Benefits of Active Recovery and How it Makes You Stronger
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A good workout is a necessary part of any fitness routine. But it's not always the most pleasant experience, especially if you push your body too hard and end up feeling sore the next day. Sometimes, working out can even result in injury - which means that you're unable to exercise for a few days or weeks.
Fortunately, there's an alternative to sitting on the sidelines waiting for your body to recover from overdoing it: active recovery! Active recovery is low-intensity exercise that helps speed up muscle repair by increasing blood flow and removing lactic acid. It also prevents injuries by strengthening muscles before they are put under additional stress during workouts. Here are some simple guidelines for doing active recovery safely and effectively!
What is Active Recovery and How Does it Work
Active recovery is a type of low-intensity exercise that helps the body recover from a tough workout or injury. It involves light aerobic activity, such as walking or cycling, that helps remove toxins like lactic acid from the body. Active recovery also improves blood circulation, which helps muscles heal faster. It's a great way to prevent injuries, since it strengthens muscles before they are put under additional stress. Active recovery is especially beneficial for people who are prone to overtraining or who have muscle soreness after workouts.
How to do Active Recovery Safely and Effectively
There are a few important things to keep in mind when doing active recovery:
- Make sure you're adequately hydrated before you start.
- Start slowly and gradually increase the intensity of your workout.
- Active recovery should not put any additional stress on muscles that are still feeling sore.
- Active recovery workouts should be relatively short, lasting between 20 and 30 minutes. Any longer could trigger delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) later in the week.
It's also a good idea to stretch before and after an active recovery workout. This will help you loosen up muscles, making it easier for blood to flow more easily through your system. Active recovery is a great alternative for people who are unable to do strenuous workouts due to injury or overtraining. It's also a good way of preventing yourself from getting injured in the first place. Active recovery is a safe and effective way of helping your body recover from the stress of exercise. It enables you to get back in shape faster, and train harder in the future!
The Benefits of Active Recovery
Active recovery has a long list of benefits that include:
- Speeding up the healing process from tough workouts or injuries
- Reducing muscle soreness after a workout
- Improving blood circulation
- Preventing injuries
- Strengthening muscles before a tough workout
- Helping the body remove toxins like lactic acid from the body
- Reducing stress and fatigue levels
The Best Exercises for Active Recovery
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Active Recovery is a great way to speed up the healing process after a tough workout. This type of recovery is low-intensity and helps remove lactic acid and other toxins from the body. It also helps improve blood circulation and prevents injuries. Here's how you can do Active Recovery properly for the best results!
There are a few different exercises that you can do for Active Recovery:
- Walking - short, easy walks around the block are a great Active Recovery exercise
- Swimming - another low impact activity that is great for Active Recovery; water provides resistance and buoyancy, which helps improve muscle strength
- Biking - this is a great way of increasing blood circulation and getting your heart rate up without putting any more stress on muscles
- Tai Chi - there are many forms of Tai Chi; choose one that you enjoy and practice regularly; if you're new to Active Recovery routines, start with something simple like the form of Tai Chi known as "Siu Lim Tao" or "Little Idea"
- Cycling - cycling is a low-impact Active Recovery workout that's easy on the joints
- Yoga - Active Recovery yoga focuses on breathing techniques, which helps stimulate your body's natural healing process. Active Recovery Yoga can also relieve stress and provide a good way of clearing your mind.
- Pilates - Active Recovery can help increase flexibility and range of motion while improving muscle strength. Active Recovery Pilates is a great way to improve posture and strengthen muscles around the hips and lower back. Active Recovery Pilates is also a great way of preventing future injuries.
Who can Active Recovery benefit? Active Recovery is beneficial for people who have the following conditions:
- People with injuries that cause them pain when they perform strenuous exercise
- People with excessive muscle soreness after a tough workout
- People who over train and experience symptoms of stress or fatigue
Other ways Active Recovery can be beneficial include: - Injuries that prevent you from participating in physical activity - When traveling long distances by plane or car, Active Recovery is an easy way to ease stiffness and reduce jet lag.
The Key Takeaways:
- Active recovery is low-intensity exercise that speeds up muscle repair by increasing blood flow and removing lactic acid.
- Active recovery also prevents injuries, strengthens muscles before they are put under additional stress during workouts.
- Active recovery is especially beneficial for people who are prone to overtraining or who have muscle soreness after workouts.