Chiropractic care – One of the most under-utilized recovery modality is chiropractic care. The nervous system is the one system in our body that controls every other system. Chiropractors are trained to remove stress from your nervous system so that your body can function optimally. If you’re feeling more tired, sore or under the weather lately, try adding regular chiropractic care to your routine. Check out Strong Performance Chiropractic for top notch chiropractic care.
Only using machines – One of our biggest pet peeves is when a personal trainer designs workouts for their clients only using machines. Free weights (kettlebells, dumbbells, plyo boxes, sandbags, medicine balls, etc.) require activation of the small stability muscles along the kinetic chain which makes the exercise more functionally adaptive to every day life. When we use machines, the machine does the work for those tiny muscles. The crazy part is, the client that’s most likely to be pushed to machines (elderly or new to exercise), is the person who needs stability muscle activation the most!!
Sleep – Sleep NEEDS to be a priority. When we sleep our body builds, repairs and grows. Short term memories are converted to long term memories. Muscles repair from the daily tasks. Macrophages go on the hunt for old, damaged cells and remove them from the body to keep us healthy. New cellular growth happens to repair old, damaged cells. Make shut eye a priority. Instead of aiming for a certain # of hours each night, aim for a consistent sleep and wake routine. Go to bed at the same time every day and wake up at the same time to help your body regulate its circadian rhythm.
Recovery days – This doesn’t mean days where you do nothing. I’m talking active recovery: walks, restorative yoga, sauna, mobility work. Give your body a chance to grow and heal.
Workout variation – So many people do the same workout over and over again. This is a huge mistake. You should have cardio days, heavy lift days, lighter days with higher reps, HIIT days, etc. Kettlebells are a great way to add versatility to your routine. Even within these different “days” we have room for variety. For example, cardio you can run, spin, row, or swim etc. and from there vary it even more with intervals, long distance, sprints, etc.
Diet variation – You literally are what you eat. Eating different foods gives our body a bigger variety of nutrients to pull from, so our body can pick and choose what it needs to build the strongest, healthiest, most resilient tissues. Research shows that the greater the number of different foods you consume on a regular basis, the lower your chances of death are.
Hydration – The minimum ounces of water you should drink on a daily basis is 50% of your body weight (if measured in pounds). For example, a 150lb person should have 75oz of water minimum each day. The more active you are the more you need to drink. I’m very active so I shoot for close to 100% of my body weight. ALSO, minerals and electrolytes are key to absorbing the water into your body. Try BioSteel, LMNT or LiquidIV if you’re looking for something tasty.
Workout Buddy – Having a friend to workout with will help you be more consistent with your workout routine. Just knowing that you have someone waiting for you at the gym is helpful to keep you motivated when you’re tried. Also, when we have someone to workout with we end up working harder, so we end up with more benefits at the end of our workout. Win-win-win.