Recovery

• It is an important concept to realize that we do not actually improve our strength & fitness levels during a workout. Our fitness levels improve after the completion of your workout. The workout simply provides a stimulus to improve.

• The amount of volume and the type of work performed during the training session will dictate how long it will take for strength & fitness levels to improve.

• Your initial fitness levels will also dictate how long it will take for your fitness levels to improve (i.e. the higher your work capacity, the quicker you will recover from workouts).

• The graph below shows Hans Selye's GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome) principle. The Alarm Stage occurs after a training session. During the resistance stage the body is recovering, and if the body can not recover back to baseline levels, the exhaustion stage occurs. The exhaustion stage indicates that overtraining has occurred.

• The goal of training is to time training sessions accurately so that the next training session coincides with the Supercompensation stage. This term means that our strength & fitness levels have increased above our initial levels.

• If insufficient recovery time is not given between training sessions, the athlete's strength & fitness levels will drop further below baseline and more time will then be needed for the athlete to supercompensate.

• If too much recovery time is given between training sessions, the athlete may have already passed the supercompensation phase and the original training session would have been pointless.

Other factors that impact recovery are:
- Stress (school, boy/girl friend)
- Nutrition (skipping meals, fast food fixes)
- Lifestyle (heavy drinking, late nights)

Recovery Routines:
Static Stretch
Foam Roller Series
Rope Stretch
Upper Body Stretch
Wall Stretch Series
Bench Stretch Series

Static Stretch

Always contract opposing muscle groups

Switch legs

Foam Rollar Series

Hip

Piriformis (Right over Left)

Hamstring (3 Way Foot)

Glute Med

IT Band

Hip Flexors

Quad (3 Way Foot)

Bent Leg Quad

Groin

Calves

Switch Legs

Upper Back - hands on head/elbows together

Lats

Chest

Rope Stretch

Always contract opposing muscle groups

Switch Legs

Upper Body Stretch

Always contract opposing muscle groups

Stagger Feet

Wall Stretch Series

Always contract opposing muscle groups

Bench Stretch Series

Switch Legs

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