How Much Should You Recover?

(Photo credit: Oscar Bravo)

How much should you be recovering between workouts? That is a great question and should be taken into consideration no matter what level of fitness you are at. That feeling of soreness or fatigue is a good indicator of a successful training session, but it can hinder our next workout if we are not careful.

Recovery can come in a myriad of different stimuli: SLEEP (all caps to indicate just how important this part is), nutrition, mobility, manual therapy, and recovery baths (contrast or epsom salts) just to name a handful. It should be noted that these are great ADDITIONAL methods of recovery that should be added in and tested once sleep and nutrition are in check. It can't be overstated how important sleeping at least 8 hours per night and eating a healthy diet is for training and a healthy lifestyle. Have you been training 3-5 days a week and not seen the result you are looking for? Try sleeping for 8 hours per night for a month and get on a nutrition plan or with a nutrition coach. Not only will these help you with your goals, but also drastically improve your recovery from workouts.

But how much additional recovery should you incorporate into you life? I like living by the rule that states for every hour you spend training, add 20 minutes of additional recovery to your day. 20 minutes earlier to bed, 20 minutes of foam rolling, 20 minutes in the bathtub with epsom salts. Pick one and see if it helps! 20 minutes is a guideline, if you want to do a bit more or a bit less that's okay! Some is better than none. One time won't be enough to see immense benefits, so try committing to it for at least 2 weeks and see if you notice a difference.

Happy recovering! Caleb

TRAINING FRIDAY-SATURDAY

WARM-UP: x3 with a partner

12 alternating KBS each (partner holds KB overhead)

8 alternating push-ups/plank hold

4 alternating slow TTB/Hanging knee raise each while partner hangs

Specific Warm-up :

2 intervals of: Run easy 200m, 8 wallballs, 4 box jumps, 2 burpees (rest a couple of minutes in between each interval)

WOD: The Incredibles

This is a tough tough workout that is a Vic City classic! We've been working on your aerobic system through a series of running and long workouts over the past couple of months so here is a chance to show off your fitness! Good luck and have fun.

For a bunch of scores to check out and try to beat, take a peek at the leaderboard here: http://myfrantime.com/workouts/view/3276

Rx: 3 rounds for time: 800m run, 20 wallballs, 15 box jumps, 10 burpees

TG: 300m run, 15/10/5, scale as needed

FG: Scale wallball weight and box height