Active Recovery: How to Use Active Recovery in Your Workouts

In sports medicine, active recovery is a low-impact exercise regimen that takes place between hard workouts. An active recovery workout could involve stretching, yoga, self-myofascial release, or other forms of low-intensity exercise. Athletes use active recovery sessions when their workout routine includes physically demanding activities such as cross-training, weight-lifting, long bike rides, long runs, or high-intensity interval training.

Active recovery slots into your training program to give your muscles a chance to rebuild after you push them to exhaustion or even failure. When properly executed, active recovery exercises can increase blood flow, clear out lactic acid, stretch sore muscles and connective tissues, counteract delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and improve general well-being.

There are various types of active recovery exercises, but all involve mild forms of physical activity. Examples of active recovery routines include:

1. 1. Stretching: You can use active recovery days to improve your range of motion via a range of stretches.
2. 2. Bodyweight exercises: If your intense workouts involve lifting barbells or working on machines loaded with metal weights, you could use an active recovery day to only do strength training that involves your own body weight.
3. 3. Working different muscle groups: If you rotate muscle groups, you can give one set an intense workout while the other is on an active recovery day. For instance, a weightlifter might spend one day on their arms and chest and the next day on their glutes and quads.
4. 4. Steady-state cardio: This form of active recovery involves low-intensity aerobic activity such as walking, light jogging, relaxed swimming, hiking, or gentle bike rides.
5. 5. Self-myofascial release: This form of active recovery involves massaging sore muscles with a foam roller. Foam rolling reduces lactic acid buildup and improves flexibility without taxing your cardiovascular system.

To get the most out of your active recovery sessions, consider the following tips.

1. 1. Work with a specialist. If you can afford a personal trainer, draw on their experience to structure active recovery days that compliment the intense workouts you do on other days of the week.
2. 2. Schedule cool-downs after big workouts. Cool-downs let your heart rate steadily drift down to its resting rate while giving your muscles a chance to stretch and recover.
3. 3. Focus on flexibility. Building up flexibility is one of the most reliable ways to avoid injury. Try spending active recovery days stretching and making your body move in ways that may have once seemed difficult. You can design your own stretching regime, work with a personal trainer, or watch workout videos to guide you.
4. 4. Join a class. A great way to stick to your workout regimen is to join a group class. Whether it's yoga, pilates, dance, or something else, find a class that will promote active recovery days and keep you coming back.

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