Why is it Important to Recover After Exercising?

06 Sep Why is it Important to Recover After Exercising?

Taking a day or two off from exercising may not sound like a benefit to you, but in reality, it is vital to muscle growth and injury prevention. Taking the time to recover after you experience arduous activity will only help your muscles to grow stronger and cause your body to have a higher endurance over time.

Your muscles repair themselves when you take time to recover.

When you exercise, your body is exposed to stress and your muscles break down. Recovering allows the body to replenish energy and repair damaged tissues. Your muscles need time to adapt to the stress they have just experienced so that they can become stronger.

Neglecting to rest can lead to injuries.

Allowing your body time to recover after strenuous exercise is key to injury prevention. When you exercise, your muscles are broken down—when you don’t give them time to repair and continue to exercise, they continue to break down instead of buildup. Overtraining will lead to injury, which is your body forcing you to rest. Take the time to recovery early on and avoid any hiccups down the road.

You can speed up the recovery process.

If rest and recovery are driving you nuts, you can speed up the process with some more productive resting. Try massaging or rolling out your muscles to increase blood flow and oxygen and remove lactic acid buildup (which makes your muscles sore). Focus on good hydration and healthy eating to provide the nutrients your muscles need to recover. Or if you’re trying to recover in a specific area of your body, try an ice bath, which will also increase oxygen and blood flow.