As you should know, active recovery is crucial for performing at your best during your workout sessions.
*If you didn’t know that, read my article that explains the importance of active recovery!
However, active recovery exercises can be hard to distinguish from others.
Therefore, here is a list of the BEST exercises that will speed up your recovery, and so you will build more muscle and strength ready for your NEXT workout:
Exercise #1: Walking
Walking is effective for active recovery because of its low intensity. These are a few reasons why:
Common Benefits:
- Walking is a form of cardio as it promotes blood flow throughout your body, including the muscles. It will help deliver oxygen and nutrients to your muscles, aiding their recovery and reducing soreness.
- Walking is a low-impact activity, so it puts less stress on your joints and muscles than other exercises like running. It becomes suitable for people of different fitness levels, including those recovering from injuries or strenuous workouts.
- After intense exercise, the build-up of lactic acid that leads to muscle soreness and fatigue can be cleared by walking, speeding up your recovery process.
- While walking may seem less intense compared to other exercises, it still involves muscle contractions and helps to keep the muscles engaged. It can prevent stiffness and promote faster recovery.
- Walking can have positive effects on mental well-being. It can reduce stress and anxiety levels, which can benefit you for recovery, as stress can slow the healing process.
- Walking involves moving various body parts, such as the hips, legs, and arms. This gentle movement can help improve your flexibility and maintain a healthy range of motion in the joints.
Unique Benefits
Walking involves moving various body parts, such as the hips, legs, and arms. This gentle movement can help improve your flexibility and maintain a healthy range of motion in the joints.
Overall, walking provides a way to KEEP YOU MOVING without overloading the body.
Exercise #2: Cycling
If you have a bike, cycling is great for recovering yourself; here’s why:
Common Benefits:
- Cycling is a low-impact exercise, so there’s less stress on your joints, making it an ideal option for individuals recovering from more intense workouts or dealing with joint-related issues.
- Engaging in light cycling helps increase blood flow to the muscles, which can aid in the recovery process by delivering essential nutrients and oxygen to your muscles. It also helps flush out waste products and toxins accumulated during intense exercise.
- Muscle activation and range of motion: Cycling involves continuous movement of the lower body, which can help to activate and mobilise various muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and glutes. It contributes to maintaining or improving your range of motion and flexibility of these muscle groups.
- Aerobic exercise: Cycling at a moderate intensity falls under the category of aerobic exercise. It keeps your heart rate elevated, promoting cardiovascular health while allowing your body to recover from intense workouts.
The rhythmic nature of cycling and the release of endorphins during exercise can improve your mood and well-being.
Unique Benefits
The rhythmic nature of cycling and the release of endorphins during exercise can improve your mood and well-being.
Note:
You must optimise the intensity and duration of cycling during active recovery. The goal is to engage in a low-intensity exercise that supports recovery without causing further stress to the body. Always listen to your body; since cycling mainly works your legs, you can avoid it after a lower body workout.
Exercise #3: Swimming
Swimming is an excellent active recovery exercise for several reasons:
Common Benefits:
1. Low impact: Swimming is a low-impact activity, so it’s suitable for individuals with joint issues or those recovering from injuries.
4. Increased blood flow: Swimming promotes blood circulation throughout the body, which can aid in oxygen and nutrients being delivered to the muscles, speeding your recovery.
5. Reduced muscle soreness: Engaging in low-intensity swimming after intense workouts can help flush out metabolic waste products and reduce muscle soreness, improving recovery time.
6. Active engagement: Active recovery means performing light exercise to help your body recover without causing additional stress. Swimming lets you stay active while giving your muscles a break from high-intensity training.
7. Mental relaxation: Being in the water and engaging in rhythmic movements can calm your mind, reducing stress and making you mentally relaxed, which aids in recovery.
Unique Benefits
– Swimming is non-weight bearing since it takes place in the water, so it reduces the effects of standing. Swimming eases the pressure on your muscles and joints, allowing them to recover more effectively.
– Temperature regulation: The water’s cooling effect can help lower your body temperature and reduce inflammation, which is beneficial for recovery.
– Whole-body recovery: Swimming engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously, providing a full-body, low-intensity workout. It helps improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, and endurance.
Note:
Remember that the effectiveness of swimming as an active recovery exercise depends on the intensity and duration of your swim. Focus on gentle, relaxed swimming rather than pushing yourself too hard. It’s essential to listen to your body and adjust the intensity of your swimming based on how you feel.
Exercises #4: Stretching
Stretching is both a passive and active recovery exercise, so you will reap BOTH the recovery benefits from doing it. Here’s why:
Common Benefits:
- Enhanced Blood Flow: Stretching increases blood flow to the muscles, which helps remove waste products like lactic acid and replenish them with oxygen and nutrients. Assisting in reducing muscle soreness and promoting faster recovery.
Unique Benefits
– Mental Relaxation: Stretching can calm your mind, giving you mental relaxation and reducing stress levels. It can be especially beneficial after high-intensity workouts.
– Active Warm-Up: Stretching before your workout can be an active warm-up routine. It helps to prepare the muscles and joints for more intense exercise and prepares your body for better performance.
– Improved Posture: Stretching can target muscles commonly tight due to modern-day lifestyles (e.g., sitting at a desk for long hours). Addressing these imbalances can lead to better posture and reduced risk of related issues.
– Accessibility: Stretching exercises can be done almost anywhere and require little to no equipment, making them a convenient option for active recovery when access to a gym or specialised equipment might not be available.
– Improved Flexibility: Regular stretching can gradually improve flexibility and range of joint motion. Increased flexibility can enhance overall performance in various physical activities and reduce the risk of injuries.
– Reduced Muscle Tension: Post-intense exercise, muscles may become tense and tight. Stretching helps to relax and lengthen the muscles, releasing the built-up tension and restoring their natural flexibility.
– Injury Prevention: By maintaining proper muscle length and joint mobility, stretching can help prevent injuries. It ensures that your muscles and tendons are less likely to become strained or torn during exercise
Note:
Studies have shown that static stretching before high-intensity activities may slightly decrease performance, so using dynamic stretching or active movements as part of a warm-up routine and saving static stretching for after workouts or on recovery days is recommended.
Exercise #5: House Chores
Doing chores is an underestimated active recovery exercise for its benefits. It’s a form of cardio that keeps you active without too much stress compared to regular cardio, (e.g., hoovering, washing dishes, drying clothes on a drying line).
1. Low-intensity activity: Chores typically involve light to moderate physical activity, which helps promote blood flow and circulation without placing excessive strain on the body. This low-intensity activity is ideal for active recovery because it allows the body to recuperate without causing further fatigue.
2. Active movement and mobility: Chores often require a variety of motions, such as bending, reaching, lifting, and walking. Engaging in these movements can help improve joint mobility and flexibility, reducing the risk of stiffness and improving the overall range of motion.
3. Increased heart rate and calorie burn: While not as intense as a dedicated workout, chores can raise your heart rate and increase your calorie expenditure. This mild cardiovascular activity aids in flushing out waste products from the muscles and promoting recovery.
Unique Benefits
– Mental and emotional benefits: Active recovery exercises should focus on physical healing but also mental and emotional well-being. Engaging in chores can be meditative and provide a sense of accomplishment, which can be beneficial for reducing stress and improving your mood
– Incorporation into daily routine: Chores are typically part of our daily lives, so taking them as active recovery exercises can reduce the likelihood of you lazing about, which can help you complete other tasks on time
– Less risk of overtraining: Doing chores reduces the risk of overtraining, which leads to fatigue, decreased performance, and an increased risk of injury
A Word From Tipznadvicefit
Incorporating a mix of these exercises in your recovery days is your best bet. They all have unique benefits so when each of them is incorporated into your routine, your recovery speeds up by many notches.
However, make sure you do these exercises to your body’s capabilities because you don’t want to put yourself into injuries!
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