Boost Your Training Recovery With These Simple Tips

Training hard is absolutely a requirement for increasing performance, muscular growth and inducing strength adaptations but truly an athlete is only as great as their recovery habits. There are a multitude of gadgets and tools that are commercially available to monitor recovery metrics; it has truly never been easier or simpler to track one’s recovery. Recovery has also never garnered so much interest and focus in the history of fitness and health as it does today. This is blatantly evident looking at the current trends in the fitness space (*cough cough ice baths, *cough cough trendy non-alcoholic beverages). Certainly, everyone seems to in search of the next tool or protocol to improve their recovery these days and I am here for it! Here are 10 simple things you can do starting today to help you recover quicker between your workouts and get the most out of your training.

Sleep

Before you do anything else, and I mean literally anything else to improve your recovery just get some quality sleep! This is the most potent tool you have in your armament in combatting the cumulative fatigue incurred through your fitness regimen. It is imperative that an individual learns the sleep hygiene practices that work for them in increasing sleep duration, decreasing time spent awake, decreasing time to fall asleep and increasing deeper more restful sleep. While sleep hygiene practices are highly individualized, there are some general things that one can do to improve their sleep (enough to easily write several blogs on in the future; don’t worry, they are coming). If you are one of the millions of North Americans like me who have an entire routine that they must run through to ensure a restful night sleep (while their partner drifts blissfully off to sleep in seconds) don’t fret! Here are some protocols (not an exhaustive list by any measure) that you can implement to help improve your sleep:

• Stay away from bright lights between the hours of 10 pm and 4 am and generally within an hour of going to sleep or longer if you can manage it. But what if you wake up at night and need to navigate your home? No problem, I get that you need to see, but a good rule of thumb in this case is to use as little light as possible in order to safely navigate your home without directly viewing this light through the eyes.

• Keep your room as dark as you can possibly get it. Keeping the door to your room shut and blinds closed with blackout blinds should do the trick here.

• Keep your room as cool as you can. This can be tough! Not everyone has air conditioning but that would certainly be the first recommendation. Central air conditioning would be best, but a portable air conditioner may suffice in some cases. There is also the microclimate of your bed to consider. Cooling sheets and blankets that breathe adequately and wick away sweat should be a focus. There are also actively cooling mattresses and mattress covers that are available (albeit, at quite a cost) that adjust the temperature of your bed throughout the evening to help you get to sleep more quickly and keep you in a deeply rested state.

• Try and reduce the noise in your ambient environment (damn you, portable air conditioners) so that your bedroom is quiet. If you can sleep with them in, ear plugs can assist greatly here in helping you achieve a quiet and serene environment for sleeping.

Nutrition

Nutrition is undoubtedly an important component of ensuring adequate recovery from workouts. Not only does what we eat serve to assist in muscle repair and glycogen replenishment, but it can also help to reduce inflammation induced by rigorous physical activity. In general, you’ll want to focus on the following:

• A mix of complex and simple carbohydrates post-workout to replenish muscle glycogen. Furthermore, there should be a focus on complex carbohydrate intake throughout the day (especially on heavier training days or days in which multiple workouts are occurring) to ensure there is adequate energy stores for fueling your training.

• Adequate protein intake to stimulate and promote protein synthesis and muscle and tissue repair. Lean meats, poultry, fish, dairy, soy and eggs are all excellent sources of protein with a full amino acid profile that contain all 9 essential amino acids. There are also plant-based protein options although, if you were to strictly eat plant-based protein then it is crucial that you consume a wide-variety to ensure you are consuming all 9 essential amino acids from one source or another. Protein supplementation can assist greatly here (there are both animal-based and animal-free protein supplements commercially available).

• In order to reduce inflammation generated through intense exercise, it is beneficial to consume antioxidant rich foods such as colorful fruits and vegetables. These help to reduce inflammation and aid in the recovery process and ensure the body is receiving a rich source of micro-nutrients for overall function.

• Don’t forget about fats! Traditionally, common dietary advice was to avoid fatty foods like the plague. Luckily, we now know better. Fats are not only good for you but absolutely essential for general function! Not all fats are created equally however, there are certain fats you’ll want to look for and others to avoid. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which can be found in such foods as high-quality olive oil, avocados and nuts (monounsaturated) as well as fatty fish, flax seed and chia seed (polyunsaturated), should be at the forefront on one’s diet. Food science is always evolving (which is why you hear a new recommendation every other year) and there is research to postulate that including saturated fats found in animal meats is also essential for general function. This is highly contested in nutrition science at the moment however, and it will be interesting to see what general consensus is reached in the future.

Hydration

This is such a simple protocol to implement in one’s life that it shouldn’t even make a “list” but if that were true, there wouldn’t be literally hundreds of tools on the market encouraging and reminding you to drink water throughout the day. Hydration is crucial for nutrient transport and waste removal within the body and can be quite a complex topic. There are general recommendations for the average individual, but it should be noted that prolonged exercise increases sweat losses and therefore, the demand for hydration increases drastically in active individuals. For the average person, recommendations vary between 9 to 15, 8oz cups of water per day (with the higher recommendation being geared to men). That is a LOT of water, and most individuals aren’t getting near that amount. For active individuals, we have to think not only about replacing sweat loss, but also replacing electrolytes lost and maintaining electrolyte balance. This is where things get a little more complicated. There are specific equations that one can utilize to quite accurately replace sweat loss and electrolyte loss during exercise, but at the risk of overcomplicating the present discussion, a simple rule to follow would be to consume 16 oz of water every 15 – 30 minutes of exercise and supplement longer sessions (60 minutes or more) with an electrolyte containing sports drink (or multiple).

Active Recovery

Another potent tool in the goal of improving recovery is perhaps something some you may be disappointed to hear while others will welcome it with open arms: exercising! Yes, in fact, exercising between workouts can and does boost your recovery. I am not speaking about high intensity or rigorous exercise sessions however, nor am I suggesting that adding weight training sessions in between your programmed workouts will be beneficial. No, active recovery refers to completing very low intensity exercise such as low-aerobic type endurance activities (i.e., light swimming, cycling, walking, low-intensity hiking etc.), yoga and stretching and casual sport activities.

The idea here is simply to get and keep the body moving. Moving in between sessions has a myriad of benefits including:

• Increasing blood flow and circulation to remove lactic acid from the body and deliver oxygen and key nutrients to the tissues to aid in repair.

• Reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and stiffness.

• Improving join mobility and flexibility as well as proprioception which can aid in injury prevention.

• Aiding in mental relaxation due to the low-intensity nature of the activity and mood boosting effects of physical exercise. Many of the suggested activities are also somewhat meditative in nature (i.e., yoga, walking, swimming etc.).

• Increasing adherence and consistency in training.

Given the potent effects listed above, one would be wise to give a second thought to avoiding physical activity between sessions due to soreness, lack of motivation or otherwise!

Sauna

While cultures have been using sauna for millennia, sauna is becoming an increasingly popular tool for athletes in aiding recovery. Through a protocol known as “hypothermic conditioning”, sauna use induces numerous physiological adaptations beneficial to recovery. Not only does sauna increase blood flow which, as we’ve discussed, enhances circulation, oxygen and nutrient delivery and helps eliminate lactic acid but it acts through other unique effects as well. Sauna protocols, when used correctly, have been shown to aid in removing metabolic waste products, promote the release of endorphins, ease muscle tension and improve sleep. Moreover, sauna induces the production of Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) which play a crucial role in protecting cells from stress-induced damage. In general, 2 to 3 sessions per week lasting anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes in length is a good starting point for the average person. Pay careful attention to hydration when using sauna (8 to 16 oz of water every 20 minutes is key)!

Cold Water Immersion

Much like the above practice, cold water immersion is ever-increasing in popularity, evidently by the endless content from fitness influencers dunking themselves into tanks of water and ice. But does this practice hold merit? Sorry to say for you, it certainly does! There are a ton of benefits to using cold water immersion as part of your recovery regimen. Cold water immersion can reduce inflammation and pain, reduced swelling, restore circulation, reduce metabolic waste and support joint health. Furthermore, there are numerous anecdotal reports of a boost in psychological health from utilizing cold water immersion that is not fully understood at this juncture however, it is reported consistently enough to be considered a likely effect. There are certain considerations with cold immersion however, cold immersion can be dangerous if an individual gets too cold, too quickly. That is to say that one should exercise caution when introducing themselves to cold water immersion and refrain from immersing themselves in water that is too cold for a novice and stick to shorter sessions at first (eventually working up to 3 to 5 minutes in length). Additionally, as inflammation is one of the key components of promoting muscular growth, timing of cold water immersion sessions for those looking to add muscle is also vital (i.e., directly after training within 1 to 2 hours should be avoided). I should note that there is currently no accepted timeframe for avoiding cold water immersion after a weight training session to prevent a blunting of select adaptations that promote muscular growth and strength gain.

Mindfulness and Stress Management

How you take care of your mind outside of the gym or your physical activity can be as vital to your training and recovery as the session itself! This is an aspect that many individuals are lacking, unfortunately. There are a multitude of reasons for paying careful attention to your mental health as an athlete. Specific strategies to improve mindfulness and reduce stress can reduce stress hormones, relax muscle tension, enhance sleep quality, improve immune function, enhance mental focus, support positive nutritional and lifestyle choices, speed up psychological recovery and promote a positive mindset. All of the above can have a dramatic impact on how quickly the body recovers from a training session.

There many strategies one can implement easily within their daily routine namely meditation and other mindfulness practices, deep breathing exercises, yoga, engaging in hobbies and having a healthy social life, journaling, visualization exercises and time management, to name a few! There are endless strategies in this regard and ultimately will depend on what the individual prefers. Stress management is highly individualized, and you should aim to discover a routine that works for you.

Conclusion

To conclude, if you are serious about your fitness and your training, you absolutely must make recovery a priority. Not only will this aid in achieving your goals at a highly accelerated rate, but it will promote longevity and overall well-being. Luckily for you, as we have seen, there are endless tools at your disposal that you can begin implementing today that will assist you in recovering better and ultimately performing better as well. These protocols aren’t just applicable for athletes, and I would stretch as far as to say they are even more important for the average individual. The average person trains to be a healthier and overall, a more functional version of themselves. So, why would you beat yourself up in the gym so heavily and spend so little on recovery to spend most of your time out of the gym feeling like absolute garbage? Remember, your next workout is only as good as your last recovery. Train hard, recover harder.