This may sound counter-intuitive, but you can (and should) use workouts as recovery.
Yes, a workout can actually help you recover faster than just resting!
It's not all about massages, foam rolling and breathing exercises.
For some people, they never train hard enough for this to be an issue (those people need to start adding in a couple of high intensity sessions per week), but for others, ALL of their workouts are high intensity, and that's a problem.
Not all workouts should be high intensity
"Go hard or go home" is the mantra of the steroid-infused bodybuilder with a lack of blood flow to the brain!
A light workout the day after a heavy/high intensity workout can:
Help the body shift into a recovery state (that's when the body grows and adapts in response to the hard workouts)
Stimulate blood flow to the muscles (which will help them recover faster)
Help build resilience (you need to be able to function after heavy workouts and this will build your capacity to do so)
Improve breathing and movement quality by keeping you moving and not allowing you to stiffen up as is often the case in the days after a hard workout
Make you FEEL better - it should give you more energy, not make you feel drained after the workout.
So, how do you do a recovery workout?
Just follow these simple rules:
Keep it short - a 2-hour run isn't recovery, it's more stress. Aim for 20-40 minutes
Keep it light - if you're doing "cardio", keep your heart rate reasonably low - about 60-75% of your max HR (think walking uphill at a reasonable pace or a light jog)
Mix up your movements to work mobility and get every joint mobilised, and get blood flow into all muscles
Spend a bit more time on any areas that feel like they need it - anything that feels particularly tight or sore
Start with some light mobility work and focus on your breathing as you do
Then aim for 10-20 minutes of light work - a circuit of easy exercises is probably best, just remember you're aiming for movement and recovery, not as many reps as you can in 60 seconds! Keep your heart rate in the target range and if it goes above, take a rest and dial it back a bit.
Then add in 2-3 sets of power or strength work to keep the nervous system stimulated (but not too much). A couple of sets of 8-10 reps per side of something like a standing cable rotation or med ball side throw would be perfect.
Finish with a few minutes of breathing exercises - just lay on the floor and focus on breathing as slowly as possible to get your heart rate as low as you can.
If you can alternate high intensity workouts with these recovery workouts, you're setting yourself up for success. Over-training shouldn't be an issue and that means better results long-term.
Don't train hard for days in a row, but you also shouldn't really need any days off - just do something light to aid recovery.
Be smart with your workouts. Use some to stimulate growth and adaptation (i.e. challenge yourself), and use others to aid in recovery, because recovery is where all of those adaptations occur.
No recovery = no adaptations. Which means all those hard workouts back to back are hours wasted and will actually make you feel worse!
The key to progress is to push yourself, then let your body recover. Rinse and repeat.
This will get better results for strength, fitness, muscle gain, fat loss and health.
If you need help getting some structure to your training, get in touch and let's talk.
Mark
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