Recovery & Why You Need It!
As the summer starts to wind down, and plans are starting to formulate for the fall, it's perfect timing to talk about Recovery.
There is a reason why we all love high-intensity workouts so much, they work! The American College of Sports Medecine ranked HIIT the most popular fitness trend of 2018. If you’re doing it right, you’ll be sweaty, sore, and done within 20 minutes. There’s one big problem, none of us are just working out for 20 minutes, right?
It was inevitable, that recovery would become the next fitness trend. We’re all working out so hard, so often, that we literally can’t handle it. It’s important to remember that while a workout is beneficial, you don’t actually benefit from it until your body recovers. When you workout, you’re creating micro tears in your muscles. When you rest, your body has time to repair those tears, which makes your stronger.
Recovery obviously isn’t new, we all know about stretching and foam rolling and resting between workouts. However, there’s a new emphasis on active recovery. Some examples of active recovery: infrared saunas, Normatech compression therapy, stretching and mobility classes and assisted recovery classes. Recovery is an investment, just like your workouts. We want to encourage people to invest in their flexibility. The problem with recovery is that most people know they should do it, they just don’t want to make time for it. It’s like the “flossing” of fitness. We want to help people build it into their routines as necessary maintenance.
As the Summer season comes to an end, and we need to RECOVER from our intense summer workouts, here are some ideas on how to work “recovery” into your fitness world:
- a stretching or yoga class
- meditation with focus on breathing,
- a recovery class
- T’ai chi
- quiet spot at the beach with a yoga mat and gently stretch and relax.
Learn to incorporate recovery time into your fitness routine and enjoy it!