“Hate that feeling when you try to hit the gym the next day after a hard workout and your whole body is stiff? This is where you will see the benefit from a recovery routine!”
Article by Alexandria Zimmerman, Ask Zimm
Prepping your body and recovering are two major elements to progress in fitness.
It can be overwhelming to think about the different elements of working out, especially if you are new to it. Let me help you break it down!
What is "recovery"?
#Recovery Is one of the most important elements to your fitness level because it directly impacts your ability to perform physically and mentally. This is the process of healing the body both psychologically and physiologically so that you can hit another training session that week. Yes- this process involved your body and your mind! Exercise is a form of stress, and the brain recognizes it as such so you must rest the mind as well.
Lets break it down- like muscle fiber in the weight room ;)
Hate that feeling when you try to hit the gym the next day after a hard workout and your whole body is stiff? This is where you will see the benefit from a recovery routine! It will help immensely with your mobility, energy levels and overall time it takes to recover. Recovering after every workout and refueling properly are two central components to quality gains.
Recovery Routine: My Tips
1. Pre-work: Dynamic Warm Ups are so important to properly working out and then properly recovering. It all starts in the "prehab" and this should never be overlooked. Especially if you have ever had any form of injury. Since I have scoliosis this has been incredibly important for me with injury prevention. Low back pain was my enemy until I started to incorporate core work and hib mobility before every workout! (I'll write about the specific exercises of prehab another time, but wanted to note how it impacts recovery).
2. Foam Rolling & Stretching: The foam roller is going to be your new bestieeeee. I love rolling on it everyday at least once. it helps with circulation and bloodflow to tissue, which is central to flushing out lactic acids and recovering micro-tears in your muscles. The only time I don't foam roll is on muscles that are extremely tender to touch, like when you are overly sore from not working out in a while. In this case, a slow jog and stretch will give you the recovery you need. Sitting still when you are sore NEVER helps! DDD= Dont Do Dat. I will share some videos on IG @alex_zimm_ for more detail since not everyone foam rolls their whole life away like me! lol.
Be sure to stretch after you roll!
3. Eat: Ever notice that your appetite soars after a workout or the following days after a tough session? That is because your body is doing extra work! Your body is stressed while working out and the time under stress is what initiates the gains- but the other 22 hours that you are not working out are the most important times to truly reach your gains / loss etc.
Eating correctly for your body is where you will see optimized results in performance and in recovery. Refueling after a workout is undeniably essential, but I am not a supporter of the idea that everyone who wants results must eat immediately. As long as you are refueling with complex carbohydrates and proteins within 12 hours of your workout, you will be helping the body recover. The timing of your meals is also somewhat dependent on your goals! Whole foods such as sweet potatoe and regular potatoe, vegetables and fruits as well as natural plant and animal proteins with amino acids are going to maximize revoery and energy. My favorite item for recovery right now is tart cherry because of its anti-inflammatory impact on the body. Also HYDRATING is a number one way to keep your body humming and will absolutely encourage recovery processes as muscles need water for maximal speed of protein synthesis!
Each time you workout:
Roll out before and after, especially after!
Pre-hab of dynamic warm ups after the rolling out!
Stretch all major muscles after you workout! I'll post more stretching, but currently have an express stretch on my IG highlights page!
Eat properly after you workout. (Before is also very important to have energy but not feel full or slugglish)
If you have more recovery questions let me know at @alex_zimm_ on IG!