Simply put, progression is made through the recovery process. We need to respect this process and treat it as seriously as the workout itself.
Recovery starts before your workout even begins, A proper warm up prepares you for specific movement patterns. What we want to do is prepare your joints so they are ready to move weight, emphasize proper movement patterns & minimize your risk of injury. This will speed up your recovery by placing stress in the right area’s. Proper movement patterns are easier on the joints and muscles. Putting this all together will help you recover more rapidly
An effective warm up consists of 3 parts.
- Raising your core temperature
This could mean anything from skipping rope to hitting the air bike for a few minutes. We want to wake up the muscles and make them more receptive to dynamic stretching & to reduce risk of injury.
- Dynamic Stretching
If want to unlock your mobility and maximize your power output, this is the way to go. Pick a few movement patterns for your shoulders, hips & spine and perform 12 reps of each, moving in and out of end range.
- Muscle Activation
Choose a few exercises that target the key stabilizing muscles. Example for upper body might be facepulls and plate halos. Example for Leg day? Try cable cable/banded hip abductions and glute bridges. By properly activating our primary stabilizers we are more apt to improve the quality of our movement patterns resulting in increased strength
Sleep like its your damn job.
If you want become a happier version of yourself, proper sleep is king. The way we spend that third of our life determines how we physically & mentally perform. If your sleep is off, here are a few tricks to get you back on track
- Schedule your sleep. Stick to a consistent bedtime / wake up time.
- Sleep in absolute darkness.
- Get away from your phone, tablet, computer, electronic whatever an hour before bed, and indulge in some relaxation.
RESTORATIVE WORKOUTS
Sitting on the couch watching Netflix on your day off is often not the best way to go about your recovery days, Nice heart warming low intensity active recovery is where it’s at. So what does that look like? It could be riding your bike for 20 – 30 minutes, jogging on the beach with your dog, grabbing your swimsuit and doing a few laps. The only rule is we are shooting for 20-30 minutes of continuous work in a heart rate range of 60 – 70%. So why active recovery vs the couch?, increased blood flow and oxygenation of tissues promotes a speedier recovery and helps remove waste products created by previous intense workouts.
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Written by: Derek Frohlich