Supercharging Your Rehab at Home: Building Recovery Habits
by Dr. Rhianna Green, Contributor
In Pt. 2 of our Supercharging Your Rehab at Home series, Dr. Rhianna Green dives into the ways you can take charge of recovery practices at home. See more from this series.
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When we think about fitness, we think about diet, exercise and achieving our goals. But how often do you think about recovery?
Recovery doesn’t mean stopping all physical activity on non-workout days to binge-watch a Netflix series, it is an active process that requires strategic planning to help you achieve or maintain your athletic capacity. Many runners misconstrue this principle by decreasing their running intensity or duration on certain days. Wrong! Recovery is defined as “the period and process during which the body responds to load [the workout]” according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Take time to focus on revitalizing your body for peak performance.
Insufficient recovery can be detrimental, making you prone to injury and illness. Initially, you will feel weaker, stiffer, and fatigued performing the same workouts. Aside from your musculoskeletal system feeling the effects, you’re more likely to experience sleep deprivation and upper respiratory infections. You do not want to increase your risk of catching COVID-19 with a weaker immune system because you did not properly rest. Reduced sleep quality adversely affects your muscles’ ability to tolerate increased loads.
Sufficient recovery allows for positive responses to athletic performance, strength, agility, power, and speed.
There are six habits you should adopt to develop your recovery routine:
Recovery Habit #1: Sleep
True recovery requires both ample and consistent sleep. Ensuring you’re sleeping 7-8 hours daily--not just on the weekends--is necessary for your body to regenerate. The work-to-rest ratio is different for each person and depends on several factors: your current fitness level, the intensity and duration of the workouts you’re doing, whether you’re working smaller or larger muscle groups, your daily work schedule, nutrition habits and more. Overall, however, the more you do, the more rest you’re going to need.
Recovery Habit #2: Regular Doctor Visits
Many people dread going to the doctor because we’re afraid to find out something is wrong. This often comes from being trained to go to doctors as a reaction, instead of a method of prevention. Why not have a wellness team on hand to prevent injury before it starts?
Massage therapists, acupuncturists, physical therapists and chiropractors are all licensed professionals who can assist your relaxation, relieving muscle tightness, improving range of motion and reducing recovery time. This is especially when important when training for a race. Having a plan of regular visits can work wonders to keep you well before problems even arise.
Recovery Habit #3: Modalities (Hot + Cold)
Using cold modalities is a well-known recovery strategy for athletes, but how many of us actually ice ourselves after regular workouts? Icing muscles topically can make for a faster recovery and ice baths are even better.
After your next tough run or workout, try submerging yourself in an ice bath (50-59 degrees) for at least 10 minutes within an hour of working out. This will cause your blood vessels to narrow, reduce the amount of blood flow to the area and limit the amount of lactic acid accumulated. Once you’re out of the bath, nutrient-rich blood will flood the area for faster recovery and create an analgesic or pain-relieving effect.
On the flip side, heat modalities, such as a hot tub, can be great to relax muscles. Heat causes the blood vessels to expand, increasing the nutrients and the temperature in the area it's applied to prepare the muscles for activity. However, if used too close to working out, it can cause dehydration. Avoid adding heat until at least 8 - 24 hours after working out or no less than one hour prior to a workout.
If you don’t like being too chilly, you can utilize contrast baths. This technique provides the benefits of both hot and cold baths and can be performed on the same day as you work out. Try submerging yourself (or specific body parts) into cold water (40-68 degrees) for 1-3 minutes then immediately switching to a hot bath (95-100 degrees) for the same duration. Complete at least 4 cycles. Perform weekly or monthly.
Recovery Habit #4: Cool Down, Right Away
Adding time for a cool down immediately after working out decreased the amount of soreness you’ll feel. Once you complete your workout, you want to continue moving for a minimum of 10 minutes performing walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or stretching. This is defined as active recovery and allows the blood to circulate and eliminate lactic acid build-up. By reducing the amount of lactic acid proportionally decreases the amount of muscle soreness. Lactic acid is a byproduct of muscle metabolism causing delayed onset muscle soreness.
Recovery Habit #5: Recovery Nutrition
Nutrition is pivotal for athletic performance and your ability to recover. The first hour post-exercise, it’s important to focus on replenishing glycogen, the body’s primary source of energy during moderate and intense exercise. During this first hour after your workout, 100% of the glycogen digested will be absorbed. For every hour after that, glycogen gets absorbed at 60-90%, so time is of the essence. Combining protein with carbohydrates accelerates recovery from muscle damage endured during training.
Hydration is also important to recovery, as our bodies are composed of 60% water. After working out, fluid consumption should consist of water, electrolytes (expedites rehydration) and carbohydrates (restores glycogen). This process of refilling should be completed within two hours of the workout.
Rehydration pre-workout is just as important, too. You should consume 17 ounces of water or sports drink 2-3 hours prior to working out and an additional 10 ounces no more than 20 minutes immediately before, then continue to consume fluid during the workout. It sounds like a lot (!) but it’s what your body needs to recover.
Recovery Habit #6: Consistency
Recovery should be happening every day. Using these restorative tools once in a blue moon or only when you feel pain defeats the purpose. Utilize cool-downs after every workout, set a bedtime, planning meals and snacks in advance. Hydrate throughout the day. Designate weekends for ice baths or getting in the hot tub after a week of fitness. Find local wellness providers that can keep you feeling great when things are starting to feel a little too tight.
Putting it all together and repeating regularly is what will turn tactics into habits that will make a huge difference in how you feel and perform.
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Disclaimer: The information contained above does not and is not intended to convey medical advice and does not constitute the practice of medicine. Always seek the advice of a physician before beginning any fitness program. See full terms of use for additional details.
Dr. Rhianna Green, PT, DPT
Contributor
Dr. Rhianna Green is a sports and orthopedic physical therapist in Washington, DC. Dr. Green has spent the last 7 years treating novice to professional athletes and was the physical therapist for “Beautiful: The Carole King Story” on Broadway. She is certified in dry needling, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and as a Certified Sports and Orthopedic Manual Therapist. Dr. Green is also a Board member of the National Association for Black Physical Therapists. When she isn’t running half marathons or treating patients, she is usually traveling or visiting botanical gardens.