Exercise Recovery

Maximizing Athletic Performance - The Crucial Role of Exercise Recovery

In the pursuit of athletic excellence, it's easy to become fixated on the intensity of workouts and the drive to push physical limits. However, what happens after the workout is just as vital as the effort put into it. Exercise recovery plays a pivotal role in maximizing athletic performance and achieving long-term fitness goals. And, if you're going to invest the time (and pain) in 4+ hour bike rides and long, lonely runs, make sure it's all worth it by paying attention to your recovery!

Three Main Reasons to Focus on Recovery

• Muscle Repair and Growth
  Intense physical activity creates micro-tears in muscle fibers. Adequate recovery allows the body to repair these tears, promoting muscle growth and strength development. Without proper recovery, the risk of overtraining and injury significantly increases.
• Reduced Risk of Injury
  Insufficient recovery can lead to fatigue and compromised form during workouts, increasing the likelihood of injuries. Rest and recovery days are crucial for preventing overuse injuries, allowing the body to heal and adapt to the stress placed upon it.
• Enhanced Performance
  Regular recovery practices contribute to improved overall performance. When muscles are well-rested, athletes experience increased energy levels, better focus, and heightened endurance during subsequent workouts or competitions.

During recovery, the following key tasks are accomplished:

• Energy stores are replenished
• Tissue undergo repair
• Rehydration takes place
• Inflammation is contained
• The endocrine (hormone) system regains balance

Step to Maximize Athletic Recovery

• Prioritize Sleep
  Quality sleep is essential for recovery. Aim for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night to allow the body to repair tissues, release growth hormone, and regulate stress hormones.
• Hydrate and Refuel
  Replenish lost fluids and nutrients by staying adequately hydrated and consuming a balanced post-exercise meal or snack. This helps restore glycogen levels, repair muscles, and kickstart the recovery process.
• Incorporate Active Recovery
  Engage in low-intensity activities, such as light jogging, swimming, or yoga, on rest days. Active recovery promotes blood circulation, reduces muscle stiffness, and helps prevent the onset of muscle soreness.
• Utilize Compression Gear
  Compression clothing can aid in reducing muscle soreness and swelling by improving blood flow and providing support to fatigued muscles. Consider using compression sleeves or garments during and after intense workouts.
• Implement Stretching and Mobility Exercises
  Include dynamic stretches and mobility exercises in your routine to enhance flexibility and prevent muscle tightness. This can improve range of motion, reducing the risk of injuries.

The 2-Part Recovery Process

You can think of recovery in terms of a 2-part process; short-term and long-term recovery. Both are important to maximize the process. 

Short-Term

• Do A Quick Cool Down: Cooling down shifts metabolic gears and this lower intensity exercise is when your body uses up lactic acid. (That's right; lactic acid is actually a fuel, not a useless waste product).
• Hydrate: This is an ongoing process. You probably aren’t going to be able to replace all of the fluid you lost training in the short term; hydration should be an ongoing process.
• Refuel: The 30 minutes immediately after training is known as the ‘anabolic window’, when the body becomes extremely efficient at replacing fuels spent during exercise. This is the best time to eat – immediately after your session.

Long-Term

• Rest: More specifically, sleep. Sleep is a state of repair – it's when growth hormone is produced; it leads the charge in repairing your body. Poor or inadequate sleep leaves your body poorly equipped to repair itself, and sets you up for long term health problems like insulin resistance, weight gain and hormonal imbalances, not to mention poor injury repair.
• Massage is a great way to relax the muscles, and get them out of their active state – think of it as a brief vacation for your muscles.
• Active Recovery: Some rest days should be spent doing nothing, and other times active recovery is appropriate. Active recovery means going for a walk, a gentle yoga class or stretching, or even a slow bike ride. All of this is meant to get your blood flowing, but with very little demand placed on your body.

Supplementation & Recovery

While there is no replacement for any of the above, supplementation can greatly aid the recovery process.  Here are our top supplements for supporting the recovery process:

Inflammation

Inflammation Relief is our premiere inflammation-lowering product. It breaks down the pain-generating chemicals your body makes in response to injury and tissue damage. It also speeds healing by improving oxygen and nutrient delivery to damaged areas. 

Pure Omega-3 Fish Oil contain the omega-3 fats that are vital in helping maintain a healthy insulin response, support the body’s production of anti-inflammatory compounds, and benefit the heart, brain, joints, muscles and even mood.

Curcumin Relief is made from a highly absorbable form of turmeric, one of nature’s strongest anti-inflammatories. It shuts inflammation down naturally, and without negative side effects like over the counter and prescription pain relievers.

All three are available in our Inflammation Control Bundle which makes a potent natural replacement for ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Energy

Recovery Charge is a patented combination of amino acids for muscle protein synthesis that enhances recovery. It includes the powerful branched chain amino acids as well. 

Cordyceps sinensis is a Chinese herb that has been shown to enhance the recovery and energy-producing processes in the body.

Energy Formula is a unique blend of energizing and stress-supporting nutrients. It’s designed to give you a healthy and sustained energy boost without any jittery feelings. Every serving of this delicious formula provides a complete vitamin and mineral supplement, along with electrolytes to replace what your body needs. 

Athletic Pure Pack is a combination of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that will give you a quick lift following an intense workout. It’s also great for an afternoon pick up on those long workdays.

Antioxidants

Think of oxidation as biological ‘rusting’ – it lies at the heart of aging. While the benefits of exercise are indisputable, excess exercise creates oxidation in the body. That’s why it’s important to quench those free radicals (which are created by the oxidation process) with anti-oxidants.

Greens First fortified blends of over 10 servings of fruits and vegetables; each formula contains 49 different super food concentrates making it a powerful serving of antioxidants. It tastes good, and we put a scoop in our smoothies and recovery drinks to boost our antioxidant intake right after exercise.

Remember, optimal athletic performance isn't just about pushing harder; it's about finding the right balance between intensity and recovery. “Less is more” is where much of the recovery research is heading. Athletes are a driven bunch, and time off tends to be a big source of guilt.  By prioritizing proper recovery strategies, athletes can ensure sustained progress, reduce the risk of injuries, and perform at their best over the long haul.

Here's a quick video expanding on some of our top recovery tips: