WHAT IS RECOVERY?

Recovery is one of the most important parts of any training or exercise program.

Recovery allows for improved performance, permits time for our body to heal itself in preparation for the next training load, and decreases the risk of potential injury.

Some of my clients come to BFS 5-6 days a week. Some days they are all raring to go with 100% effort, then other days they are exhausted mentally and physically.

In a nutshell recovery is....

"Physical and mental restoration too be able to perform again at the level that is required"

In the short-term, when we apply a stressor, we temporarily become more fatiqued, and our performance reduces.

When we remove that stressor, a period of recovery follows. During the recovery period is where the magic happens, it's where we get all the adaptations and improvements as a result of applying that stressor.

If we take the example of strength training as our stressor, then during the exercise we get tiny tears in our muscle fibres, which reduces our performance. These tiny tears are also what cause DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)

However, in the recovery period, the body brings in beneficial molecules to help repair those tiny tears in the muscle, which results in inflammation and in turn increases the size of our muscle and gives us a temporary improvement in performance.

So, think of it this way, it's not during the exercise itself where you get fitter, faster and stronger, it's during the recovery process where this happens. So, if you invest in your recovery then you and get more bank for your buck from your training.

THE 4 R'S OF RECOVERY:

1. Rehydrate: Replace fluid loss and fix electrolyte imbalance

2. Refuel: Replenish your muscle energy stores with adequate carbohydrate intake

3. Rebuild: Repair your muscles with adequate protein intake

4. Rest: Make sure your body gets adequate rest by aiming to sleep 7-9h per day