Rest, Recovery & Rejuvenation - Do’s and Don’ts for any Athlete
We hear this all the time: “take time to rest,” “make sure you get enough sleep,” “slow down before you burn out.” But what is the difference between rest, recovery, and rejuvenation? Why is each important and how can we get each?
Rest.
My personal opinion on rest in general is that rest is a form of resistance against a capitalist and patriarchal society that acts like our bodies are not even machines, but cogs in a bigger machine designed to exhaust us, and particularly women who are forced to operate as if we are a smaller version of men rather than completely different reproductive systems. In short, rest is an act of rebellion; a protest to a society that demands we never stop going, moving, making them what they love…MONEY! But let’s break down rest in the body,
Rest can be thought of as active rest or passive rest, and under passive rest lies deep rest.
Active rest could be something like a light walk or bike ride for fun, a yoga or pilates class that is more basic or fundamental, doing an ayurvedic abhyanga massage, making sure you take all your vitamins (extra magnesium), eating enough protein (150lb = 150grams protein/day), playing an instrument or taking an art class, doing physical therapy or bodyweight kinds of exercises that aren’t too strenuous but involve some resistance, or talking to your friend with your feet dangling in a a pool, playing frisbee on the beach, reading a book, renting a cabin or air bnb somewhere peaceful for a day or weekend, a sauna or cold plunges.*
*WOMEN have been proven to have negative effects from cold plunges, because in some circumstances (female professional athletes or highly athletic individuals) may need some ice for muscle recovery, but as ice baths and cold plunges are getting trendier now, it’s important to know that a woman’s uterus does not respond well when cold, so yes, iced drink girlies that goes for your iced latte also I’m so sorry! And hands and feet are connected to a woman’s uterus, so if they are also cold, she will experience hormonal related issues more often than not. Will you get painfully ill if you do a cold plunge? Probably not. Will it feel nice? Maybe short term, but definitely ladies, don’t make this a regular thing. Make sure it’s never lower than 10-15 degrees Celsius (50-59 degrees Fahrenheit).
*MEN, on the other hand, should be wary that cold plunges can reduce muscle growth by up to 60%, so if you’re trying to bulk, maybe avoid the cold plunges until you’re in a maintenance cycle.
Now, active rest can also be involved during a workout. For example, you are doing a set of heavy squats, and in between sets you do some marching glute bridges, or your put other weights back on the shelf. This is also considered “active rest.” And just to note- the rest you take in between sets MATTERS! It can be the difference between muscle loss and muscle gain. For example, you could choose to do heavy squats, heavy glute bridges, and heavy lunges in your lower body workout, but if you try to do them all too fast, without resting at least 1-2 minutes in between, your heart rate will stay too elevated, turning your strength session into a cardio session, which will benefit your heart more than the booty you’re trying so hard to build! I time my rest on my phone’s timer to make sure I take enough time to just sit there, drink water, and try to look intimidating.
Passive rest could be things like breathwork, watching tv, taking a hot epsom salt bath, getting a massage or sports massage, getting a pedicure, getting stretched as in a thai massage, sitting in a hot tub or laying on a beach, laying in a hammock, staying off your feet and/or having nice things done to you, bascially.
Deep rest is scientifically proven to give us very similar benefits to sleep: lower cortisol and stress levels, more regulated nervous system (parasympathetic), almost like a deep system reboot. You can go into deep rest through deep meditation, especially if it is something like hypnosis or yoga nidra for sleep; hypnotherapy; or even shamanic dreamwork- making conscious decisions during your dreams, which happens when someone is between a waking and sleeping state, between conscious and unconscious.
2. Recovery
Recovery, rather than duality like rest, I consider more a spectrum. I would put Active Recovery all the way on one side, and good old fashioned Sleep on the other.
Active Recovery is greatly encouraged in the training and physical therapy community because sadly, many times people recoverying from an injury are told to “stay off it” for too long, even up to weeks or months longer than they should! When in reality, if we can diagnose the issue early, we can start the treatment early, and while that MAY involve a few days of passive rest and staying off it, more often than not we can atrophy less (lose less muscle) and start the recovery process sooner if we incorporate active recovery. So what does this entail? Lots of micro movements, or movement patterns that address our weaknesses, such as balance, stability, or addressing asymmetries and compensations. Things with bands, foam rollers, massage guns or things that cross reference in physical therapy as well as personal training: squatting, hip hinging, full range of motion, single leg balance, core strength, glute strength, posture, etc.
It could also be choosing the elliptical for a workout instead of a run if the athlete is an avid runner and doesn’t feel like running, or a Yin yoga class focused on staying in one posture for a while for an avid yogi or yoga teacher. This may be controversial, but as a trainer I WOULDN’T say a casual 5k runner for a marathon runner is active recovery. I’d tell them to get a fascia sports massage, cupping, acupuncture, or some form of bodywork for their active recovery because they are on their feet enough! Sometimes it’s easy to overdo it and think we are taking it easy when in reality our body does need real rest or a version of recovery that doesn’t involve overtraining or too much repetition on a weekly basis. Think of it like a balance scale: the recovery and output must match.
I tell my clients and class takers that you can call it rehab or prehab depending when you do it, but we should be doing these things regularly no matter what to stay healthy and prevent future injuries. I call it the “slow down stuff.”
There is also a more spiritual side of recovery, for those recovering from addiction, from a toxic relationship or environment that they are relearning to operate in so they can go from survival mode to thriving mode, from dependency to independence and strength. This takes a great amount of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. It involves discipline to state and uphold one’s boundaries. It requires a support system, community, and therapy or support group meetings. It is going back and healing what haunts you so one can get their life back. It is integrating the life you want with the parts of your past you’re ready to move on from. It is very important when one is going through this kind of recovery to also continue moving their bodies every day if they can in any way, and use every form of support, community, and healthy-minded decision possible to stay the course. The healthier we are, the stronger we are, inside and out.
SLEEP! An often overlooked form of “active recovery.” What do I mean by this? I mean no workout is worth forcing out if your body has gotten less than 4-6 hours of sleep. Can you do it? Sure. Can you even PR? Yeah. But the damage it does to your body and muscles? Not worth it. Sleep first, push later. Just like work hard, play hard? Well, SLEEP hard SO THAT you can work hard, then play hard. Got it? This comes first, and then you can figure out what kind of rest or recovery or anything else you need.
Fun fact: men were clinically studied to need 8 hours of sleep every night, but women have only recently been studied and have proven to need 9 hours per night, and 10 hours while menstruating! No wonder every woman you know is always tired. Treat the women in your life right and give them (us, me!) more opportunities to sleep! If we are underslept we are likely to be more irritable, in a worse mood, more stressed, more inflamed, dehydrated, weaker, foggier brained, AND our body cravings will crave sugar or stimulants to stay awake: cookies, donuts, bagels, cakes, chocolate, energy drinks, more coffee, diet Coke, real coke, whatever it is, it’s NOT CUTE HUNNY! Stop that immediately you’re literally blocking all your blessings, babe.
3. Rejuvenation
Now, rejuvenation can go above and beyond just the physical body. Rejuvenation is good for the soul, the spirit, your energy levels, the glow in your skin and radiance from your smile. Things that can be rejuvenating can often be done at home, however our capitalist society loves to benefit from monetizing wellness, so many of these things may seem pricey when you read them, but I encourage you to think of ways to do these things on a budget or at home, which is my personal favorite anyway :)
Retreat, Prayer, Facial, Deep Tissue massage or Lymphatic Drainage massage, Spa day, Manicure/Pedicure (more for the treatment and less for the toxic chemicals), Bath, Mud Bath, Singing, Dancing, Journaling, Talking to your close friends, Deep cleaning your space, Adding flowers or new art or colors to your space, Grounding your feet by stepping or walking/touching grass/sand/water. Being in nature. Being in community. Doing service or volunteer work. Having a scary conversation that’s been weighing on your mind. Speaking up and getting something off your chest. And sorry, as a natural and holistic health coach, I don’t consider botox or filler or those kinds of cosmetic treatments that involve toxic chemicals to rejuvenate us. Nature can rejuvenate us better than chemicals every time.
All of these things uplift us physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, environmentally, and purposefully. And we need them all to really recover, and ultimately heal ourselves from the inside out. Before we can crush that workout, that work presentation, that performance or game we’ve been practicing for, before we can think about what nutrition and which foods are best for our body’s unique needs, we must start from a well-rested and recovered place. And you want to start living the life of your dreams? Time to rejuvenate.
*Coach’s note: The above is not medical advice. Please adjust as needed or advised if reader is terminally ill. While all these practices can help, none alone are guaranteed to heal or fix any disease single-handedly. When they all work together, though? Powerful.
Hope this helps and as always contact me on my website for any coaching inquiries. Until next time :)
