We all know the value of hard work. Whether your aim is to improve your bench press or land your dream job, it pays to dedicate yourself with intensity and consistency. After all, sleeping late will only help you achieve so much. However, within the quest to chase down our goals, one thing we often forget is the role of rest and recovery. It is every bit as important as the hard work itself.
Now to the question of how to go about your recovery periods with purpose. Unfortunately, hitting the snooze button and overloading on comfort food isn’t quite what we had in mind.
Just as you should carefully plan out your gym routine, it’s worth dedicating the same energy to your recovery game. This is the same both in and out of the gym. With work, it’s crucial to close the laptop and turn off emails at some point so that you can return the following day refreshed and motivated. Equally, when you train you are putting your body under stress, creating small tears in your muscles.
If we neglect sleep, ignore rest days and eat junk food, the hard work you put in inside the gym will be undone. If your muscles don’t recover, they won’t grow. (Translation: those gains you long for ain’t gonna happen.)
On this week’s episode of ‘Ask Men’s Health’, co-hosts Chris and Scott lift the lid on recovery and outline exactly how and why it’s so important. On the agenda are questions on rest days and how many you should aim for depending on your fitness goals, as well as a look at foam rolling and how it should be utilised within your routine.
If you, like many of us, treat recovery as an afterthought, this episode is for you. Hit the links below to listen.
