When you think about recovery, consider it similar to your bank account. If you neglect handling your money for a period of time, what happens? Potentially you end up in some form of debt, and it takes a lot of effort and time to get back out that debt. This is the same thing with your recovery from workouts. If you never give your body the attention it deserves, eventually you’ll get an injury and be forced to take time off. These daily recovery ideas will give you a simple way to give your body the attention it needs to function well day in and day out.
Daily Recovery Ideas
When you first begin a workout plan, you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. You’ll end up being burned out and quit your plan before it has the chance to help you. Same thing here with your daily recovery ideas. Keep it simple, but make it happen every single day. Your body will thank you, and you’ll see better results from your workouts, as well.
begin with a good sleep routine
When you sleep, your body naturally produces human growth hormone – yes the same thing which is illegal to supplement with in athletics. You naturally produce this when you give your body the rest it needs and deserves. Therefore, when you are focusing on daily recovery begin with a good sleep routine.
First, keep your room dark and cool. Purchase black out curtains and shoot to have your bedroom set for 65 to 68 degrees. An hour before you try to get to bed, begin winding down. Either put on blue light blocking glasses or turn off your electronic devices. Spend some time journaling or reading to help your mind relax. If you do this every day, your body will start to recognize these cues as “sleep time” and produce melatonin to make you fall asleep more easily.
make mobility a habit
Mobility can take many forms, and at least one of them should make it into your daily recovery practice. Set aside 10-15 minutes each day to do either:
- Static or dynamic stretching
- Foam rolling
- Mobility flows
You don’t have to choose just one, either. You can do a bit of all three and still get great benefits. Do your mobility either before bed, after a workout, or when you wake up to start your day.
increase blood flow throughout the day
Recovery is basically the transport out of “bad” blood, and the transport in of “good” blood. Therefore you need to find ways to increase blood flow throughout the day. What’s the worst way to do this? Sit down for 8 hours straight. Which is what many of us do at our jobs every single day.
To combat this, make it a habit to get up every hour and take a quick walk. Even just five minutes to go to get a glass of water is going to do dividends for your overall daily recovery. You can also buy electronic stem devices such as a Compex or a PowerDot which make your muscles involuntarily contract and force blood flow through your body.
Making recovery a habit
At the end of the day, if you can make your daily recovery practices turn into a habit you’ll naturally be much more consistent and therefore see the benefits. Imagine only working out once per week – that wouldn’t do much for you, now would it? Same thing with recovery. Turn it into a natural part of your day and the results will follow!
