Lets talk recovery

jacksonpt

I feel like recovery is a very under-valued part of training and progress. I also feel like it's talked about pretty vaguely most of the time. So lets talk about it a little more intentionally. I'd love for this to be a good conversation, so I encourage people to fill in any gaps I leave, ask questions, or debate things I maybe wrong or off-track about.

I see recovery as having 3 aspects -

1. muscles and joints
2. sleep
3. mental sharpness

I think most people think of the first point when they think about recovery, with stretching probably being the most common approach. Foam rolling is also common, maybe massage... mobility work can also be important. Some people will talk about active recovery - low intensity activities to help loosen up tight muscles.

Sleep is also an important part of training and recovery. Your body does most of it's repairing while you sleep, and staying rested is great prevention for a variety of nagging issues. Sleep basically helps with everything, though I'd be lying if I said I knew all the nitty gritty details about exactly why or how it helps. If someone wants to jump in here, please feel free.

The last point I'd bring up is mental sharpness. Basically what I mean by this is the opposite of burning out. Many of us have stressors coming at us from every angle - work/school, family, bills, chores, etc etc etc. Allowing yourself to take a break and recharge can be very helpful when thinking long term. Can you grind through the week? Yea, probably. But can you grind through 6 months or a year? Maybe not. I know I can't. Whether it's a day at the beach, a day in the woods, or a day with your family/dogs, or just some time to yourself... taking some time off mentally can be very beneficial.

So there are my thoughts. What does recovery mean to you?