Building your dream body: Principle 6 Recovery

Some of the most dedicated athletes injure themselves during a training session because they neglect the one thing the body needs to repair itself; recovery.  Sure, at first everyone looks forward to rest day.  The day that you just lounge around or even may be the day you also have your “Cheat” meal.  However, as training progresses and as the habit of working out slowly filters into your life, rest days become fewer and fewer.  The only problem with this is that when you do not rest the body is more likely to suffer injuries due to overuse or exhaustion.  In addition, the more you train the more sleep your body needs. So, how many days should you rest?  That is determined by your overall activity level, the length of your training season, and most importantly by listening to your body.  Baseball players have an extremely long season in which they train daily and put their bodies through immense physical damage.  This is why they have an offseason to recover, refuel and refocus.  We as fitness enthusiasts may not need an entire season, but we definitely need to take some time off to allow our bodies to recover and our muscles to rebuild after a tough training session or week. There are also many recovery supplements that can help your muscles recover faster and allow your body to be ready for the next day’s workout.  Some of the best recovery supplements include Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s), Creatine, and Glutamine.   Specificity Principle Progression Principle