5 Ways To Boost Your Recovery

It is no secret that the key to physical and mental progression is recovery. When we train or handle life stressors, if we do not recover then we ultimately just break down. This results in either burning out, getting injured or losing interest in whatever pursuit we may be trying to achieve. While we train hard within the gym we must also prioritise ways to recover and adapt so that we can continue to become better. In this article we will be going through 5 simple methods to boost your recovery so that you can get the most out of your training and continue the momentum on the gain train.

Sleep

Sleep is often overlooked by many people but is probably one of the most important and easiest ways to boost recovery. Getting in adequate quality sleep is imperative for any athlete or even individual who places their health first. We repair cells, tissue and allow our brain to rest when we sleep and limiting the amount of sleep directly correlates that we are limiting our potential growth factor. This also increases the risk of injury as lack of sleep has shown to have negative effects on cognitive function, meaning that we are not able to function to our full thinking capacity and can make poorly thought decisions. It is recommended that any individual should be getting in 8-10 hours of quality sleep on a regular basis. Although it might not be possible for those with a busy lifestyle, ideally minimum 7 hours is optimal to at least have an average recoverable capacity.

Nutrition

Nutrition is the second factor. If our diet consists of poor food choices and we are malnourished then we are doing ourselves a disservice in performance and health. Good quality food from natural food sources is much easier digested by the gut and can make your insides a lot healthier. If your internal structures have to worry about detoxifying your body from free radicals or unnatural chemical structures from processed foods, it is going to compensate from another biological system. Having enough energy derived from food also increases our capacity to function and thus recover. If our body is in a caloric deficit, our ability to train or function at full capacity is limited and hence why we feel sluggish. Finding the optimal balance between how much food, which food and our lifestyle is crucial for healthy living habits that you can attain long term.

Monitor training volume

Once our sleep and nutrition is in check, we then need to consider how much training is too much training. The human body can only handle so much work naturally and we can easily reach a point of over training. Training at the end of the day is considered a stress upon the body. It is a physical strain which we recover and adapt to become better. If we over stress without taking into consider our other life stressors such as work, companionship and random mishaps, we can be overwhelmed and thus inhibit our recovery. Training at the right volume and load places enough strain for us to recover and continue to become better. Too much will often just lead to injuries or mentally burning out. Train just enough for you to become better and learn to listen to your body. No pain no gain is simply just asking to receive an injury.

Self treatment

Self treatment methods such as massage, dry needling or foam rolling during rest days or after training all have their benefits to improve recovery. Increasing blood flow and inhibiting stagnation of movement helps to not only flush out by products within the muscle but also increase the flow of nutrients carried to the muscles. Massage and foam rolling helps to relax the muscle spindles which can give us a sense of relief from pain.

Heat or Cold Therapy

Lastly, the use of Heat or Cold therapy may aid in recovery following self treatment. Methods of Heat Therapy such as heat rub, sauna or steam rooms help to relax the muscles whilst increasing blood flow. This also helps circulate the body and improve lymphatic health. Cold Therapy such as cold showers, ice baths or cryotherapy helps to decrease inflammation and help kick start the recovery process. Often used post training so that athletes can return to play sooner, it can also be used to improve overall quality of life by improving our immune system and mental toughness. 

These are 5 ways that you can improve you recovery and we hope this article helps you with you training and lifestyle!

Hope this was a good read and wishing you guys a good recovery post training!

Coach Matty