Let’s start off today with simplifying the basic physical adaptation process to getting stronger and fitter. I think the more we understand something the more likely we are to continue to do the hard things that allow us to get better.
The Process- Making this as simple as possible is perfect cause it doesn’t need to be complicated. To get stronger, fitter and better overall performance we must do something to our body to cause some type of break down, we do this by lifting weights (breaking down muscle)and doing cardiovascular work (breaking down the heart and lungs). When something in the body is broken down like that the body wants to make sure the next time you do it it’s ready and more prepared so it adapts by RECOVERING from the process and either adding a lil more muscle or recruiting more of the muscle you have to do the work or by making you more efficient in what you’re doing, your resting heart rate for example will drop as you become more fit.
Here’s the problem, if our body doesn’t recover from the training we don’t get the GAINZ in performance that we should. Recovering from training is just as important than training, they go hand in hand, there is no one or the other. Here’s the other problem we spend 90% of our energy towards training and if we’re lucky 10% goes towards recovering. When we don’t recover from training we start to add up unneeded stress on the body that will eventually become injury or burnout.
So how can you recover better?! Here are the 4 most important recovery tips you need to start with.
1. SLEEP- 8 hours of quality sleep a night is when your body recovers from life, it’s a must in my books. You need to find the time to sleep in a cool, dark room with no electronics and little distraction. This will make the biggest difference. I know you have a life but if you care about it you will do it. Prioritize!
2. EAT- You must eat enough good quality food 80 to 90% of the time to make sure you have enough nutrients to recover. Overeating and Under-eating will both leave you under-recovering and eating crap food will only create more stress on your system. You must eat enough good food for what you put out in a day and enough good quality protein to recover.
3. RELAX- We go 110% ALL day, from workout to work to school event to kids hockey game. No stop to relaxing. We must find time to ourselves to recharge. Spend 30 mins a day meditating, reading, relax in our Normatec recovery system, take a hot bath, get in a sauna. 30 mins a day to you and allowing your nervous system to relax.
4. WARM-UP and COOLDOWN- We all workout hard and I respect that and it’s awesome! But we don’t spend enought ime before or after the workout warming up or cooling down to get the best recovery we can. Warming up preps the body and nervous system for work allowing for better movement quality which will allow for less wear and tear on the body. Cooling down brings hear rate and body back to normal more steady and adding stretching in there allows our body to get to the joint ranges we need to live healthy lives. They both help us recover better for the next training session.
All gyms allow a lot of time and effort and space for training. Training is fun (for the most part) and makes us feel good and accomplished with what we did. Our society doesn’t have a good view of rest and recovery. It’s viewed as soft and weak and not progressing but I have a different view maybe a more eastern approach if you will, I say there’s nothing wrong a 30 min siesta mid-day, I say time of reflection is needed to reach maximium potential, I say the better you recover the BIGGER the GAINZ!
To put my money where my mouth is I’ve dedicated the whole room beside my office to RECOVERY. Our Recovery room will be open for business by the end of the year. I’ve invested in some things that will help you recover better. The Normatec Recovery System is amazing and you have to try it. We are also installing a InfaRed Sauna in the room which I’ve read a lot of studies on the benefits and to cap it all off there will be a TV and Sega Genesis so you can relax and play a video game or listen to music on the Normatec and just RELAX. If you are interested in using the room please email me to get on the VIP members list and for all the details of the room. radixperformance@live.com
~Coach Dan