Whether you spend your recovery day sitting on the couch or getting a massage, versus taking a yoga class or a walk on the beach, all depends on you. While everyone can agree that any type of recovery is better than none, there are differing opinions as to which is better.
Active Recovery.
Let’s be honest here, in an ideal world it would be nice to have all the money and time to go to unlimited yoga classes, cryotherapy sessions (all the rage in the celebrity world) and massage treatments, but our bank accounts just wont allow for that. Often times we only have one rest day and may be crunched for time, but the best kind of recovery is to get your body moving.
Instead of doing absolutely nothing, how about try a low intensity exercise that will help with muscle recovery by increasing the blood flow to your muscle tissue. Personally I love to do something less intense like walking my dogs on the beach, hiking, yoga (skip the pricey classes, and YouTube some recovery yoga), or take a long swim.
Working at a lower intensity as opposed to doing absolutely nothing totally helps your recovery time, and believe it or not you actually feel less sore then if you just sat around! Active recovery gets your circulation going, helping increase the amino acids and oxygen in your muscles so they can repair themselves.
Passive Recovery.
Remember that the whole reason for recovery is to allow your muscles to grow. When you workout you place a lot of stress on your muscles, which causes tiny muscle tears. The soreness you experience 1-3 days after a workout is due to all of those tiny muscle tears, and it’s during recovery that your muscles will heal and strengthen. In addition, amino acid supplementation is super important for muscle recovery.
One of the most important passive recoveries is sleep; it heals you from the inside out. The hormone Prolactin is released during deep sleep, and its anti-inflammatory properties are important for joint recovery. Also, during deep sleep your body will repair any muscle tears that occur during the day.
Listen to your body!
As you can see there is no right or wrong with recovery, neither active nor passive is better than the other. Rather, it depends on your body and what you need at the time. Personally I believe both active and passive recovery is important, I exercise 4 days a week and on my off days I often surf or hike.
Yet there are days that I’m just too pooped to do anything, and that’s when I listen to my body and take a break. I often spend these days binge watching my favorite show and being a couch potato, which is totally ok! The rules are pretty simple, listen to your body and do what’s best for it, and don’t neglect movement completely!
What is your favorite recovery method? Please comment below =)
Thank you. That was well researched and totally logical. I really hope PEOPLE will read this and apply it. After my 20 squats my quads are killing me, now I know why. Thanks.
Me too! I’m so glad you liked it! =)