Rest and recovery techniques
Whether you're exercising to improve your physique or strength, rest and recovery are paramount to your success. Fitness training without adequate recovery can lead your progress to plateau and your physical condition to decline. It can then be a vicious cycle, as people often overtrain to make up for lost results, creating a higher risk of injury. By including rest days in your training schedule, you can dramatically improve the outcome of your work.
How many rest days?
Most coaches recommend at least 2 rest days a week.
What to do on your rest days?
It is still advisable to stay active on your rest days if possible, but with low intensity. Walking, yoga, or light mobility, anything that will promote circulation, joint mobility, create heat and counteract Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
DOMS and how to deal with it
Delayed onset muscle soreness often appears 1-2 days after your exercise and may last a few days after that. It results from temporary inflammation around the muscles, where the blood cells rush to the inflamed areas to heal the micro-tears caused by a good workout, particularly after a break.
Should I train with DOMS?
Studies show that light activity is the best treatment for DOMS. I also recommend exercising areas of the body less affected by it until recovery is complete, to allow for the most affected muscle groups to recover.
How to promote muscle healing on rest days
- Hydration: It is essential to hydrate properly both on training and rest days. This is integral to cellular function and muscle recovery. Adopting the right hydration strategy, both on rest days and performance days, is crucial to your success.
- Electrolytes: Taking on sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium go hand in hand with hydration, and these also help prevent water toxicity, muscle cramps, and spasms. According to ISSA, calcium and magnesium in particular help trigger the muscle contraction process, improving performance overall.
- Nutrition: Protein intake, particularly rich in amino acids, is crucial for muscle protein synthesis, which helps repair damaged muscle tissues. Proper nutrition and hydration will support muscle repair, energy replenishment, and overall recovery.
- Saunas: The heat from a sauna increases blood flow, which can deliver more oxygen and nutrients to muscles, aiding in recovery. It is important to supplement this with more fluids and electrolytes and counter any chance of dehydration.
- Ice baths: This helps with alleviating DOMS after training, and promotes circulation and muscle recovery. The ice bath flushes waste lactic acid out of the affected tissues, and reduces swelling and muscle soreness.
Recovery and training go hand in hand
Training without recovery can lead to fatigue, deterioration in condition, and injury. It is absolutely vital not to over-exercise without allowing your body to recover and grow. By including rest days in your training plan, and using certain techniques, you can dramatically improve the outcome of your training, and reduce the risk of injury or muscle damage.
If you wish to learn more about recovery after exercise, contact JJ Tindale directly through hello@jjtindalefit.co.uk.