Let's Talk About Recovery
LET’S TALK ABOUT RECOVERY!!!
(Otherwise known as everyone’s least favorite word… REST!)
By: Coach Megan Medeiros
Do you typically take rest days from the gym during the week, or are you a “power through 7 workouts per week even if my body breaks” kind of person? At times, we all can be guilty of the latter, especially when we have big goals that we want to continue to work on. BUT, would you think I’m crazy if I told you that one of the best ways to ensure you are making progress toward your goals is by taking intentional rest days? It sounds crazy because all around us are signs that lead us to believe that more is better when it comes to our health. That can be true in some aspects, but for our fitness, more QUALITY, over more QUANTITY is always going to win, and we keep our quality days by listening when our body needs a break.
What happens to our body when we work out?
-Muscle is broken down, along with other body tissues such as ligaments, tendons, bone.
-Fuel stores in the body are emptied
-Our nervous system is working hard to coordinate our movements, regulate our breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, among other things.
-We are inducing STRESS on our body.
What happens during rest?
Muscle (and other body tissues are) rebuilt with proper nutrition
Our nervous system is recovering, regulating all of our body processes as usual and is not overloaded with physical stress
Our hormones are leveled
What could happen when we don’t rest:
Chronic stress/ fatigue (which can greatly stall or inhibit weight loss goals, decrease muscle building and make you really irritable and unhappy)
Overuse injuries
Changes in hormone levels
Electrolyte imbalance
Lack of (quality) sleep (remember sleep is when our body really recovers and rebuilds)
Decreased performance (you’re not going to effectively work towards your goals if your performance is suffering)
When we don’t give our body the time it needs to recover we start the downward spiral into chronic stress. Once we get to that point, it can take some time to get our body back to feeling normal again. Ask yourself before your workout or even before coming to the gym: “What would I rate my physical stress on a scale of 1-10?” or “How does my body feel today?” (1= feeling fantastic, 10 = feeling like you fell down a flight of stairs). If your rating is above a 5, it might be time to consider taking a rest day either today or definitely tomorrow. If not today, you should be thinking about how to go into the workout with a plan to not push you over the edge to a level 10, but modify as needed to keep the quality and stimulus of the workout preserved. For example, if the workout of the day is “Fight Gone Bad” and your body is so tired or so sore that you go into the workout with the RX weight, and get 3 reps per minute and spend the rest of the time hunched over catching your breath, instead of listening to your body, scaling to a lighter weight and hitting the goal of 15+ reps per minute, what did you get out of that workout besides adding to your body’s stress? The answer is “not much.” If your rating is above a 7, it would be best to take the day off, do some mobility work, stretch, read a book, take a bath, do something to help your recovery so you can come back the next day more prepared and ready to have a quality workout, not just go through the motions to get a workout in for the day. Our fitness is not just about checking boxes for completion. It is about our workout quality and what we are doing in between workouts to make sure our body stays healthy and ready to push itself as hard as the stimulus intends during the next workout. Work hard, recover hard, listen to your body and remember, we are working out for health and longevity, not to check a box, fill a ring, eat whatever we want, or be able to say we worked out today.
Want to talk more about recovery and getting the most out of your workouts? Reach out to one of our Coaches!