Restoration!

What we love about our All In clients is their drive to push hard with virtually every goal they set forth for themselves. While this competitive edge may be appealing, certain goals, such as lifestyle goals, should be tailored to each individual’s needs. No doubt that exercise, when not executed in excess, is a positive outlet! However, one must be aware that if (s)he doesn’t allow their body ample recovery time, then (s)he diminishes its ability to recover, thereby increasing the risk of injury. Some experts like to call this overtraining. However, while overtraining is real and needs to be addressed, we feel that the majority of clients really just fall into a definition we like to call under recovery. The symptoms are quite similar. To clarify, under recovery is the accumulation of fatigue and a decrement in performance due to inadequacy of recovery OUTSIDE of the gym, which includes restoration, nutrition, sleep, relationships, and work. Think of under recovery as "life stress". Overtraining strictly comes from training in the gym and under recovery is everything else. Under-recovering can lead to elevated stress on the body and nagging injuries which can set you back for weeks! One should learn how to auto-regulate. If you feel great, kick your training up a notch. However, if you feel beat up and stressed, back off a bit. For those beat up days, instead of going hard, go lighter. A couple of examples include:

• Instead of high intensity interval training, go for a 20 minute brisk walk or bike ride
• Instead of heavy strength training, decrease the weight and volume or focus on just body weight exercises for at least a week.

Learn how to listen to your innate voice and modify your workouts accordingly. Those who don’t listen to their innate cues are the ones who fall victim to avoidable injuries. Our bodies need rest! Plan your “off days” and de-load weeks into your program to help with restoration and recovery. De-load weeks are short periods of lower volume and lower intensity. Learn how to properly implement self-myofascial release (SMR) and dynamic warm-ups into your training program. These techniques can help improve blood flow into the working tissue thereby accelerating recovery. In summary:

• Channel life stressors through healthy outlets.
• Get at least 8 hours of sleep.
• Take a B complex vitamin and vitamin C every day.
• Limit the amount of long aerobic exercise and heavy weight training to just 45-60 minutes. Training for a long period of time will elevate your stress levels.
• Get a massage, take a yoga class and meditate during the day.
• Plan proper de-load weeks with less volume and intensity into your program.
• Make sure you incorporate foam rolling and dynamic warm ups before every work out.
• Listen to your body!