Tips for optimal recovery
Here are some tips to help you recover from exercise and ensure that your workouts make you healthier – not run you into the ground.
- If you sleep less than 7 hours the night before, halve your workout. You will still get the many benefits of exercising (including that feel-good buzz after) but without putting your body into a distressed state.
- Take a power nap. Just 10 to 20 minutes can do amazing things for the immune system, so go find a nice warm spot in the sun on your lunch break and have a lie down.
- Eat well. After sleep and rest, food is the next most important component in repairing our bodies. Fibrous carbohydrate, fruits and vegetables, protein and good fats all promote a strong immune system.
- Get a massage, use a foam roller or do a therapy you like and can afford, to help your body recover and work out any muscle aches and pains.
- Finally – and most importantly – listen to your body. There is an important difference between being lazy and being exhausted. If you feel overwhelmed, jaded or apathetic by the thought of exercising, don’t train. Sleep in and let your body heal!
Adapted from original article provided by Nicholas Chartres, Personal Trainer (Master of Nutrition).