Lifting weights is just one part of the equation to improve your strength and boost your performance. The other side, and most often forgotten and neglected, is recovery and rest. So, whether you’re aspiring to be a tennis pro, football star, or soccer champion, you must understand how the pros train. There is more under the umbrella of performance than just strength, speed, and power.

So, let’s take you through some tips used by professional athletes to keep them healthy and at peak performance for their sport.

Rest and Recovery

This is one of the essential parts of an athlete’s training regimen. If you want quick results, you must do as the pros do. People often think athletes do high intense, killer workouts all the time. But unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Professional athletes have a balance of training, practice, and recovery timed and honed to perfection.

The most significant difference between a pro athlete and an armature is their recovery! Recovery and rest create adaptation. And adaptation allows your muscles to be stronger. Without rest and recovery, your strength will never hit max potential. Think of recovery as a tune-up for your car to make it stronger and faster. If you don’t rest and tune-up, your body cannot recover and adapt to enhance its performance.

Limiting your muscle’s recovery time after workouts and games will cause your performance to suffer every single time.

The Benefits of Recovery and Rest

• Improves digestion for maximal nutrient absorption.
• Reduces stress hormones and allows the body and muscles to repair properly.
• It helps increase blood flow to muscles by reducing tension.
• Relaxes your mind to improve focus and mood.
• Improves the quality of your sleep.
• Boosts your training.
• Maximizes your skills and level of performance.

It doesn’t take some confusing process to make your muscles recover correctly after each workout.

1. Myofascial Release- Massage Recovery

Deep tissue work deactivates tight, painful muscles. It restores mobility, pliability, and suppleness to your body. You can use a foam roller, a baseball, a golf ball, or a massage stick. Anything that will put pressure on and roll out your muscles. Think about a dough roller; you are trying to flatten the dough evenly. And same for your muscle; roll evenly and flatly and pause for 10 seconds on the tight spots.

2. Sleep

When you sleep and sleep well, your body will recover. When you sleep, your body undergoes protein synthesis that regenerates and rebuilds your muscles. Testosterone and Growth Hormone are released at this time to facilitate the process. The deeper the sleep, the more effective the recovery. So, get seven or more hours asleep each night.

3. Do Active Recovery

Active recovery aids in the rebuilding and recovery of your body. For example, when you walk for 15 minutes, it is different from running. Walking releases various hormones that promote recovery and rejuvenation and increase blood flow through your body. Sitting around with stiff, tight, and sore muscles will not help and inhibit their recovery. Walking, stretching, tai chi, or easy mobility movements are the best to speed up recovery time.

4. Drink More Water

Drinking water is essential for hydration. But water also helps with energy metabolism, breaking down nutrients, and making energy. So not drinking enough water will diminish your training and performance results.

5. Eat More Plant-Based Foods

Many athletes eat plant-based diets today because it boosts their cardiovascular endurance, prevent injuries, and helps their bodies recover faster from training and after games.

6. Take an Ice Bath

Ice baths are great for recovery. Most athletes sit in them after games. Ice baths reduce inflammation and improve blood flow. Sitting in cold water causes your blood vessels to constrict. And when you exit the tub to room temperature, they dilate. This process flushes away metabolic waste after training and games. Your lymph system cannot pump out waste metabolites from your body. So, the constriction and dilation of your blood vessels manually move fluids out of your lymph nodes to leave the body. You only need about 5-10 minutes in an ice bath. Only sit in the ice bath for as long as you can. Safety first!

If you don’t have the convenience of an ice tub, look for cryo chambers. They use compressed, freezing air. Many local gyms and spas use them for treatment and therapy.

Other recovery and rest techniques may include:

• Deep breathing
• Massage
• Meditation and music
• Yoga
• Hydrotherapy and sauna

Remember that rest, recovery, and relaxation techniques are skills. Your ability to relax improves recovery. Like incorporating strength training, you must include a plan that recovers and rebuilds your body to repeat performance in the gym and on the field.