How to Recover the Right Way. Are You Doing it Right?
20 August 2012
It amazes me the amount of people heavily into their sports and exercise but not many people know how to properly fuel and exercise their body so that they recover for their next workout.
I’ve been here. I’ve worked out till I was exhausted and drained. Overtraining!!! Wondering why I was so unfit even though I was doing so much!
So how do we maximise our performance?
Warm up: – You need to get the blood flowing and the muscles warmed and lightly stretched before we workout
Cool down: – You need to stretch the muscles you’ve used in your workout so get them back to their original length.
Recovery Drink: After an intense workout, we should be having a recovery drink of some kind. I recommend a carb/protein/creatine drink if you are doing real intense exercise. Generally a drink with 4:1 ratio carbs:protein. A sugary drink is NOT enough especially if you are weight training. You need the protein in there to help build up the muscles you’ve worked hard!
Diet: Eat 4/5 meals a day. You should eat every 3/4 hours so your body is never hungry. It never goes into starvation mode. I eat a breakfast, a mid morn snack (healthy), Lunch, mid afternoon snack (healthy) and dinner.
Depending on your weight, exercises program etc, will depend on how much calories you intake. Also depending on if you want; to lose weight or maintain weight, will also change how much carbohydrates you intake.
These are considerations you will have to find more about via the web or by consulting a dietician if you want to do it properly
This diet should be generally healthy food. Lots of vegetables and proper food. Low saturated fat, low sugar.
Water: Drink your 2 litres of water throughout the day. Any time you feel thirsty or hungry, drink water. It’s your body giving you a sign so listen to it. Carry your water everywhere.
Recovery & rest days: All the top athletes will have a recovery and rest days. I recommend having 1 recovery day a week & 1 rest day a week. This all depends on how much you work out but if you workout hard 1/2 times a day. On the 4th day have a light low cardio, no weights recovery day. This could include some yoga and balance postures for the core. On day 7, rest completely or do a full body stretch!
Recovery week: Every 4/5 weeks, you should be having a recovery week which involves no weights and less intense exercise. This doesn’t mean to lie about and do nothing or going 10min light jog. The recovery week should still be challenging but just easier on you to let your body repair for the next 3-4 weeks of intense exercise.
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