The Importance of rest and recovery

As we workout/exercise or are just generally active or muscles will breakdown and need to repair to become stronger and more pliable.

As the muscle’s breakdown through progressive overload the body will adapt making them stronger, we need to let our bodies complete this process in between each exercise session we complete so that they are ready to go when required in or next exercise session.

If you choose to take a day of between each exercise session or train a different group of muscles for a split routine for example PPL “push pull legs” which means there is minimal overlap on muscle groups that’s all good but.

For this to at its most effective those hard working muscles will need to get the correct nutrients it needs not just rest,Nutritional Recovery plays big part in this hence the saying I need to get a shake in after my weights session by the units walking around the gym, but that’s not the whole picture and this is not only required by the units walking around the gym but everyone that wants to train hard push limits and recover.

The correct foods will provide the building blocks your body needs to recover from exercise and prepare it for the next session, eating the correct macros and nutritional dense foods will trigger the right response in your body to make the repairs needed to make you stronger fitter and healthier.

Now if you have the time to meal prep or have protein rich foods ready for after an exercise session then no need for a protein shakes but these are readily available everywhere and are convenient if you running behind or on a busy schedule the day you are working out, but were possible a good meal would be a preference.

Sleep is also a big part of the recovery process as when we are sleeping the body can focus on the healing process, while in deep sleep the body will produce hormones that will aid it in muscle repair and recovery. In an ideal world 8 hours sleep would be great but a busy lifestyle both work and family can shorten that so aim for as close to that where possible to let your muscles grow to be bigger, stronger, faster, and you to become fitter and healthier.

The take away is if you want to kick back and put your feet up on the sofa or want to train another muscle group the following day as long as your muscles are being rested and feed well you are good to go.