165 Hours

I have been reviewing my past articles and came to realize that we do not spend nearly enough time talking about the other side of exercise: recovery. This is a common occurrence in the health industry, with magazines, books, TV shows, etc. all spending a majority of the time focusing on what to do DURING exercise, not necessarily after. The problem with this disparity in attention is that exercise is only part of the equation. If you spend 3 hours a week working to get results, you have 165 hours a week to figure out what else you can do to reach your goals. If you do NOTHING during this time, not much is going to happen. If you can spend your time supporting your training, then anything is possible. It is the non-exercise hours that make exercise worth anything at all!

                        

Now we all know that diet is important, but other recovery factors can be just as important in producing results. Today, let’s focus on these other elements that make for full recovery.

Sleep!

Sleeping is one of the most important things you can do if you want to be healthy. The amount and quality of sleep we get directly effects everything else in our lives. Recovery from exercise will be a big part of this, but other areas, such as hunger, stress management, motivation, energy levels, immunity to sickness, and hormone balance are all influenced by sleep.

Unfortunately, sleep is also one of the most neglected lifestyle factors. It is often seen as a burden; a waste of time. It is the last thing we prioritize in our overbooked schedules, but it is the thing we need the most to cope with our already stressful lives. We push back sleep, not realizing that we become more and more stressed with every lost hour of sleep. This is important to note, because exercise is also a stress. When we exercise, we are putting a lot of stress on our bodies and are actually breaking down muscle tissue. It is only in our time away from exercise that our bodies adapt, coming back stronger and leaner. Sleep is a critical part of our adaptation because our bodies go into recovery overdrive during this time. Without proper sleep, exercise can actually cause more harm than good, making you weaker, more prone to illness, and depressed.  

To make sure you are getting enough sleep, shoot for 8-9 hours a night. I know that this sounds crazy to a lot of people, but facts are facts, and this is biologically the amount of sleep the human body needs. If you are nowhere close to this right now, start small and just shoot for 15 more minutes. I will also say that if you are not on a regular sleep schedule, do everything in your power to create one. If you can wake up at the same time every day, you will be in a much better position to go to bed at the same time every night, allowing you to set a routine. Even if this routine only allows for 6 hours a night at first, it is a starting point. You can then work to arrange your schedule to allow for more sleep.

If you would like to learn more, here is a good article I was reading recently on sleep.

Soft Tissue Work

There are two main actions you can take to help keep your soft tissue healthy: massage and stretching. If you can afford it, I would highly recommend having a weekly massage. Even if you can afford this, I would also recommend buying a foam roller and working on it daily. This is a massage tool that is very easy to use and can work wonders for many common areas of tightness and pain. Often, people have issues with their backs, knees, shoulders, and more that can be relieved relatively quickly with the proper massage work.

Once you have established a habit of massage, I would then add in a few stretches. It is important to note that stretching without FIRST rolling is not nearly as effective. It is like trying to pull on two ends of a rope that has a knot in it: the knot just gets tighter. Instead, release the knot, then work to lengthen the muscles. If you would like some ideas on stretches, check out the first video in Pull Yourself to Better Posture.

Active Recovery

This generally refers to slow, easy movement. Walking would be the best example, but any activity that keeps you moving, while not putting a high demand on your body, will work (gardening, hiking, light swimming, etc.). From a recovery perspective, this type of movement increases blood flow without leading to any breakdown in the body. Increased blood flow leads to an increase in nutrients entering the recovering tissues, helping them to heal faster. Because your muscles can take 48 or more hours to recover, I would recommend adding a 15-30 minute walk every day.

Even if you do not engage in formal exercise, I would still recommend this! I know that weight training can be intimidating and that not everyone is quite ready to take it on, so just by getting out and walking you can make a big difference in your health. The two best times to fit in this walk are at lunch and after dinner. They are commonly times during the day that not much is happening anyway, and walking after eating always helps to get past any post-food drowsiness (though if you get drowsy after meals, you should evaluate the quality of your meals). I especially like the lunch time walk because it provides an opportunity to get some sun and build relationships with co-workers.

It’s All About Adaptation

In the end, it is all about how well you recover from exercise that will produce the results you desire. It is worth repeating that exercise is a STRESS. If you beat yourself up at the gym, beat yourself up at work, and leave no time for sleep or down time, your body is not going to respond well. Before you go out and exercise again, first think about what you will do in those other 165 hours to recover. If you do not plan to recover, it will not happen. Once you have your plan in place, hit the gym hard, eat right, go for a walk, hit the bed early, then get up and do it again!