How Much Recovery Do You Need? Part 1

Have you ever noticed that it’s easier to understand reps, sets, exercises, and training load than it is to understand recovery? What is recovery? How long should it last? What are the signs that you need more or less?

The truth is, the more experienced you are, the better you have to be at recovering. Very often, we see people new to training in our fitness center repeatedly as they try to make as much progress as possible, missing the fact that wearing your body down slows this progress.

Mental stress means more recovery time

• We’re starting with this one, because people ignore it the most. They leave their mind-muscle out when considering recovery, and as a result, they mentally burn out. They don’t want to come to the fitness center anymore, and they use the energy they should be using to work out to force themselves to show up at all. When you have a lot of troubles on your mind, it affects the energy you put into fitness. If you know you’re very stressed, give yourself a little more space to breathe before hitting the racks again.

The larger the muscle, the more the recovery time

• All of your muscles pull from your pool of energy. Bicep curls drain less than squats do, and it’s because the muscles are different sizes. When you have an intense leg day, give your legs a few days to a week to recover before diving in again. Otherwise, you’re missing out on strength!

Houston Gym is proud to offer our city world-class fitness center services, including personal training, classes, and world-class equipment. Visit us today!

Read Part 2