Over the past few years I have seen a growing interest into the importance of recovery and training.
When I first started training (like many of you reading this I assume) I thought that more was better in the gym. If I do more reps, more sets and train twice a day then surely I must be building more muscle right? I wasn’t sleeping that bad and I was eating a tonne of calories so surely, surely I am gaining muscle? Well, guess what, in hindsight, I wasn’t and my physique hardly changed, but why? I wasn’t optimising my recovery properly. Sure, I had heard that saying ‘you grow when you rest’ but I didn’t really take note of how important it was.
There are numerous subjects that need addressing when talking about recovery, one of which you will be very familiar with, nutrition. The first thing that should be noted is that you will find it much easier to recover if you are in a calorie surplus, not a deficit. If you aren’t recovering fast enough between sessions, the first thing that needs to be looked at is if you are taking in enough daily calories. Being in a surplus means that you are consuming more calories than your body needs. This is especially important if you are weight training, as the extra calories will go towards building new muscle. The calories need to be clean and nutritious though, you won’t recover adequately from junk food. Base your diet around whole foods that haven’t been processed, things such as vegetables, wholegrains, fresh meats, fruits and nuts are good. On top of this, you want to make sure that you are always fully hydrated. Around 3-4 litres a day will see most people hydrated well.
Sleep is also hugely important when you are looking to optimise your recovery. Lack of sleep has been shown to increase cortisol levels, which is a hormone that increases your chance of storing fat and decreases your body’s ability to build muscle. Further to this, it also decreases the production of carbohydrates stored in the body that are used for physical activity. A good night’s sleep promotes the release of testosterone and HGH (human growth hormone) of which both are directly linked with higher muscle mass and lower body fat percentage. You should aim for between 7-8 quality hours per night.
If you have both of the above nailed, then chances are you are recovering well if your training program is in order. However, if you want to make sure you are leaving no stones unturned, there are numerous supplements that can help, let’s have a look at the best.
ZMA – A blend of zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6. Research has shown that athletes lack these vitamins and minerals more than any other. This synergetic blend helps promote a deep sleep, which by now you know is hugely important for recovery.
Glutamine – Glutamine is found in 61% of the muscle in the body, this makes it the most common amino acid we have! When training, levels are massively depleted and it can take up to a week for levels to return to normal. With glutamine playing an important role in cell volumization, protein metabolism and anti-catabolism, it’s important to keep levels stable with a glutamine supplement.
Protein powders – Whilst most of your protein should come from whole food, it can sometimes be difficult to digest that amount of protein from food. Consuming enough protein is important for muscles so they have the ability to recover in between training sessions. Fatigued and sore muscles are not going to perform optimally if they haven’t had the chance to recover fully.
There you have it, prioritise your recovery game as much as you do training and watch your progress skyrocket!
