Thursday, April 28, 2011

Recovery Tips After Hardcore Training

We all do some form of training where it takes us beyond a average level and takes us to limits we didn't know we had and its very difficult to recover from the next day. How do you train after doing such a brutal workout? This past Monday I did the Karl Gotch Bible where I varied the push-ups and kept the Hindu Squats. My goal was to finish the workout in 30 minutes and I surpassed it and finished in under 27 minutes. I don't know about you but damn that feels good to get pass a goal. After a few hours I did another training session doing a series of chest and arm exercises from a course called Sinkram.

The very next morning I didn't want to get out of bed I was so sore in my shoulders, chest and legs. Even though I was sore I was not going to deny a workout at least once in the day. I have been known to train 7 days a week without fail and the reason why I do that is not because I need to prove how many workouts I do, its how smart I can be to train daily that doesn't need to be brutal day in and day out. A lot of people feel that you need to train only 2-3 times a week and have to do this or that for recovery and take 4-5 days off. Well if you can do that in the long run more power to you but thats not the only way to go and heres why.

Our bodies were made to keep moving, we work different angles of the body and if you're smart this helps you stay healthy for life along with a balanced eating plan. There are times to train hard and there are times where you need recovery any one of my secrets is after a hardcore workout (day after) I would work on deep breathing exercises and some form of qi gong. If i'm very sore in a particular area like the legs or lower back, chest, shoulders ect. I woul do very little to no work in those areas until they "heal" because I want to give those areas a rest but the rest of my body is working from different angles at light to moderate intensity. This is where I like to work on muscle control and stretching/loosening the body. The only time I work the sore areas is when i'm stretching because when you're sore and you leave it sore over a period of time with no exercise it can tighten up and you may not be as efficiant in your next big time workout. Stretch the muscles slowly and with intention.

I always felt stretching is a key component in recovery periods because at my next harcore session not only do I want to be stronger but more limber then the last time. Just do a couple stretches and each day do a stretch a little longer howver don't go to the point where you're in pain, its not how far you can go or how long you stretch its how smart you stretch and the way you breathe....Breathing is the major key to recovery and for good reason.

Each day as I get stronger I amp up a workout just a bit to just about 70% of the intensity of the work I want to do in a brutal workout the next time around. My training really consists of 1-2 hardcore workouts a week along with moderate work the rest of the week until i'm fully recovered. I may not do specific routines because I get bored after a while but I always want to have at least one day where I push myself up a notch.

My keys to recovery training is as follows.....

1. Breathing

2. Stretching

3. Work at moderate pace that doesn't compromise your ability to train the next day

4. Meditate (either moving or not)

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