The Rules of Recovery
I can't tell you how often I hear folks at the gym say that they have cut back on either the intensity or frequency of their workouts because they just don't recover as well as they did when they were younger. This mantra is also in incessantly repeated by pundits in the bodybuilding magazines and forums, as well. Some of the folks saying this are as young as their early 30s. Really, you're not recovering as well as you did when you were younger, and you're what, 32?
Well, I'm 55 and I can honestly say that I recover better from my workouts now than I did when I was in my 20s. I can work longer, harder, and more frequently and I'm still getting stronger, bigger, and leaner. I'll admit, I am the exception, but, at the same time, I don't think I'm some freak of nature either. In fact, I believe that the ability to recover can actually get better for most people as they age, if they get smarter, and follow a few simple rules.
Rule 1. Get smart about what you eat and when you eat it. Balanced macronutrient intake, focusing on lean protein, healthy fats, and abundant vegetable intake is key. Focus on pre and post workout meals and make sure you adjust overall carb intake so that it is commensurate with your daily workload. As the fitness guru Vince Giranda used to say, " There's no such thing as over training, only under eating."
Rule 2. Get your shut eye. A goodly portion of recovery is accomplished while sleeping, when your hormones are most conducive to rebuildIng tissue. Skip sleep, don't recover. It's as simple as that.
Rule 3. Make sure your workload increases are small. The 10% rule from the running community is a good one. Once you're working at an advanced level, weekly, monthly, annual workloads should not exceed the past increment by more than 10%. The numbers don't work out exactly and this specific number may be a bit conservative, but it's a very good "rule of thumb." When you keep increasing, slowly, incrementally, long-term, you'll soon be at a point where you are able to handle and be responding well to incredible intensity and huge workloads. To a degree, the principle of compound interest applies here.
Rule 4. Use deep tissue massage and trigger point release therapy. I am convinced that a high percentage of sports related injuries produce, and are even caused by, "trigger points," small knots of chronically overly contracted muscle. These trigger points cause pain on their own, put stress on related ligaments and tendons, and contribute to inflammation and negative hormonal balances. Trigger point release therapy combined with self massage is almost miraculous in dealing with what were heretofore believed to be irreparable "injuries." Do a little research on trigger points and pick up a few of the tools that help with self treatment. It's truly one of the best investments you'll ever make as an athlete.
Four simple rules. Apply them with consistency over a period of months and years and you too will be able to see your recovery abilities actually improve with age.
I can't tell you how often I hear folks at the gym say that they have cut back on either the intensity or frequency of their workouts because they just don't recover as well as they did when they were younger. This mantra is also in incessantly repeated by pundits in the bodybuilding magazines and forums, as well. Some of the folks saying this are as young as their early 30s. Really, you're not recovering as well as you did when you were younger, and you're what, 32?
Well, I'm 55 and I can honestly say that I recover better from my workouts now than I did when I was in my 20s. I can work longer, harder, and more frequently and I'm still getting stronger, bigger, and leaner. I'll admit, I am the exception, but, at the same time, I don't think I'm some freak of nature either. In fact, I believe that the ability to recover can actually get better for most people as they age, if they get smarter, and follow a few simple rules.
Rule 1. Get smart about what you eat and when you eat it. Balanced macronutrient intake, focusing on lean protein, healthy fats, and abundant vegetable intake is key. Focus on pre and post workout meals and make sure you adjust overall carb intake so that it is commensurate with your daily workload. As the fitness guru Vince Giranda used to say, " There's no such thing as over training, only under eating."
Rule 2. Get your shut eye. A goodly portion of recovery is accomplished while sleeping, when your hormones are most conducive to rebuildIng tissue. Skip sleep, don't recover. It's as simple as that.
Rule 3. Make sure your workload increases are small. The 10% rule from the running community is a good one. Once you're working at an advanced level, weekly, monthly, annual workloads should not exceed the past increment by more than 10%. The numbers don't work out exactly and this specific number may be a bit conservative, but it's a very good "rule of thumb." When you keep increasing, slowly, incrementally, long-term, you'll soon be at a point where you are able to handle and be responding well to incredible intensity and huge workloads. To a degree, the principle of compound interest applies here.
Rule 4. Use deep tissue massage and trigger point release therapy. I am convinced that a high percentage of sports related injuries produce, and are even caused by, "trigger points," small knots of chronically overly contracted muscle. These trigger points cause pain on their own, put stress on related ligaments and tendons, and contribute to inflammation and negative hormonal balances. Trigger point release therapy combined with self massage is almost miraculous in dealing with what were heretofore believed to be irreparable "injuries." Do a little research on trigger points and pick up a few of the tools that help with self treatment. It's truly one of the best investments you'll ever make as an athlete.
Four simple rules. Apply them with consistency over a period of months and years and you too will be able to see your recovery abilities actually improve with age.
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