Benefits of Rest & Recovery

Proper Rest & Recovery should be a priority in your health & fitness program. We won’t achieve the results we want if we are not scheduling down time. The motto “NoDaysOff” needs to be banished!

Fast Facts of Rest Days:
Muscle growth, but also overall recovery to your physiology occurs during rest! Exercise is actually a stress to the body (a good one!) But without recovery, it does more harm than good.

Rest allows for cellular repair & atophagy (metabolic waste “clean up”), tissue recovery, allows organs to rest/repair, cell healing & growth, detoxification, digestion of nutrients, hormone production etc.

Rest is not only crucial for our fitness results, but also for our overall health. Improper rest leads to chronic STRESS & increases our risk of ALL diseases & conditions. Obesity, diabetes, high BP, heart disease can all be linked to lack of sleep & high stress.

Active Rest is a great way to improve blood flow & circulation to damaged tissue (necessary for healing) but doesn’t cause more stress.

Ways to incorporate rest & active recovery days could include: 
All types of yoga, dynamic & static stretching for flexibility (muscle ROM), foam rolling, walking, biking, light cardio, mobility (joint ROM)

Other “Hands On Therapies” & options include:
Chiropractic, massage, cryotherapy, sauna, acupuncture, cupping, dry needling etc.

I recommend everyone take 1-2x rest/active rest days per week. More if needed of course, due to your individual needs & goals!

Some supplementation & nutrients can help recovery:

BCAAs & Glutamine powder are helpful for tissue repair (I use Gains in Bulk (gainsinbulk.com and discount code ALLY saves you $!)

Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory herb that can help reduce pain and soreness.

Reduce your sugar intake (as sugar feeds inflammation) & increase water intake to flush out toxins & waste.

Most important thing to do for Recovery: SLEEP!! This is where the magic happens!
Those above techniques won’t matter if you aren’t sleeping 7-8hrs a night. It’s FREE and enjoyable to most…! And it is the key foundation you need for feeling your best and achieving your fitness and health goals.