you need some ideas for active recovery, you might want to stick around until the end of the blog post- just a suggestion! 

Replenish post-workout! 

            As I said before, your body goes through some strenuous processes during a workout, which can lead to fluid loss (that’s the fancy term for sweating a LOT) and depleted energy stores. That’s why it’s so important to refill your body after a workout with a post-workout meal and lots of water! A good post-workout meal should include both protein and carbohydrates. If you’re interested in increasing muscle size, a meal including 20-30 g of protein and 30-40 g of carbohydrates is an excellent place to start; some wonderful ideas for workout meals include a peanut butter sandwich, chicken and rice, or a hearty protein shake! Another mistake made regarding post-workout recovery is skimping on the carbs; studies have shown that eating carbs after a workout can maximize the rates of muscle glycogen synthesis, or the energy restored to your muscle cells. It’s also important to stay hydrated before, during, and following exercise in order to replace all of those fluids lost during your workout! 

Sleep, sleep, sleep! 

            I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and I’m sure you’re going to hear it from me 5,000 times more: Get. Some. Sleep.  Without sleep, your body and your mind can’t function anywhere close to their full potential; your muscles can’t recover, your body will be fatigued, your immune system can’t function properly, your focus will begin to dwindle... Do I need to continue? You should be sleeping at least 6-8 hours a night, and you should be getting quality, restful sleep. In order to reach this restful state, try turning your phone off an hour before bed, avoid eating too close to bedtime, and make sure your room is completely dark. If you find yourself cutting your sleep short to get those early morning workouts in, it might be best to find another time to work-out, or try to get to bed earlier- I know, I know; that might be a pain, but no exercise is worth giving up sleep. 

The take-away… 

If you’re finding yourself tired of training or stalling in your progress, then it might be because you’re not recovering properly! Getting plenty of sleep, replenishing post-workout, and engaging in active recovery should help you get the most out of your fitness routine. If you still find yourself stalling, you might want to change up your workout routine to one that’s allowing you to advance and includes a great deal of variation; this is called long-term recovery. 

If you stuck around for this long, you deserve a fun surprise, so we’ve decided to share one of our favorite active recovery workouts- enjoy, and happy recovery!

Active Recovery Exercises

Repeat each set 2x

10 Downward Dog knee drives

10 Plank Ups

10 Inchworms

10 Walking Burpees

30 second Low Lunge reach each side

30 second Tree pose each side

10 Cat Cow

30 second Childs pose each side