As appreciation for health and wellness grows, so has an understanding of why rest is an incredibly important part of working out. Your body needs time to rebuild the muscles you’ve broken down during your workout. However, that doesn’t mean you can only rest by chilling on the couch (although that’s a good option, too!). Today, we’ll share three types of active and passive exercise recovery to help you get the most out of every rest day.
Exercise recovery is important because if you don’t do it, your muscles will end up overworked and at risk of injury. Working out causes a healthy amount of damage to your muscles, so it’s important to help them heal. You can do active recovery, which involves moving your body, or passive recovery, which involves staying still. Here are five kinds of exercise recovery you can try:
- Myofascial release
- Take a walk
- Go to a sauna
In the rest of this article, we’ll explain each type in more detail so you can easily choose which ones suit your exercise and lifestyle needs. So, let’s get started!
3 Types Of Exercise Recovery To Try On Your Next Rest Day [Active And Passive]
Myofascial Release
The muscles, organs, veins, and other soft parts of your body are covered in tissue called fascia. It functions a bit like a sausage casing and keeps everything held together. However, it’s also full of nerves and can sometimes get tight and painful, just like your muscles.
That’s where myofascial release comes in, which is basically self-massage that targets your fascia. Use a tennis ball or foam roller to roll out parts of your body that feel stuck or painful. Be gentle, as this can be painful if you’ve never done it before or are particularly sore. As a bonus, it can speed up muscle recovery by encouraging blood circulation.
Take A Walk
The humble walk can be a great way to gently get your body moving on rest days. If you can, walk outside in a natural area, park, or quiet residential street to also get the benefit of trees, sunlight, and fresh air. However, you can also walk on a treadmill, in a shopping mall, or on a city street if that is what works for your location and weather.
Make sure to wear supportive shoes, as you don’t want to cause any extra pain on top of your muscle soreness. Also, take it easy in terms of speed, resistance, and hills. Remember, this is a rest day!
Visit The Sauna
If you’re very tired or sore and looking for passive recovery, try a sauna. You can often find them at gyms, and some hotels will let you use theirs for a small fee. Sitting in the sauna’s warmth feels fantastic and relaxing on stiff muscles. Then, a quick jump into a cold pool gets your blood moving and helps reduce muscle and joint inflammation.
We hope this article gave you some great ideas for exercise recovery that have you excited for your next rest day! Be sure to also stay hydrated and eat healthy foods, as that also goes a long way toward muscle recovery.
