By Stephani Franklin, Co-founder + Chief Brand Officer

Many people believe that to “go hard” in your training, you should train nonstop. They might set up a full training program, with workouts every day, committed to seeing improvements as soon as possible. At some point, they may have convinced themselves that a “No Days Off” motto is the best path to optimum performance results.

Those people are wrong, though.

Recovery from vigorous workouts and training is not only important to help runners stay motivated and enthusiastic, it’s also crucial in keeping the body healthy, injury-free and ready for the next workout challenge.

To truly appreciate why recovery makes you a better runner, it’s important to find the type of recovery that works best for you and to make it a part of your running plan from the very beginning.

Active Recovery

“Warm-ups and cool-downs before and after a run are just as important as the run itself. ”

— Stephani Franklin, RUNGRL Co-founder and Run Captain, District Running Collective

Recovery means different things to different people. My preferred type of recovery, though, is active recovery. I try to incorporate yoga into my training at least once a week, making it my only activity on that day. This gives me a chance to stretch things out and move a bit slower. I can use each move to pay attention to which areas are sore, where I could improve my strength and any red flag areas of real pain.

Active recovery can also include walking, foam rolling, mobility moves and intentional stretching. The key here is to truly make every move intentional and work your muscles toward the elasticity they need to keep you going and injury-free.

Recovery = Mobility

A consistent recovery schedule can lead to improvements in agility and recovery time.

Many people think running is the hard part, but really, I find that making time for active recovery and mobility routines to be the hardest. It takes dedication to be consistent with both your workouts and your recovery, but doing can help increase the effectiveness of your training in many ways.

Though I dread the long and slow sessions, I've noticed improvements in my agility and recovery time after runs as a result of a consistent recovery schedule.

When you take care of your joints and muscles after putting them under a lot of pressure you are actually strengthening them, while simultaneously providing the reprieve they need to fully bounce back. Thanks to the cycle of training and adaptation, each run and workout will show you improved performance when you give yourself a chance to recover.

Cool Down + Stretch

Warm-ups and cool-downs before and after a run are just as important as the run itself. Canadian Running even calls the cool down the point where recovery starts.

“Getting into the habit of doing a proper cool down after every workout is an excellent way to promote recovery,” says author Anne Francis. “Always take several minutes to move around, jogging or walking, after your workout.”

Though it sometimes takes some convincing, whenever I take at least seven-to-10 minutes to elongate the muscles that have tightened up during the run, I never regret it. It has become an essential piece to reducing soreness and maintaining my mobility.

Remember that to truly ‘go hard’ in your training, you will need to go hard at recovery as well.