WOD
2 Rounds For Time:
800 Meter Run,
30 Toes to Bar,
20 Deadlifts 225/155.
20 Minute Cap.
Tuesday Night Musings by Coach Preston.
What Constitutes Active Recovery?
Ok peeps, how many of us go to the box and tear it up and then go sit in our car and drive home, or to work, and do some more sitting? And then we take the next day off as a rest day and that is all we do, “rest”. Yeah, I am guilty of doing this as well. Most of us are, but what should we be doing instead?
To start, you should be taking advantage of your days off. Rest days are a necessity, but should they be only that? Just rest? While resting the muscles and nervous system is important, it is not as simple as just kicking back and catching up on some Game of Thrones. Or at least it shouldn’t be that simple, but many of us are guilty of this form of rest. But why not take a more “active” role in your recovery? There are a number of beneficial things you can do to enhance your recovery during the time you are not working out.
“Active recovery” is a term we hear often in the fitness world. But what exactly does it mean and why would we want to recover actively? It has been a common misconception that we want to include some form of active recovery to flush leftover lactic acid from the muscles. Contrary to this misconception, active recovery does not flush lactic acid from the muscles. Lactic acid (lactate) is converted back to its original compound a short time after exercise stops. So with lactic acid not being present the day after a strenuous workout, why would you want to do an active recovery?
The focus of an active recovery should be on increased blood flow to the muscles and joints. If we can increase blood flow (without breaking down more muscle tissue), we can enhance nutrient delivery to the muscles. Therefore, helping to speed up and increase recovery. We can do this in a number of different ways, some examples of which I’m providing below.
A few of my favorite ways to encourage or improve recovery are Epsom salt baths, light Tabata workouts, and ROMWOD. In fact my go to is Tabata slam balls (at 50-60% capacity), followed by ROMWOD. This only takes me 20-25 minutes to complete. You can also get a massage, go hiking, ride a bike, foam roll or take a brisk walk, just to name a few other active recovery methods.
Now that you are aware of how you should be utilizing your rest times, make a plan and attack it. Recover with as much intent as you hit a Metcon with! Don’t forget to also fuel your recovery time with proper hydration and nutrition.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Coach Preston
Attention: The Helo Co-Ed Softball team plays at 7 p.m. in West Valley, if you want to come cheer them on!
