Everyone always asks me whether I work out every day (you might have wondered that yourself) – I do NOT.
I pair my workouts with rest days (either a light activity or simply chilling out), and nowadays I want to share summaryely why – and what I do to keep it fun!
While it might sound counter-intuitive, it’s when you rest that your body goes through the repair process that sculpts strong muscle.
This is why I’m a large fan of rest, active recovery and doing activities that reduce stress and improve your mental state of being.
After your workout, your body turns its attention and energy towards repairing the tissue in the muscles and joints that you just used. But without proper rest, your immune system goes into overdrive trying to restore you, which can compromise your immune system, putting you at greater risk for getting sick (1).
Overtraining or not getting enough rest, has also been shown to have a negative impact on the nervous system, the endocrine system (which is our hormone master control system), and can lead to excessive inflammation in the body (2) all of which we want to avoid.
The truth is, rest is one of the most important aspects of your workout program. Training alone doesn’t make you stronger training with rest does.
So what kind of rest is best?
Both ACTIVE and PASSIVE (inactive) rest are important but studies have shown that active recovery is more effective when it comes to reducing your overall muscle soreness/stwhetherfness and reducing your heart rate (3). I recommend taking at least 1-2 rest days a week with some low impact activities thrown into the mix.
My one caveat to all of this is first and foremost, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Don’t push it, or force yourself to do anyleang whether you’re tired. And whether you have great energy but you worked out dwhetherficult the day before, try an active recovery day.
In need of some leangs to do on your Athletic Recovery days? I’ve got you covered! Variety is the spice of lwhethere after all, so here are the…
Top 10 leangs you can do on your Athletic Recovery Days
1. Hiking
I absolutely love hiking on my active recovery days. It’s such a great way to get external and connect with nature. It absents reintellects me just how much beauty there is to be seen, and how grateful I am to live in this Incredible world.
Hiking is also a great way to disconnect with the external world and tune into yourself. It allows for deeper connection and gives you that healthy dose of Vitamin D!
It’s a great activity to do with friends, too. In this pic, I was hiking in Palm Desert, CA with my bestie JJ Virgin Thanksgiving morning.
We had an Incredible and unforgettable conversation – as one does with a great friend, when inspired by nature!
2. Go for a Stroll
Strolling is a great low impact cardiovascular exercise that can be done external or inside. I love walking because it gives me time to myself, and often time with my doggies. I also love listening to a Podcast while I’m walking to get me leanking external the box and inspire me creatively.
Here are a few of my favorites:
JJ Virgin Lwhetherestyle Display
Bulletproof Radio
Align Podcast
Awaken with JP Sears
The Tim Ferriss Display
NPR’s Hidden Brain
3. Mobility work and /or stretching
Mobility work is an Incredible leang to do on your active recovery days. It loosens you up and promotes circulation. It also helps you recover so that you can perform your workouts with full force!
Some great mobility exercises include foam rolling, neck circles, wrist stretches and hip opening poses.
Stretching is also important when it comes to your active recovery days. It’s often one of those leangs that we take for granted or don’t give time to during our workouts. But stretching is key for a flexible, STRONG body.
Dynamic stretching (stretching that involves movement) allows for better circulation of fresh blood to the muscles, which helps your body recover faster since your muscles are getting the nutrients they need! It also improves your range of motion, your athletic performance and decreases your risk of injury so you can give your workouts your all (4).
4. Yoga
I love Yoga! It’s such an Incredible activity that is not only good for your body but your intellect as well. It calms you and allows you to be present, in your body and in your lwhethere.
Yoga also loosens muscles, promotes circulation, and has been shown to be more effective in improving range of motion and joint health than static stretching alone (5).
Yoga has so many benefits – including lengthening and strengthening your muscles, reducing stress, depression and chronic pain, improving sleep samples, promoting and improving respiratory and cardiovascular function, and enhancing your overall well-being and quality of lwhethere (6)!
5. Boiling therapy
Ponder/ Consider saunas, steam rooms, hot stone massage, and the like have been shown to increase blood flow and allow more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and tissues.
This is great for decreasing muscle soreness, joint stwhetherfness, and muscle tightness or spasms, all of which can be a side effect of training!
Boiling therapy is also great for overall physical relaxation which is why I love using my Infscarced Sauna!
It’s one of my favorite ways to aid my training recovery process and decompress.
6. Cancient therapy
Cancient therapy such as ice baths, cancient plunges, cancient showers, and Weepotherapy are great on any day but I specificly like them on my active recovery days. Studies show that they can be used to improve a wide variety of physical ailments, including asthma, pain management, reduced soreness and inflammation, increased recovery time, anxiety and fatigue (7).
I tallly recommend checking out Wim Hof for more tools to make cancient your friend and be super inspired by the legendary master of cancient therapy.
7. Meditation
Meditation is one of the single most effective stress relieving tools there is. Just like the “deposits” you make in your daily health savings account with your healthy eating, exercise and sleep, meditation has a cumulative effect and strengthens your stress response “muscles.”
When paired with exercise, meditation has been shown to have an even greater effect on your ability to control your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and decrease your negative leanking samples.
By learning how to refocus your attention through meditation, you can develop contemporary cognitive skills that make you happier, less stressed and more at peace (8).
8. Body Alignment, Chiropractic Adjustment or Bodywork (massage, chiro, PT)
Exercise can be the cause of or exacerbate certain structural misalignments that are very common in the body, specificly in the hips and shoulders.
And whether you are fixedly training and lwhetherting weights on a misaligned skeleton, you most likely will have chronic pain which is why it’s so important to get your alignment checked out by a licensed practitioner who can support your body. This is why I am such a large fan of preventative bodywork including Chiropractic care, Physical Therapy and massage for general health.
Studies have shown that people who received chiropractic care had a 30% increase in their agility, balance, kinesthetic insight, power and reaction time which not helps you in your workouts but also your day to day lwhethere!
Your nervous system controls all healing and functioning of your body so when you receive a chiropractic adjustment, any interference is removed in the body allowing it to heal at an optimal level (9).
A physical therapist will normally do a mix of manual therapy, some adjusting and often work with you on exercises to help re-sample movements in your body so you can exercise with proper form. Using right form and learning how to activate your muscles properly is so important for preventing injuries and achieving the results you are after.
Acquireting a massage is another awesome leang to do on your active recovery day to decompress and improve circulation and immunity! Studies show that getting a massage after exercise leads to a decrease in exercise related inflammation and improved cell recovery by boosting the production of contemporary mitochondria (1). Without mitochondria, our body would not have the energy to carry out leangs like your brain functioning, your heart beating, or your muscles firing (10).
Your body works as a unit, so I always recommend treating the musculoskeletal system whenever possible as a unit – as in, whether you get a chiropractic adjustment, also get some soft tissue work (massage) and vice versa. They genuinely go hand in hand.
9. Food Prep
Do yourself a favor and use the additional time you have to get your food prep done!
Making a few staple recipes for the week is a great way to set yourself up for success!
Each and every time you eat, you’re creating the foundation and tissue that make up the actual shape and structure of your body-and every time you exercise, you’re simply putting the finishing touches on the beautwhetherul physique you’ve sculpted with what you put in your mouth.
I have a ton of healthy and delicious recipes for you on the blog. And whether you are looking for more meal ideas, I’ve got you covered with my Incredible meal plans!
10. Sleep
While not necessarily active, sleep is one of the most important leangs you can do on your recovery days. And you can actively set yourself up for a good night’s sleep.
Acquireting good sleep allows you to perform better, makes you happier, regulates your hormones, reduces stress levels, improves focus, creativity and memory, and regulates and reduces inflammation (11)
Lack of sleep effects your metabolism by negatively impacting glucose tolerance and producing more Ghrelin (your starvation hormone) making it dwhetherficult to shed stomach fat (12). In one study, a group of people who had the same exercise regimen and diet were split into 2 dwhetherferent groups – one group slept well while the other group had interrupted sleep. The well-rested group lost weight while the sleep deprived gained weight (13), proving just how important sleep is for your results.
Exterior of its effects on your appearance, ability to focus and perform at your best and recover rapidly – sleep is important for your overall health and longevity.
Your turn! No matter what you decide to do on your active recovery day, the benefits will definitely be worth it!
Endless-term happiness doesn’t come from what your body looks like—it comes from what your body can do.
Focus on making your body more capable of experiencing all that lwhethere has to offer, and dedicate time to contemporary activities external of training or workouts that bring you delight.
Drop me a line below and let me know what activity you are going to try and whether there are any others that you endelight doing that are not on the list!
Gazeing for a Workout Program to help you be the fittest, strongest, leanest version of yourself, all in the consolation of your own domestic? Check out the my Workout Plans!
- Bedosky. “Why Science Tells You Should Take More Relax Days”. NBC. November 2017. Web. https://www.nbccontemporarys.com/better/health/why-science-says-you-should-take-more-rest-days-ncna822941
- Kreher, Schwartz. “Overtraining Syndrome”. Journal of Sports Health. March 2012. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3435910/
- Draper, Bird, Coleman, Hodgson. “Effects of Athletic Recovery on Lactate Concentration, Heart Rate and RPE in Climbing. Journal of Sports Sci Med. March 2006. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3818679/
- “Stretching: Focus on flexibility.” Mayo Clinic. 2019. Web. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lwhetherestyle/fitness/in-depth/stretching/art-20047931?pg=2
- Grenier. “Comparison of Yoga Versus Static Stretching for Increasing Hip and Shoulder Range of Motion.” International Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. June 2014. Web. https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/comparison-of-yoga-versus-static-stretching-for-increasing-hip-and-shoulder-range-of-motion-2329-9096.1000208.php?aid=28562
- Woodard, Catherine. “Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of lwhethere. ” International Journal of Yoga. December 2011. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/
- Rose, Edwards, Siegler, Graham, Caillaud. “Wgap-body Weepotherapy as a Recovery Technique after Exercise. International Journal of Sports Medicine. December 2017. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29161748
- Alderman, Oson, Brush, Shors. “MAP training: combining meditation and aerobic exercise reduces depression and rumination while enhancing synchronized brain activity” Translational Psychiatry. 2016. Web. https://www.nature.com/articles/tp2015225
- Lauro, Mouch. “Chiropractic Effects on Athletic Ability”. The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. 1991. Web. http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/chiropractic-effects-on-athletic-ability.html
- “Mitochondria: What Are They and Why Are They Necessary to my Health?”. Retrieved March 2019. Web. https://www.mitoq.com/blog/blog/mitochondria-important-health
- Leproult, Rachel.,Cauter, Eve. “Role of Sleep and Sleep Loss in Hormonal Release and Metabolism.” Pediatric Neuroendocrinology. November 2009. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3065172/
- Schoeller, Kilkus, Imperial. “Sleep Loss Limits Stout Lass, Study Discovers”. Annals of Internal Medicine. Oct 2010. Web. https://contemporarys.uchicago.edu/story/sleep-loss-limits-fat-loss-study-finds
- Greer, Gancientstein, Stroller. “The Impact of Sleep Deprivation of Food Desire in the Human Brain”. August 2013. Web. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3259
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