Recovery 101

The point of training is to reap the benefits, not die on a repeated basis.

The Truth of Exercise

Training and exercise breaks down the body. The response our body has to training is what we are aiming for. What we do outside of the gym is what impacts our benefits the most. The following are the simple, yet essential must do's to recover from training .

Sleep

The majority of our recovery process occurs here. Ensure that you sleep 6-8 hours a night (8-10 if you're a child or teenager) to reap the full benefits of training. You replenish and recharge your central nervous system, rebuild muscle tissue, and return your body to homeostasis during sleep.

Eat Solid Foods

No matter what your nutrition cult; paleo, IIFYM, primal, zone, vegan, vegetarian (sorry about the chicken above RIP) etc. the bulk of your nutrition intake should be rich in nutrient dense foods to ensure you have appropriate levels of protein, carbs, and fats. Underrating is sure fire way to no recover. Eat to perform my friends.

Hydrate

What's cool about your muscle? It's nearly 70% water. Water does all things and you need to ensure that you're drinking adequate amounts to ensure you recover, and have the ability to continually perform (2-3% drop in hydration levels hinders performance}. Proper water intake allows your digestive system to properly digest foods ensuring the nutrient content you have ingested makes it to the end goal; to rebuild.

That's It

If you're a beginning exerciser, I strongly advise banking in on these three principles to ensure you have a baseline understanding of how to recover from your training. No matter what your level of training or performance is, these three are the absolute essentials. I see it all too often that even seasoned trainers fail to accomplish these tasks that ultimately hinder results Yes, recovery habits can get more complicated as you progress when you want to achieve stringent goals but establishing these three key habits will set you towards a path of success.