It’s become a widely accepted myth that taking downtime is unproductive. However, while exercising, recovery sessions are very important. Several gym enthusiasts will forget to convey the importance of recovering after a strenuous session. This is because they think all the weight loss and muscle gain occurs in the gym.

Bruno Bueno/Pexels | Whatever you do, overexertion is always bad

Strike A Balance Between Exercise And Recovery Time

Recovery time is as important as the workout itself. This doesn’t mean you do fewer workouts and more rest. The key to getting the most out of your workout routine is to keep a balance between exercise stress and rest time after exercise.

When you start your exercise regime, your nervous system signals your muscular system to start moving. The whole body starts working at more than the usual rate. The harder you exercise, the more your body works. All this work makes your body release endorphins, which make you feel great. This feeling is what makes you motivated for another fitness session. However, this is where we must acknowledge our body’s natural sweet spot, so exercise keeps feeling good. Movement is primarily positive stress on the body.

Victor Freitas/Pexels | But, exercise stress itself is not the cause of your muscle gains

Here’s How It Works

Imagine that you just got chased across the savannah by a hungry lion and had to scuttle up a tree for safety. The lion gets bored and wanders away. When the stress disappears, your breathing slows down, your heart starts pumping more slowly, and your body is no longer on high alert. You jump in ecstasy because you made it out alive! Once the celebration is over, you begin with recovery where your heart rate and breathing return to baseline, your body relaxes and rebuilds, and as a result, it feels a little stronger.

Now, let’s imagine that you escaped the lion and scuttled up the tree; the lion stayed at the bottom, stalking, waiting for you to come down. Your body remains on high alert. You’re not out of danger yet; you feel anything but celebratory and become snappy and irritable. Being on high alert for so long deteriorates your body, and your tense muscles begin to cause pain. Your intestines threaten to revolt as the high-stress level impacts your digestion. You’re less focussed, and you’re one swift move away from injuring yourself. This illustrates what happens when you keep pushing yourself to respond to intense stress in the gym. The continual intensity can also lower your immunity, and your sex drive and your ability to sleep are relegated to a mere footnote in your priority list.

Frank Cone/Pexels | When you get to this stage, most people say that you’ve overtrained

But, some people recognize that it’s more accurately called under-recovery. So, what is the right balance of exercise versus recovery?

Prioritize 15-30 minutes of relaxing activity each day.
Match your nutrition to your exercise requirements. If you’re planning on exercising intensely that day, ensure that you eat adequate carbohydrates to fuel your workout.
Mix it up, and don’t engage in high-intensity exercise every day. A runner shouldn’t plan back-to-back intense runs and a gym-goer shouldn’t plan back-to-back intense days.
Finally, remember, nothing is lost by listening to your body and taking a day out from the gym. If your body says stop, stop right there!

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