Welcome Players! How do you know when you’re fully recovered?
Is there even an agreed upon definition of “recovery”?
You have questions, I have answers.
But you’re not gonna like my answers…
For one, you never truly know when you’re recovered, and no, there is not an agreed upon definition of recovery.
So let me tell you how I’ve come to define recovery, how I judge when myself/my clients are recovered, and how you can use all this information to ditch the ice baths and saunas and start feeling better and performing better.
We start with the simple concept of training, which is that we undergo a controlled stress (stimulus) in order to elicit a specific response (adaptation).
But Stimulus ≠ Response. There needs to be another variable in that equation. What is it…
Is it Stimulus + Ice Bath = Adaptation?
No…
Is it Stimulus + Massage Gun = Adaptation?
No, not that either…
Oh, I know! Maybe it’s Stimulus + Zone 2 Cardio = Adaptation!?
Nope, definitely not that…
So what is it?!?!
Stimulus + Time = Adaptation
Time. Time is the secret key to all successful training and is absolutely required for adaptation to take place.
But that’s only part of the story!
What you DO with that time is where the magic happens.
It’s better if I start with an example, and explain after.
Let’s use a basic strength-building program.
Our athlete, Jimmy, is training 2x/week for the purpose of getting stronger.
He trains on Monday a full-body workout, hitting all his compound movements and dosing his volume, intensity, and rest time appropriately. (Check out the articles on program design if you’re not sure what that means)
In an ideal world, he shouldn’t complete his next workout until Thursday. That gives his body, and the muscle groups that he trained, over 48 hours to restock energy supply (glucose) and regenerate any structural damage that occurred during training (micro-tears of muscle that encourage growth). Those 48 hours are where the adaptation happens!
But what if Jimmy didn’t feel sore on Tuesday? He felt great! So he thought, “Hey, I’m not sore, I don’t need to wait 48 hours. I’m going to workout again today!”
And he undergoes another stimulus (workout)… What happens?
Well, the first thing that happens is his 2nd workout is going to be far below optimal. Just because Jimmy doesn’t feel sore doesn’t mean there hasn’t been structural damage to the muscle fibers. It also is unlikely that his muscles will have replenished their full glycogen stores so he will be at a strength AND endurance deficit going into that second workout. It’s also a toss-up on whether or not his central nervous system has completely recovered from the previous days energy expenditure (knowing his HRV will tell us!). But he’s not sore so that’s OK! (/sarcasm)
If we extrapolate this idea of not allowing our body the TIME to ADAPT, then Jimmy will be theoretically working out every day, and getting worse all the while!
Without that time for the body to adapt, his body is constantly being STRESSED, without being given the ability to RECOVER.
Does it matter if between the 24h of back-to-back workouts Jimmy foam rolls, gets a massage, sauna’s, and ice-baths?!
Hell no it doesn’t matter!!!
Without TIME, Jimmy’s muscles (& nervous system) are not able to appropriately adapt to the stressors he placed upon it, and thus his body doesn’t adapt. It is performing, sure, but over time this cycle leads to decreased performance and injury.
No bueno.
Can you see why modalities can’t cause Recovery now?
Without the component of time, none of the “recovery” hacks actually do anything. The body needs time between stressors to adapt.
That time is when the body repairs tissue, replenishes energy stores, and otherwise grows stronger! No amount of technology or data can replace the time required for adaptation.
Ok, with that said, and I hope it’s clear, we can move on to the next piece.
What should you be doing in that time while your body adapts?
Should you be doing nothing? Lying still like a zombie? Locking yourself in a sensory-deprivation chamber until it’s time to train again?
No no, please don’t do that.
The two most important factors of what you do in the adaptation period are:
Sleep
Nutrition
That’s it.
Without at least 8 hours of sleep (or more if you’re in sleep debt), your body will not have the appropriate resources to efficiently adapt. This will slow down the regeneration process and will lengthen the amount of time necessary to adapt to training. (See the extensive series on sleep for more)
Likewise, without enough calories and requisite nutrients your body will not have the resources to actually regenerate and repair tissue. Making sure you are appropriately fueling your training and are getting enough macro- and micro-nutrients ensures your body has everything it needs to repair itself and adapt as quickly and efficiently as possible.
With this in mind, we can make a modification to our formula and say that a derivative of Time is Sleep X Nutrition.
Let’s update it accordingly:
Stimulus + Time [Sleep X Nutrition] = Adaptation.
Now that’s starting to look like recovery to me!
Ok, let’s come back to Jimmy.
He’s starting to understand that more workouts ≠ more results. He recognizes the importance of getting enough sleep every night and is doing his best to maintain a balanced diet while fueling his energy demands. He’s also being patient at trusting his coaches program, and not doing extra workouts because he feels good.
Great job Jimmy!
With consistency, measured in weeks or months (not days…), he is going to start seeing results. The longer he maintains his discipline, the better he is going to get.
He doesn’t need to do anything fancy, doesn’t need to take any supplements, doesn’t need to buy the latest “recovery” device.
All he needs to do is workout with the appropriate volume and intensity for his goals, give his body enough TIME between workouts in order to adapt, and fuel that adaptation with plenty of sleep and proper nutrition.
THAT, is recovery.
But, alas, I know that’s not good enough for many of you. You probably were hoping I had some secret about recovery that would speed it up and possibly even give you Wolverine-like regeneration powers.
While I do have many secrets, none of them is going to supersede the basic formula for recovery.
Until you master the foundation of training, of designing a program with adequate volume and intensity for your goals and giving your body the proper time, sleep, and nutrition it needs, none of the magic recovery secrets I have are going to help you.
NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FOUNDATION.
The cool thing is, when you DO master the basics, and have a sustainable training lifestyle set into a habit, then there are a TON of things you can do to improve recovery.
But that’s a topic for another day. Until you have the basic recovery equation mastered, nothing else matters.
And so, my message to you this week is to evaluate how you measure up to the scientific law of Recovery (as defined by me).
Are you training with enough volume and intensity to elicit a specific adaptation?
Are you giving your body enough time between activities to allow for that adaptation to happen?
Are you filling that time with enough sleep and proper nutrition to give your body the resources it needs in order to actually recover?
If you answered No to any of those questions, then you know what your new priority should be in order to get the results you want.
Stop looking for magic recovery tools as if there’s some magical secret that once you know will be the key to all your progress. There is none.
Strap in, master the basics, and focus on being better than you were yesterday.
If you’re not sure about Program Design or Sleep, well then luckily you’re in the right place as I’ve got a host of articles on both those topics. (click here)
When you’re ready, leave me a comment or shoot me an email and maybe, just maybe, I’ll tell you my secrets to enhancing recovery.
But not until you’ve mastered the basics!
Remember, Stimulus + Time [Sleep X Nutrition] = Adaptation.
- Trainer 01