I love to train. There is no doubt about that.
There is something for me about just going out into the garage when it is 100oF or 0oF. It doesn’t matter, but there are times when I am crazy busy at work, have extra clients, meetings and still need to find time to make dinner. As discussed in previous articles, all stress summates and it is times like these that I might need a little extra recovery rather than putting the pedal to the metal. In comes a great time for active recovery. If you missed the The Beginner’s Guide to Recovery be sure to check it out so you have a background of the different types of recovery.
How to do Active Recovery
There are two schools of thought when it comes to active recovery. I will present both of them to you, but as with most things you will have to find out what works best for you. I am a fan of the decrease volume approach myself as it allows me to not slack off with movements. I find this to be important because many people will have the tendency to get sloppy and use poor form if they reduce intensity (i.e. A soccer player going to make a cut at 60% intensity and tearing ACL because not really trying). Plus it allows to stay strong and powerful which is very important in any training whether it be for a sport or to keep your body sharp to allow your brain to function optimally in the office.
Decreased Volume:
This is a very simple thing to do. It can be done in weightlifting bvby either doing less reps per set or just doing fewer sets (i.e. doing 5 sets instead of 10). For a runner it can be keeping your pace, but running half of the distance.
Decreased Intensity:
This is also simple. For weightlifting it would be still doing the same number of sets and reps, but with a weight that is maybe 50%-60% of what you normally use. In running it can be dropping your mile pace from 7:30 down to 10:00 and continuing to run your normal distance.
You can always decrease both if you are really rundown, but if that is the case you may want to look to do more passive or total recovery.
This is all fine and dandy, but I can hear the question “when do I need to do active recovery?” That is the million dollar question and I have the simple billion dollar answer. Why billion? Because Forbes showed that the US workforce LOSES $576 BILLION yearly from poor health. That is right, so if you know when to back off a bit you will know how to stay in the game at work and increase your productivity without getting sick. Check out the simple plan below and all you need is your morning heart rate.
Heart Rate Readiness Assesment
Take your morning resting carotid heart rate before moving in bed for 60 seconds.
Complete for seven days to get average
- If three beats above average: beware that you are under increased stress
- If four beats above average: cut training volume in ½
- If five beats above average: take the day off to avoid illness or injury
Have you found any other good ways to monitor your body’s readiness for exercise? I am always looking for new ways to share.
Have a Great Day!
Nick Horowski