Working out, doing deep work at your job, deliberate practice, etc. aren’t when you get better. Your body and mind adapt, learn, and grow during rest and recovery.
Let’s talk about ways we can help you physically and mentally recover!
THREAD on RECOVERY 👇👇👇👇
Let’s talk about ways we can help you physically and mentally recover!
THREAD on RECOVERY 👇👇👇👇
Recovery is about many things, but what we’re essentially trying to do is switch from a state where your body is dominated by stress hormones that prepare for action and the releasing of energy to a recovery state based on repair and build-up.
Let's go through a few types:
Let's go through a few types:
Social Recovery:
Interaction helps transition us from stress to rest.
Decreasing stress hormones, shifting us into a recovery state, which allows us to process what just happened. It fulfills our need for connection, releasing oxytocin which dampens down your sympathetic NS.
Interaction helps transition us from stress to rest.
Decreasing stress hormones, shifting us into a recovery state, which allows us to process what just happened. It fulfills our need for connection, releasing oxytocin which dampens down your sympathetic NS.
In a study published in Physiology & Behavior, researchers found that changes in testosterone after a soccer match were related to how connected the players felt socially to their teammates.
In a previous thread I outline how in sports, interactions with teammates and coaches helps athletes not only recover, but play better in their next game.
https://twitter.com/stevemagness/status/1353526235553476608
Go Outside! Nature is your friend.
Being in nature shifts us away from stress mode into recovery mode. Going for a walk decreases inflammatory markers, increases creativity, and boosts your mood.
A thread on the benefits of nature:
Being in nature shifts us away from stress mode into recovery mode. Going for a walk decreases inflammatory markers, increases creativity, and boosts your mood.
A thread on the benefits of nature:
https://twitter.com/stevemagness/status/1359143937307459589
Recovery From Work:
Vacations-
Longer breaks can be similarly restorative. Decreasing feeling of burnout.
The mistake most of us make is returning back to our normal stressful routine after a vacation. The stress reducing effects of a week long vacation dissipate after ~4wks
Vacations-
Longer breaks can be similarly restorative. Decreasing feeling of burnout.
The mistake most of us make is returning back to our normal stressful routine after a vacation. The stress reducing effects of a week long vacation dissipate after ~4wks
Mini-Breaks:
A lot of us try to shut off and recover on the weekends. We bounce from one extreme, working a ton, to another, doing absolutely nothing.
Research in the workplace found how well someone recovered over the weekend predicted the next week's work performance.
A lot of us try to shut off and recover on the weekends. We bounce from one extreme, working a ton, to another, doing absolutely nothing.
Research in the workplace found how well someone recovered over the weekend predicted the next week's work performance.
But it’s not just turning everything off. In one study, low social activity over the weekend predicted burnout.
Bouncing from extremes of all work all nothing doesn't always work.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1348/09…
Bouncing from extremes of all work all nothing doesn't always work.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1348/09…
Detaching:
A big part of recovery from work is creating boundaries and detaching from work. Being deliberate about when you’re working and when you’re not is key. Or else you fall into this kinda moderately stressed all the time zone.
A big part of recovery from work is creating boundaries and detaching from work. Being deliberate about when you’re working and when you’re not is key. Or else you fall into this kinda moderately stressed all the time zone.
In one study, when workers didn’t detach from their work in the evening, they experienced higher levels of fatigue the next day.
The more psychological detachment from work, the better mood and lower fatigue. If they didn’t detach, workload was decreased.
The more psychological detachment from work, the better mood and lower fatigue. If they didn’t detach, workload was decreased.
Your method of detaching matters!
Staring at your phone, sadly, isn't as effective as other strategies we've mentioned.
Even relying on TV, tends to lead to more rumination and an inability to unwind/turn stress off. tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…
Staring at your phone, sadly, isn't as effective as other strategies we've mentioned.
Even relying on TV, tends to lead to more rumination and an inability to unwind/turn stress off. tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…
PHYSICAL RECOVERY
In the best meta-analysis on recovery modalities so far, they found the following:
Contenders: active recovery, massage, compression garments, immersion, contrast water therapy, & ice baths
Pretenders: electrostimulation, hyperbaric therapy, and a few others
In the best meta-analysis on recovery modalities so far, they found the following:
Contenders: active recovery, massage, compression garments, immersion, contrast water therapy, & ice baths
Pretenders: electrostimulation, hyperbaric therapy, and a few others
In this meta-analysis, they also found:
Best for muscle soreness and fatigue: massage.
Best results for inflammation: massage and cold exposure.
frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
Best for muscle soreness and fatigue: massage.
Best results for inflammation: massage and cold exposure.
frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
Most of the recovery gadgets don’t really have a consistent effect.
Exercises that increase blood flow likely make you feel a bit better. But you don’t need to get fancy to do this. Going for a walk or a light jog is great.
Exercises that increase blood flow likely make you feel a bit better. But you don’t need to get fancy to do this. Going for a walk or a light jog is great.
Walking around in a pool will give you just about the same ‘blood pump’ effect as wearing fancy compression boots.
Other times, it’s about priming the nervous system. Reminding it what it’s like to fire quickly. Someplyometrics or some good hard strides will help more than rest.
Other times, it’s about priming the nervous system. Reminding it what it’s like to fire quickly. Someplyometrics or some good hard strides will help more than rest.
Quick, more explosive work changes the muscle tension in your legs, for example. Helping you to feel more reactive instead of that “flat” feeling that distance runners often get after high volume work.
Nutrition for Recovery:
This could be a textbook on its own filled with all sorts of controversy...
So to keep it basic, if you’re dealing with soreness or high levels of muscle damage, think of it as how do we keep protein synthesis elevated?
This could be a textbook on its own filled with all sorts of controversy...
So to keep it basic, if you’re dealing with soreness or high levels of muscle damage, think of it as how do we keep protein synthesis elevated?
If particularly Aim for 5+ hits of protein spread throughout the day. 10-15 grams each dose. Those 'hits' include meals.
A larger dose of protein before bed will increase protein synthesis overnight
A larger dose of protein before bed will increase protein synthesis overnight
And of course, the best recovery thing you could do: SLEEP!
I took a deep dive into the science of sleep in a previous thread you can find below:
I took a deep dive into the science of sleep in a previous thread you can find below:
https://twitter.com/stevemagness/status/1365302730919706627
That's it for now. If you found what you read useful, consider giving me a follow. I tweet threads about the science of performance 2x per week.
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For deeper dives, you can check out my free weekly newsletter: thegrowtheq.com/newsletter-sig…
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