5 Easy Active Recovery Techniques that Get You Ready to Tackle Your Next Workout
How to approach your rest days like a boss
Some people are wired to move. I get it. I have friends and clients alike who talk about rest like it’s a four-letter word. Once you discover the joy of exercise (regardless of what you do), it can be hard to take a day off. Questions like, “Does anyone else hate rest days?” and “Is it really important to take a rest day?” appear often on forums like Quora and Reddit.
Whether you’re lifting weights or pounding the pavement (or anything in between), exercise damages muscle fibers. If you looked at a chunk of your muscle under a microscope after an intense workout, you’d think exercise is a terrible idea.
This micro-damage is what causes delayed muscle onset soreness (DOMS). However, over the next few days, when we rest sore muscles, the muscle fibers repair and grow, making them bigger and stronger. The good news is resting sore muscles doesn’t mean you have to sit on the sofa for hours on end — although, sometimes, a lazy day with lots of sleep is just what the doctor ordered.
Active recovery days let you get some light exercise while allowing your muscles and joints the rest they need. These workouts should be no more than 60 to 70 percent of your maximum…
