How to Recover Properly from Being Active

One of the many ways of coping during this pandemic that people have been doing is focusing on their health and fitness. Exercising, training, staying active, and just moving around are some of the many things that come along with it. We should also start to learn to put importance into our recovery as much as we put importance into staying fit and active.

Recovery Methods that You Can Do at Home

Rest and Sleep
A good night’s sleep is beneficial for recovery; it also helps with mood, balancing hormones, reducing inflammation, relieving stress and allowing your mind to focus – all things needed for a great workout (and a great day). Try to sleep at the same time every night, for no more than 8 hours. A good quality 6 hours is better than tossing and turning for 10 hours.

Eat well
The energy lost should be replaced with energy too and one of the best ways to achieve that is by eating a well-balanced diet with a good amount of protein. This is very important for making our machinery work.

Active Recovery
By either walking your dog, swimming, riding the bike, cleaning the house, or buying groceries, you can still recover since your blood is still pumping and flowing and this oxygenates the parts of your body that need it for recovery.

Roll Out Sore Muscles
Since massages are now a memory of the past until further notice, we can stick to foam rolling or ball rolling for soft tissue work. And who doesn’t enjoy massages anyway?

Stretch Every Day
Whether it’s a head to toe stretch or a good yoga session, stretching is vital to avoid muscle tension and help prevent injury.

Ice or Cold Bath
One of the instant methods to remove muscle soreness is an ice bath. It can also help avoid muscle tension and prevent injury by constricting and dilating blood vessels to help remove (or flush out) waste products in the tissues.

Hot Bath
This is to relax and loosen the muscles after a day’s work. Add Epsom salt or essential oils for added benefits!

Avoid Overtraining
Fatigue should be avoided so one can still continue to train as efficiently as possible.

Hydration
Drinking water helps fill up the cells and prevent them from falling victim to protein synthesis. A good tip – always bring a bottle with you!

Oxygenation
Good breathwork is vital for oxygen to go through our blood vessels and make recovery faster.