Integrating a recovery component into your workouts can help you stay healthy, reduce fatigue, and improve performance.
Between meeting military fitness standards and staying mission ready, Service members and Veterans are no strangers to intense training. But what about rest and recovery? This is an often overlooked piece of a good fitness routine. Integrating a recovery component into your workouts can help you stay healthy, reduce fatigue, and improve performance.
Whether you’re lifting weights, running, or doing another form of high-intensity training, learn more about the importance of recovery and some steps you can take to build an effective routine.
What Is Recovery?
Recovery from exercise refers to the time period between the end of a bout of exercise and the return to a resting or recovered state. It is a process that includes resting, refueling, repairing, and restoring your body after intense training.
Why Is It Important?
Repeated stress from exercise and training can cause small tears in your muscles, making them sore and inflamed. When these tears heal, your muscles become bigger and stronger, but an accumulation of these microtears can put you at risk of developing strains or pulled muscles. More than 75% of all injuries to active duty Service members are due to cumulative microtrauma and often affect areas like the lower back, knees, and ankles.
Dedicating yourself to recovery may provide several benefits to your health, including:
- Improved range of motion and flexibility
- Diminished delayed onset muscular soreness and stiffness
- Reduced risk for joint pain, strain, and muscle damage
- Reduced stress and tension
- Better mental health
- Enhanced performance
There are several techniques people use to achieve these benefits. Here’s a brief explanation of some:
- Stretching — A stretching routine can include both passive and dynamic stretches, such as holding a stretch for up to 30 seconds (static) or moving through a stretch like an exaggerated stride before running (dynamic). Stretching may help improve flexibility and reduce soreness.
- Heat therapy — Heat therapy increases the temperature of the affected area to soothe discomfort, improve circulation, and heal damaged tissue. It can include heating pads, saunas, and hot baths.
- Cold therapy — Sometimes called cryotherapy, cold therapy can include ice packs, ice massage, and ice baths to treat injuries, manage pain, and reduce inflammation.
- Massage therapy — Massage uses touch, pressure, and movement applied to muscles, tendons, and soft tissues to improve flexibility and decrease muscle soreness.
- Compression garments — Compression garments like leggings, tights, or stockings apply pressure to different body parts to reduce swelling, decrease soreness, and enhance recovery.
- Hydrotherapy — This is a recovery method that uses water to alleviate symptoms such as muscle pain or joint stiffness with a warm bath, a special tank with pressurized jets, and more.
- Foam rolling — Foam rolling is a technique that uses a foam tube to apply pressure and massage areas like your calves or lower back to alleviate tightness, soreness, and inflammation.
- Active recovery — Active recovery is light-intensity exercise such as cycling, walking, and yoga after more intense training to help prevent lactic acid buildup, remove toxins, and boost circulation.
Research varies on the effectiveness of each of these techniques for recovery. For example, some studies show massage and cold therapy are the most effective against muscle soreness. However, other research swears by active recovery or light movement in the hours and days after an intense workout. Many people find foam rolling and stretching help loosen muscles and reduce aches and pains. Other studies show only a mild decrease in muscle soreness after stretching.
It may take some time and experimentation to discover which method or combination of methods works best for you.
What Steps Can I Take to Recover Properly?
- Get support. Talk to a personal trainer, your health care provider, or a physical therapist about which recovery method may be most effective for you. For example, a trainer can help you tailor your training and recovery process to meet your specific needs and goals.
- Design a healthy workout program. Knowing that your body needs proper recovery time, create a workout routine that alternates muscle groups and gives your body time to heal. For example, if you are running several times a week, try strength training your arms and core to give your legs a break. If you’re strength training daily, alternate big muscle groups so you aren’t repeatedly straining the same muscles each day.
- Be safe. Pay attention to what your body tells you. The idea of “no pain no gain” is a myth. Continued pain, especially near your joints, is a sign your body is trying to repair something. If you ignore the pain, you may worsen your condition.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eating a balanced diet centered around fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins can aid in muscle recovery and overall health. Consuming protein after your workout can be a great boost for your muscles. Healthy options include eggs, chicken, and Greek yogurt.
- Hydrate. As you sweat, your body loses water and electrolytes, which can lead to muscle cramping and fatigue. Replace your body’s supply with plenty of water and foods such as bananas, oranges, and nuts. Sports drinks can also help replenish your body, but watch out for added sugar.
- Get enough sleep. Sleep gives your body time to reduce inflammation and repair those microtears. Aim for seven to nine hours each night. If you find you’re unable to sleep well due to insomnia or nightmares, check out the most common sleep disorders affecting members of the military community.
Resources
- TRICARE covers a limited set of services from a nutritionist or registered dietician, and many military hospitals have nutrition clinics where you can meet with a registered dietician and explore the best ways to fuel your body for healthy and effective recovery.
- Military OneSource offers free consultations with health and wellness coaches for eligible Service members and their immediate family members. Coaches can provide information, support, and accountability on topics such as nutrition and fitness. Military OneSource also has a helpful webinar detailing proper nutrition strategies to support exercise and training.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs Whole Health Program supports patient-centered whole-person care and offers tools to help you live a healthier life, including through low-impact movement like yoga and tai chi, tips for resting and recharging, and more.
No matter where you are on your fitness journey, adding a solid recovery component can be key to a successful and healthy training program.