Recovery should be the easiest part of training, but it’s often neglected. Make no mistake about it – rest is just as important as exercise.
In this two-part blog post, I take a look at why recovery after exercise is vital not only for your body, but also for your training progress.
Most athletes know that getting enough rest after exercise is essential to maintain a high-level performance, but still many over train and feel guilty when they have a day off. The body recovers and repairs in-between workouts, and continuous training can actually damage your progress.
In order to get fitter or to improve muscle tone in a certain area, the body needs to be trained and exposed to stresses. Once you’ve completed a set workout, the body then needs time to rest and adapt to the pressures put on it by working out. Rest and the right amount of recovery can also help to prevent injuries.
Rest days are vital to anyone who trains on a regular basis for a number of reasons, whether you’re a high-class sport professional or a recreational trainer! Rest is physically essential so that the muscles can repair and strengthen, which is vital for professional athletes. For recreational trainers, building in rest days can help to maintain a better balance between your social life and fitness goals.
I spoke to Chris Armstrong, Strength and Fitness Coach for Warwickshire County Cricket Club, about why recovery is important for his team of Cricketers:
“With professional athletes, the need to recover well is just as important as doing the training well in the first place! Whilst getting in the gym and training hard is the first step to becoming better conditioned as an athlete, the ability to have progression, taper leading into an event and good recovery strategies are what will make a real difference to the gains you make!
This principle of recovery has the same importance whether you are a recreational gym user or a high-end professional athlete and should not be underestimated.
At Warwickshire County Cricket Club we focus on a range or recovery methods.
These include:
– Specific recovery sessions – Designed to flush the body of waste products that build up through training. These may include light aerobic work, pool based sessions (non-weight bearing) or flexibility sessions.
– Massage therapy – Use of massage therapists or foam rolling to promote the flushing of waste products.
– Compression garments – Ever seen athletes wearing tights and wondered why? Well it’s not just a fashion statement! The use of compression tights or socks can also be used to help speed up the body’s natural blood circulation system – allowing greater oxygen levels to the muscles and therefore a quicker healing process.
– Ice baths – Some players love an ice bath, others don’t. Whilst the research in this area is at times sketchy, the benefits – even if just psychological – can be seen. The principle is based around getting blood flowing. Why not give it a go and see if it works for you?
– Nutrition/Hydration – What you put into your body is also just as important. This can be immediately post exercise or over the longer term. Getting the right blend of carbohydrates and proteins post exercise is vital to see good gains.
– Sleep – Good quality sleep should never be underestimated! Training hard and having poor sleep quality will not only prevent such positive gains from your sessions, but may also mean the quality of your next session isn’t as good.
All in all, recovery is vital – less really is sometimes more! It is definitely the quality of what you do that overrides the quantity. So if you are a gym junkie, it might not mean missing a day at the gym – it might just mean mixing it up and doing a recovery session instead!”
In our next blog post, we’ll look at how you can incorporate recovery into your exercise programme here at theclubandspa. In the meantime, if you have any questions, leave a comment in the box below or get in touch via Facebook or Twitter!
Gym Manager, Nathan D’Rozario at theclubandspa Birmingham
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