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The Truth About Recovery Methods
Do They Really Work?
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Recovery methods are a hot topic in fitness circles. From ice baths to red light therapy, everyone seems to have a favourite method. But are these recovery methods really worth the hype?
I find the whole narrative around recovery fascinating. Lots of people want to talk about what they are doing for their recovery. Whether it's ice baths, sauna, contrast therapy, red light therapy, cupping, massage, foam rolling, cryotherapy, compression boots, chiropractic adjustment, acupuncture, active recovery, massage guns.
Even as I wrote that list, I was amazed how many things I could name, and also how new most are and how popular they have become in recent years.
The Pillars of Recovery
It's quite interesting that these things make people/brands loads of money (but that's not where I'm going with this). Every single one of those has limited value when stacked up against the pillars of sleeping enough, eating appropriately and training appropriately.
Those simple (I didn't say easy by the way) things are the key to being able to train hard and train frequently and ina manner that gets you continuing progress toward a goal, which is why we are all here isn't it?
The Stress Bucket Analogy
Probably the best way to look at all this is to look at the idea of the stress bucket. The bucket constantly has water being poured into it (whether that be stress from life or from training) and at the same time it has a tap letting it out (this is our body naturally recovering healing, resting and adapting to what we have done).
We need some stress to get create adaptations to make us get stronger, fitter, faster, more resilient. A lack of stress leaves people with weak bones/joints and susceptible to a multitude of health conditions, especially in later life.
The Limitations of Recovery Methods
If we go back to our huge list of recovery protocols, all of them provide some help with managing the stress bucket.
In the grand scheme of things these recovery options are all equivalent to bailing your bucket with a thimble.Regardless of the effort the outcome of recovery work can only go so far. So, is your effort with the thimble worth it? Especially the case when you could instead apply that effort to maybe getting more sleep, appropriate food and training at an intensity you can handle.
Focus on the Basics
Addressing those things out will have the effect of putting a wider tap on the bottom of the bucket. You derive a huge passive benefit from them, and you eliminate the need and effort required to engage in any of the active strategy's listed above.
This is the nature of the beast, we all have personal bias, and with that we shouldn't dismiss the power of placebo, but consider that for the most part all these recovery methods are very new, whilst the simple boring stuff is how every animal on the planet including us has "recovered"for all of time.
Personal Experience
I also write this from a place of having tried pretty much all of them in some form or another. In the end, after nearly 20 years of lifting weights and training, I actually found that I was getting stressed faffing about worrying over my recovery. I was trying to fit all these extras things in, compared with just getting my head down for a nap, enjoying preparing and eating good food and making sure I train at an intensity and in a manner where I feel pretty good to go again the next day.
Simplifying Recovery
This is how I look at recovery these days, I try not to overthink it. Sleep as much as you can, eat pretty well and when it comes to training push relatively hard consistently. If you have overdone it, dial back training for a bit.
Final Thoughts
So where does this leave us? My advice would be, don't major in the minors. If you really think something benefits you, fine have at it, but don't stress yourself out over it and remember that it's ok to be a bit beaten up and not recovered because you have to crack a few eggs to make the omelette.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Hard Work
ENGINE
Working on building powerful, resilient legs. Expect a mix of heavy leg-focused strength work designed to improve muscular endurance and replicate race demands.
GYMNASTICS
This Tuesday we're going upside down with handstand holds and handstand push-ups, testing balance, strength, and control. Then, we’ll lock in that overhead power with strength work.
On Thursday, we’ll visit the bar for pull-up progressions! Strict, kipping, and butterfly will appear, followed by lat and core supersets.
HYROX
Working on building powerful, resilient legs. Expect a mix of heavy leg-focused strength work designed to improve muscular endurance and replicate race demands.
MOBILITY
Keeping on that hip mobility, we will work through the same drills as the previous week, but now start upgrading the strengthening drills. Making sure we keep everything locked in place!
PURE STRENGTH
This week in pure strength, we start the week with some weighted push-ups, followed by rest-pause sets on the bench press. On Wednesday, we are progressing the loading on our RDL max set.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, we are spending time working on the split jerk technique in weightlifting. Spicy complex of power clean, front squat, jerk. Finishing off with an EMOM power clean. Make sure not to miss out.
Monday Ride
A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Saturday - Long Ride
Our weekly endurance ride.
Please email Rob Foster for more details.
Time: 05:59 am
Location: Bottom of the Stick, Al Qudra.
Monday
Time: 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Tempo
This week will be dialling into that Tempo effort (7/10 RPE) for 6 mins blocks. You will take a 1 min recovery after each block and repeat the sequence 5x.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 400m repeats at 5km pace. After each 400m you get a 25sec rest.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
Today we have intervals in the morning and evening. We will be running 800s and 400s. Try to run your 400m efforts slighly faster than you 800m efforts.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be doing hill repeats on the canal bridge. Efforts will be short and sharp, working on your power. 10-12X
20secs at 9/10;
2mins walk back to starting point.
WELCOME TO HELLLLL WEEKKKKKK!!!!
Relax. Pack your bags with whatever training kit you own, and come ready for everything we throw at you! It will be wild and hard, but you will get through it! Let's Gooooooo!!!!!
Monday:
We kick the week off with a partner WOD featuring the Assault bike and the Barbell and then a chance to max out your Power Clean!!
Tuesday:
Tuesday, everyone's favourite, heavy back squats! The workout will be an oh my legs and lungs type of feeling!
Wednesday:
Wednesday, we are pressing in the strength, giving you a chance of a 1 Rep Max. Strongman conditioning where the harder you work the more rest you will get!
Thursday:
A twist on a HERO workout where you will only be moving your body weight! Do not let that fool you!
Friday:
Friday will be one for the books! Heavy Barbells combined with some Box Jumps and Wall Walks into an AMRAP of something that will be sure to bring the fire to your legs!
Recovery methods are a hot topic in fitness circles. From ice baths to red light therapy, everyone seems to have a favourite method. But are these recovery methods really worth the hype?
I find the whole narrative around recovery fascinating. Lots of people want to talk about what they are doing for their recovery. Whether it's ice baths, sauna, contrast therapy, red light therapy, cupping, massage, foam rolling, cryotherapy, compression boots, chiropractic adjustment, acupuncture, active recovery, massage guns.
Even as I wrote that list, I was amazed how many things I could name, and also how new most are and how popular they have become in recent years.
The Pillars of Recovery
It's quite interesting that these things make people/brands loads of money (but that's not where I'm going with this). Every single one of those has limited value when stacked up against the pillars of sleeping enough, eating appropriately and training appropriately.
Those simple (I didn't say easy by the way) things are the key to being able to train hard and train frequently and ina manner that gets you continuing progress toward a goal, which is why we are all here isn't it?
The Stress Bucket Analogy
Probably the best way to look at all this is to look at the idea of the stress bucket. The bucket constantly has water being poured into it (whether that be stress from life or from training) and at the same time it has a tap letting it out (this is our body naturally recovering healing, resting and adapting to what we have done).
We need some stress to get create adaptations to make us get stronger, fitter, faster, more resilient. A lack of stress leaves people with weak bones/joints and susceptible to a multitude of health conditions, especially in later life.
The Limitations of Recovery Methods
If we go back to our huge list of recovery protocols, all of them provide some help with managing the stress bucket.
In the grand scheme of things these recovery options are all equivalent to bailing your bucket with a thimble.Regardless of the effort the outcome of recovery work can only go so far. So, is your effort with the thimble worth it? Especially the case when you could instead apply that effort to maybe getting more sleep, appropriate food and training at an intensity you can handle.
Focus on the Basics
Addressing those things out will have the effect of putting a wider tap on the bottom of the bucket. You derive a huge passive benefit from them, and you eliminate the need and effort required to engage in any of the active strategy's listed above.
This is the nature of the beast, we all have personal bias, and with that we shouldn't dismiss the power of placebo, but consider that for the most part all these recovery methods are very new, whilst the simple boring stuff is how every animal on the planet including us has "recovered"for all of time.
Personal Experience
I also write this from a place of having tried pretty much all of them in some form or another. In the end, after nearly 20 years of lifting weights and training, I actually found that I was getting stressed faffing about worrying over my recovery. I was trying to fit all these extras things in, compared with just getting my head down for a nap, enjoying preparing and eating good food and making sure I train at an intensity and in a manner where I feel pretty good to go again the next day.
Simplifying Recovery
This is how I look at recovery these days, I try not to overthink it. Sleep as much as you can, eat pretty well and when it comes to training push relatively hard consistently. If you have overdone it, dial back training for a bit.
Final Thoughts
So where does this leave us? My advice would be, don't major in the minors. If you really think something benefits you, fine have at it, but don't stress yourself out over it and remember that it's ok to be a bit beaten up and not recovered because you have to crack a few eggs to make the omelette.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Hard Work
Monday Ride
A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Saturday - Long Ride
Our weekly endurance ride.
Please email Rob Foster for more details.
Time: 05:59 am
Location: Bottom of the Stick, Al Qudra.
Monday
Time: 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Tempo
This week will be dialling into that Tempo effort (7/10 RPE) for 6 mins blocks. You will take a 1 min recovery after each block and repeat the sequence 5x.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 400m repeats at 5km pace. After each 400m you get a 25sec rest.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
Today we have intervals in the morning and evening. We will be running 800s and 400s. Try to run your 400m efforts slighly faster than you 800m efforts.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be doing hill repeats on the canal bridge. Efforts will be short and sharp, working on your power. 10-12X
20secs at 9/10;
2mins walk back to starting point.
WELCOME TO HELLLLL WEEKKKKKK!!!!
Relax. Pack your bags with whatever training kit you own, and come ready for everything we throw at you! It will be wild and hard, but you will get through it! Let's Gooooooo!!!!!
Monday:
We kick the week off with a partner WOD featuring the Assault bike and the Barbell and then a chance to max out your Power Clean!!
Tuesday:
Tuesday, everyone's favourite, heavy back squats! The workout will be an oh my legs and lungs type of feeling!
Wednesday:
Wednesday, we are pressing in the strength, giving you a chance of a 1 Rep Max. Strongman conditioning where the harder you work the more rest you will get!
Thursday:
A twist on a HERO workout where you will only be moving your body weight! Do not let that fool you!
Friday:
Friday will be one for the books! Heavy Barbells combined with some Box Jumps and Wall Walks into an AMRAP of something that will be sure to bring the fire to your legs!
ENGINE
Working on building powerful, resilient legs. Expect a mix of heavy leg-focused strength work designed to improve muscular endurance and replicate race demands.
GYMNASTICS
This Tuesday we're going upside down with handstand holds and handstand push-ups, testing balance, strength, and control. Then, we’ll lock in that overhead power with strength work.
On Thursday, we’ll visit the bar for pull-up progressions! Strict, kipping, and butterfly will appear, followed by lat and core supersets.
HYROX
Working on building powerful, resilient legs. Expect a mix of heavy leg-focused strength work designed to improve muscular endurance and replicate race demands.
MOBILITY
Keeping on that hip mobility, we will work through the same drills as the previous week, but now start upgrading the strengthening drills. Making sure we keep everything locked in place!
PURE STRENGTH
This week in pure strength, we start the week with some weighted push-ups, followed by rest-pause sets on the bench press. On Wednesday, we are progressing the loading on our RDL max set.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, we are spending time working on the split jerk technique in weightlifting. Spicy complex of power clean, front squat, jerk. Finishing off with an EMOM power clean. Make sure not to miss out.
Recovery methods are a hot topic in fitness circles. From ice baths to red light therapy, everyone seems to have a favourite method. But are these recovery methods really worth the hype?
I find the whole narrative around recovery fascinating. Lots of people want to talk about what they are doing for their recovery. Whether it's ice baths, sauna, contrast therapy, red light therapy, cupping, massage, foam rolling, cryotherapy, compression boots, chiropractic adjustment, acupuncture, active recovery, massage guns.
Even as I wrote that list, I was amazed how many things I could name, and also how new most are and how popular they have become in recent years.
The Pillars of Recovery
It's quite interesting that these things make people/brands loads of money (but that's not where I'm going with this). Every single one of those has limited value when stacked up against the pillars of sleeping enough, eating appropriately and training appropriately.
Those simple (I didn't say easy by the way) things are the key to being able to train hard and train frequently and ina manner that gets you continuing progress toward a goal, which is why we are all here isn't it?
The Stress Bucket Analogy
Probably the best way to look at all this is to look at the idea of the stress bucket. The bucket constantly has water being poured into it (whether that be stress from life or from training) and at the same time it has a tap letting it out (this is our body naturally recovering healing, resting and adapting to what we have done).
We need some stress to get create adaptations to make us get stronger, fitter, faster, more resilient. A lack of stress leaves people with weak bones/joints and susceptible to a multitude of health conditions, especially in later life.
The Limitations of Recovery Methods
If we go back to our huge list of recovery protocols, all of them provide some help with managing the stress bucket.
In the grand scheme of things these recovery options are all equivalent to bailing your bucket with a thimble.Regardless of the effort the outcome of recovery work can only go so far. So, is your effort with the thimble worth it? Especially the case when you could instead apply that effort to maybe getting more sleep, appropriate food and training at an intensity you can handle.
Focus on the Basics
Addressing those things out will have the effect of putting a wider tap on the bottom of the bucket. You derive a huge passive benefit from them, and you eliminate the need and effort required to engage in any of the active strategy's listed above.
This is the nature of the beast, we all have personal bias, and with that we shouldn't dismiss the power of placebo, but consider that for the most part all these recovery methods are very new, whilst the simple boring stuff is how every animal on the planet including us has "recovered"for all of time.
Personal Experience
I also write this from a place of having tried pretty much all of them in some form or another. In the end, after nearly 20 years of lifting weights and training, I actually found that I was getting stressed faffing about worrying over my recovery. I was trying to fit all these extras things in, compared with just getting my head down for a nap, enjoying preparing and eating good food and making sure I train at an intensity and in a manner where I feel pretty good to go again the next day.
Simplifying Recovery
This is how I look at recovery these days, I try not to overthink it. Sleep as much as you can, eat pretty well and when it comes to training push relatively hard consistently. If you have overdone it, dial back training for a bit.
Final Thoughts
So where does this leave us? My advice would be, don't major in the minors. If you really think something benefits you, fine have at it, but don't stress yourself out over it and remember that it's ok to be a bit beaten up and not recovered because you have to crack a few eggs to make the omelette.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Hard Work
Monday
Time: 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Tempo
This week will be dialling into that Tempo effort (7/10 RPE) for 6 mins blocks. You will take a 1 min recovery after each block and repeat the sequence 5x.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 400m repeats at 5km pace. After each 400m you get a 25sec rest.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
Today we have intervals in the morning and evening. We will be running 800s and 400s. Try to run your 400m efforts slighly faster than you 800m efforts.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be doing hill repeats on the canal bridge. Efforts will be short and sharp, working on your power. 10-12X
20secs at 9/10;
2mins walk back to starting point.
WELCOME TO HELLLLL WEEKKKKKK!!!!
Relax. Pack your bags with whatever training kit you own, and come ready for everything we throw at you! It will be wild and hard, but you will get through it! Let's Gooooooo!!!!!
Monday:
We kick the week off with a partner WOD featuring the Assault bike and the Barbell and then a chance to max out your Power Clean!!
Tuesday:
Tuesday, everyone's favourite, heavy back squats! The workout will be an oh my legs and lungs type of feeling!
Wednesday:
Wednesday, we are pressing in the strength, giving you a chance of a 1 Rep Max. Strongman conditioning where the harder you work the more rest you will get!
Thursday:
A twist on a HERO workout where you will only be moving your body weight! Do not let that fool you!
Friday:
Friday will be one for the books! Heavy Barbells combined with some Box Jumps and Wall Walks into an AMRAP of something that will be sure to bring the fire to your legs!
ENGINE
Working on building powerful, resilient legs. Expect a mix of heavy leg-focused strength work designed to improve muscular endurance and replicate race demands.
GYMNASTICS
This Tuesday we're going upside down with handstand holds and handstand push-ups, testing balance, strength, and control. Then, we’ll lock in that overhead power with strength work.
On Thursday, we’ll visit the bar for pull-up progressions! Strict, kipping, and butterfly will appear, followed by lat and core supersets.
HYROX
Working on building powerful, resilient legs. Expect a mix of heavy leg-focused strength work designed to improve muscular endurance and replicate race demands.
MOBILITY
Keeping on that hip mobility, we will work through the same drills as the previous week, but now start upgrading the strengthening drills. Making sure we keep everything locked in place!
PURE STRENGTH
This week in pure strength, we start the week with some weighted push-ups, followed by rest-pause sets on the bench press. On Wednesday, we are progressing the loading on our RDL max set.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week, we are spending time working on the split jerk technique in weightlifting. Spicy complex of power clean, front squat, jerk. Finishing off with an EMOM power clean. Make sure not to miss out.
Monday Ride
A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Saturday - Long Ride
Our weekly endurance ride.
Please email Rob Foster for more details.
Time: 05:59 am
Location: Bottom of the Stick, Al Qudra.
Recovery methods are a hot topic in fitness circles. From ice baths to red light therapy, everyone seems to have a favourite method. But are these recovery methods really worth the hype?
I find the whole narrative around recovery fascinating. Lots of people want to talk about what they are doing for their recovery. Whether it's ice baths, sauna, contrast therapy, red light therapy, cupping, massage, foam rolling, cryotherapy, compression boots, chiropractic adjustment, acupuncture, active recovery, massage guns.
Even as I wrote that list, I was amazed how many things I could name, and also how new most are and how popular they have become in recent years.
The Pillars of Recovery
It's quite interesting that these things make people/brands loads of money (but that's not where I'm going with this). Every single one of those has limited value when stacked up against the pillars of sleeping enough, eating appropriately and training appropriately.
Those simple (I didn't say easy by the way) things are the key to being able to train hard and train frequently and ina manner that gets you continuing progress toward a goal, which is why we are all here isn't it?
The Stress Bucket Analogy
Probably the best way to look at all this is to look at the idea of the stress bucket. The bucket constantly has water being poured into it (whether that be stress from life or from training) and at the same time it has a tap letting it out (this is our body naturally recovering healing, resting and adapting to what we have done).
We need some stress to get create adaptations to make us get stronger, fitter, faster, more resilient. A lack of stress leaves people with weak bones/joints and susceptible to a multitude of health conditions, especially in later life.
The Limitations of Recovery Methods
If we go back to our huge list of recovery protocols, all of them provide some help with managing the stress bucket.
In the grand scheme of things these recovery options are all equivalent to bailing your bucket with a thimble.Regardless of the effort the outcome of recovery work can only go so far. So, is your effort with the thimble worth it? Especially the case when you could instead apply that effort to maybe getting more sleep, appropriate food and training at an intensity you can handle.
Focus on the Basics
Addressing those things out will have the effect of putting a wider tap on the bottom of the bucket. You derive a huge passive benefit from them, and you eliminate the need and effort required to engage in any of the active strategy's listed above.
This is the nature of the beast, we all have personal bias, and with that we shouldn't dismiss the power of placebo, but consider that for the most part all these recovery methods are very new, whilst the simple boring stuff is how every animal on the planet including us has "recovered"for all of time.
Personal Experience
I also write this from a place of having tried pretty much all of them in some form or another. In the end, after nearly 20 years of lifting weights and training, I actually found that I was getting stressed faffing about worrying over my recovery. I was trying to fit all these extras things in, compared with just getting my head down for a nap, enjoying preparing and eating good food and making sure I train at an intensity and in a manner where I feel pretty good to go again the next day.
Simplifying Recovery
This is how I look at recovery these days, I try not to overthink it. Sleep as much as you can, eat pretty well and when it comes to training push relatively hard consistently. If you have overdone it, dial back training for a bit.
Final Thoughts
So where does this leave us? My advice would be, don't major in the minors. If you really think something benefits you, fine have at it, but don't stress yourself out over it and remember that it's ok to be a bit beaten up and not recovered because you have to crack a few eggs to make the omelette.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Hard Work
Recovery methods are a hot topic in fitness circles. From ice baths to red light therapy, everyone seems to have a favourite method. But are these recovery methods really worth the hype?
I find the whole narrative around recovery fascinating. Lots of people want to talk about what they are doing for their recovery. Whether it's ice baths, sauna, contrast therapy, red light therapy, cupping, massage, foam rolling, cryotherapy, compression boots, chiropractic adjustment, acupuncture, active recovery, massage guns.
Even as I wrote that list, I was amazed how many things I could name, and also how new most are and how popular they have become in recent years.
The Pillars of Recovery
It's quite interesting that these things make people/brands loads of money (but that's not where I'm going with this). Every single one of those has limited value when stacked up against the pillars of sleeping enough, eating appropriately and training appropriately.
Those simple (I didn't say easy by the way) things are the key to being able to train hard and train frequently and ina manner that gets you continuing progress toward a goal, which is why we are all here isn't it?
The Stress Bucket Analogy
Probably the best way to look at all this is to look at the idea of the stress bucket. The bucket constantly has water being poured into it (whether that be stress from life or from training) and at the same time it has a tap letting it out (this is our body naturally recovering healing, resting and adapting to what we have done).
We need some stress to get create adaptations to make us get stronger, fitter, faster, more resilient. A lack of stress leaves people with weak bones/joints and susceptible to a multitude of health conditions, especially in later life.
The Limitations of Recovery Methods
If we go back to our huge list of recovery protocols, all of them provide some help with managing the stress bucket.
In the grand scheme of things these recovery options are all equivalent to bailing your bucket with a thimble.Regardless of the effort the outcome of recovery work can only go so far. So, is your effort with the thimble worth it? Especially the case when you could instead apply that effort to maybe getting more sleep, appropriate food and training at an intensity you can handle.
Focus on the Basics
Addressing those things out will have the effect of putting a wider tap on the bottom of the bucket. You derive a huge passive benefit from them, and you eliminate the need and effort required to engage in any of the active strategy's listed above.
This is the nature of the beast, we all have personal bias, and with that we shouldn't dismiss the power of placebo, but consider that for the most part all these recovery methods are very new, whilst the simple boring stuff is how every animal on the planet including us has "recovered"for all of time.
Personal Experience
I also write this from a place of having tried pretty much all of them in some form or another. In the end, after nearly 20 years of lifting weights and training, I actually found that I was getting stressed faffing about worrying over my recovery. I was trying to fit all these extras things in, compared with just getting my head down for a nap, enjoying preparing and eating good food and making sure I train at an intensity and in a manner where I feel pretty good to go again the next day.
Simplifying Recovery
This is how I look at recovery these days, I try not to overthink it. Sleep as much as you can, eat pretty well and when it comes to training push relatively hard consistently. If you have overdone it, dial back training for a bit.
Final Thoughts
So where does this leave us? My advice would be, don't major in the minors. If you really think something benefits you, fine have at it, but don't stress yourself out over it and remember that it's ok to be a bit beaten up and not recovered because you have to crack a few eggs to make the omelette.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Hard Work
One-Hour Workout: Revving Your Swim Engine
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