I have been beating myself up in the gym since I was 15. 40 years later recovery doesn't just happen by accident. It has to be a priority.
As you go through my blog posts I bet I repeat myself a lot. That's because not a whole lot has changed with training over the years regardless of what someone is trying to sell you. Thank God for Elitefts. It's awesome how much high quality free content comes out of here.
Recovery is an important topic for a lot of lifters. It's usually a sliding scale based on how old you are and years under the bar. I have a lot of both so I know what I am talking about.
I have felt better than I have in decades. It took many hours outside of the gym for that. However, I'm not perfect. When I feel good I tend to take it for granted. This why I am implementing a 20 minute rule for myself.
The rule is, I must do something for recovery for 20 minutes a day. Now, if you don't have 20 minutes a day, see if you have even 10 a day, or 10 every other day. The point is, give yourself a time you can hold yourself accountable to.
What you do in that time is up to you. It's not for playing video games, scrolling social media, or watching tv. It's to do something that is going to make you better while training.
This could be a nice long contrast shower, foam rolling, stretching, meditating, sports psychology, icing, heating, etc. Just find something that's good for your body and or mind that makes you better in the gym.
I find I respond better when I don't pigeonhole myself into one activity. The more options you give yourself the more likely you are to do it. This is how I manage my hard conditioning as well.
Alright. I'm off to set my timer for 15 minutes of foam rolling, stretching, and a 5 minute contrast shower.
