Accelerate Your Results with Better Recovery
You work hard in your workouts. You push yourself. You level up. You are putting in a lot of effort so why not make sure you are getting the most bang for you buck from them? The magic happens while you are recovering. The workout is the stimulus. During a workout you are actually damaging your muscle, creating micro tares. With proper recovery, your body repairs these tares and you are ready for your next workout a little stronger. Below are our favorite recovery activities to help you thrive in and outside of the gym and get the best results!
Foam Rolling
Foam Rolling offers many of the same benefits as a massage, including reduced inflammation, scar tissue and joint stress, as well as improved circulation and improved flexibility. Our favorite places to roll, especially for those who are at a desk all day include you calves, quads (tops of your legs). By rolling during pre and post workout, you will help prepare your muscles for the workout ahead and also help with post muscle recovery.
Check out Mike’s video on foam rolling!
Sleep
Achieving adequate and good quality sleep help to provide mental health, hormonal balance, and muscular recovery. Getting enough uninterrupted sleep, which is between 7-9 hours for most people, is crucial for optimal health. No matter what your goal, performance, fat loss, feeling better, or having more energy, without enough sleep, you will not reap all the benefits of the work you are putting in during the day.
Need some ideas on how to get more sleep? Check out Coach Suzanne blog post.
Fuel Your Body
During recovery nutrition we remember the three R’s: refuel, rebuild, rehydrate.
Each of these critical recovery concepts calls for a different combination of fluids, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and protein, each playing a specific role in the recovery process. After training the body is left dehydrated, drained of fuel, and broken down. The body is in a stressed state, and the proper blend of nutrients can jump-start the body’s recovery process to help you come back stronger and healthier.
If you are looking to optimize your nutrition for fat loss, performance, or just feeling better, email our Registered Dietitian, Suzanne at suzanne@forwardfitnessstl.com.
Light Movement
If you sit around all day after a hard workout, when you get up it may be hard to move and you may feel extremely sore. If you instead you add a very easy walk or some light mobility work you can help your recovery. This light movement helps to increase blood flow throughout the body, clear waste products, and decrease next day soreness.