What to “Do” on Your Rest and Active Recovery Days
What to “Do” on Your Rest and Active Recovery Days
Earlier this week I wrote about the importance of rest days in flexibility training and why stretching every single day is probably doing more harm than good.
But not everyone likes to “take a day off” when it comes to training, whether it’s the mental challenge of feeling like you’re “not doing enough” or you feel like you need to do something every day to build/keep a habit. That’s where shifting your thinking from “do nothing” rest days to “do something” active recovery days can help!
Here are some ideas for things you can do on your rest days to help treat your body and ensure it’s getting the blood flow (and rest) it needs to recover from your previous flexy workout.
“Active” Recovery Activities
Easy activities that help get your body moving and blood flowing are helpful to ensure we’re sending all the helpful proteins and components needed for our muscle tissue to repair themselves to the site of the muscles’ micro-tears.
Go For a Walk
This one’s my personal go-to, especially if my legs are sore. Going for a walk, taking your dog (or cat! I have a friend who has leash trained their two cats, apparently this is a thing) for a stroll, or going for an easy hike in the woods is a great way to get your blood flowing. Just remember the core tenet of “rest” days is that the activity should be easy. So that means no marathon walks and no crazy hikes that will make you more sore than when you started…
Go for an EASY Bike Ride
If biking is more your speed, a gentle bike ride (either outside, or on a stationary bike) can be another way to get your legs moving. Just remember to keep it easy. I actually struggle with the “restraint” for keeping an outdoor bike ride easy/gentle, so I prefer indoor cycling where I can either zone out and read a book, listen to a podcast, or - my personal favorite - try one of Peloton’s follow-along “recovery” rides (I don’t have a Peloton, but I do have the app and use it on a regular ol’ stationary bike).
Swim
Swimming is a great option for a full-body exercise that’s particularly easy on the joints. Just like with walking/running/biking, keep it on the “easy” side.
Do Some GENTLE Stretching or Yoga
Artist credit: Jemma Banks Design (Etsy)
While I don’t do much yoga for flexibility training itself (because I find few classes are structured to prioritize effective flexibility training), I do really enjoy yoga for the meditative and relaxing benefits - especially yin yoga! Yin yoga skews more towards “restorative” postures, using lots of props for support (like bolsters, and rolled up blankets), and longer duration holds to help our body relax into the stretch. But even doing a slightly higher energy vinyasa or flow-based practice is a great way to get some movement and gentle feel-good stretching in, provided you take it easy on your body!
Foam Roll
I like to think of foam rolling as a “cheap and lazy self massage,” and find it very satisfying to roll out sore muscles. Foam rolling does not have to (and in fact, shouldn’t) be painful. If you’re foam rolling out a muscle area and it’s causing you to grimace like you’re constipated because it feels so intense - you’re not doing your body any favors by just pushing through the discomfort. Personally, I find foam rolling my quads can be very challenging because they are much more sensitive to the amount of pressure from my bodyweight on the roller, so I have to pay attention to not smoosh all of my weight into the thigh I’m rolling to keep it in a feel-good range.
Also, it is worth clarifying: foam rolling does not prevent soreness, it does not reduce soreness (beyond possibly very temporarily), and the evidence around whether or not it “helps” with any kind of muscle recovery is mixed at best. All that to say - science does not really suggest you should be foam rolling to help your muscles recover. But if you like how it feels, go for it!
“Passive” Recovery Activities
Meditate
Meditation helps down-regulate our sympathetic (“fight or flight”) nervous system and up-regulate our parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) nervous system, helping make sure our body feels “safe” enough to prioritize recovery activities. Even just 5 minutes of meditation can be enough to lower your stress.
Meditation can be as simple as sitting and counting your breaths. Or if you’re like me and you like a voice occasionally politely nudging you back to paying attention to your breath when your mind inevitably starts ruminating on your grocery list when trying to meditate, a guided meditation might be more your speed. There are literally zillions on YouTube and in various apps. Two apps I’ve really liked available both on iOS and Android are Headspace (they have a limited amount of free content before they promote their paid stuff, but I do enjoy their freebies) and Insight Timer (which has tons of user-submitted guided meditations).
Get a Massage
OK, so maybe this isn’t realistic for every recovery day, but it’s a great way to treat yourself after working hard!
Take a Hot Bath
When I polled my students about their favorite rest/recovery day activities, after “going for a walk” some variation of this (“taking a hot bath” / “hot tubbing” / “sitting in a sauna”) was the second most popular activity.
Do Something Else You Love!
Really, your “recovery day” can be your permission to do whatever you want. Curl up with your kindle and read, have some friends over to start that new D&D campaign, binge watch some of your favorite go-to comfort show on Netflix (is it Avatar the Last Airbender? Because it should be), work on expanding your farm in Stardew Valley, cook something tasty - anything goes!
