The Importance of Rest and Recovery
You are an athlete and you train hard. You go 100% and don’t like to rest. Rest is for the weak they say. Training non stop and not allowing time to recover actually can weaken the strongest athlete. Between your training sessions, it is important to rest and recover. This is the time when your body has time to replenish energy and repair damage muscles. Not allowing your body to rest and recover can lead to overtraining symptoms which may lead too feeling tired, depressed and increase your risk of injury. Most people think that these mean the same thing but there is a huge difference between the two. Between the hours that you are training, this is your time to rest and recover. Unfortunately , most of the population gets the rest part down pretty well but forgets to recover. This is where you basically sleep and not train. The recovery portion is where people tend to forget about. Recovery includes proper nutrition, hydration, posture, heat, NormaTec compression boots, Marc Pro Stim Unit, Rock Tape , adjustments, stretching, myofascial release and anything else that can help the body recover. During the grueling training workouts that most athletes do, there are different systems that need to recover which include hormonal, neurological and structural (muscles, tendons and ligaments).
There are a few things about Rest and Recovery that should be applied to any training program.
- Sleep
With sleep, you get the rest and the recovery all in one. This is probably the most important factor if I had to choose. Sleep will help your hormonal balance and muscular recovery. This is the time for your body to remove chemicals that build up as a result of cell activity. Lack of sleep can lead to increased cortisol levels and decreased activity of human growth hormone.
- Hydration
Making sure that you are hydrated is very important to your energy, recovery and performance. Most people do not drink enough water and the best way to tell is to look at the color of your urine. If it is clear to pale yellow then you are doing a good job.
- Nutrition
Your body is like your car. Your nutrition is like your gas. If you put high quality gas into your car, it will perform better. The foods you eat can either help heal your body or poison it. Rich Omega 3 foods will act as a anti inflammatory where processed foods and bad fatty foods are harmful to the body. I myself practice the Paleo diet throughout the year and feel great. Consumption of protein right after exercise can help stimulate protein synthesis which is very important in muscle repair.
- Posture
Poor posture will inhibit your performance. In this generation, most people sit all day at work. Poor posture can lead to back and neck pain. Poor posture is also related with early death because people with poor posture tend to not exercise and sit longer.
- Stretching
Enough flexibility is needed to move well. It was once said, first move well, then move often. If you are very tight, your form may be off in many exercises and workouts that you do. If you do not have proper form, this may lead to injuries.
- Self-Myofascial Release
This is done to return tissue back to normal and healthy tissue.
- NormaTec
The NormaTec machines can be used both before and after working out to speed recovery by systematically pushing out inflammation, old blood, and lactic acid while providing a flushing massage. There is no time limit on the machine, but a range of 15 – 30 mins is typically recommended. Used by professional athletes around the world!
- Marc Pro
Marc Pro technology, on the other hand, works differently by activating a cascading series of physiological effects through a specific type of muscle contraction that leads to enhanced recovery and conditioning. Marc Pro’s unique waveform and long pulse duration creates a non-fatiguing muscle contraction, which is optimal for muscle recovery. Most muscle stimulators use technology that stems from devices used for muscle re-education, where the goal is to fatigue muscles that have atrophied. These devices have their purpose but when you are trying to recover, putting further stress on the muscles will reverse any recovery benefits. If strong enough, any electric signal can produce a muscle contraction, what’s important is the type of muscle contraction that is produced. In addition, the Marc Pro Plus can provide significant relief by actually shutting down pain, combined with recovery benefits to help problem areas actually recover and get better.
9.Rock Tape
Lymphatic Drainage/Swelling Reduction
Kinesiology tape is unique in its ability to create a lifting effect on the skin to allow for better lymphatic drainage in areas of swelling. This can have a dramatic effect on recovery time after a workout and healing of damaged tissue after injury.
