How to recover after lifting weights?

First off, let’s talk about why recovery is so important. When you work out, you're essentially stressing your body. This stress is what triggers your muscles to adapt and grow stronger.

However, if you don’t give your body enough time to recover, you're not going to see those gains.

In fact, you might even end up doing more harm than good.

The SRA Curve: Your New Best Friend

To really grasp the importance of recovery, you need to understand the SRA curve—Stress, Recovery, Adaptation. Here’s a quick breakdown:

1. Stress: This is your workout. You’re pushing your muscles, and your performance temporarily drops because you’re fatigued.

2. Recovery: This is where the magic happens. Your body repairs the damage from the workout and starts to get stronger.

3. Adaptation: You come back stronger than before. This is your new baseline for performance.

The key takeaway here is that you shouldn’t be training hard every single day. Your body needs time to recover and adapt to the stress you've put it through.

The Wrong Way to Train

Now, let’s look at what not to do.

Imagine a guy who’s super motivated and decides to train the same body parts every single day.

He doesn’t let his muscles recover, and as a result, he never gets stronger.

He keeps stressing his body without allowing it to adapt, leading to a constant state of fatigue and eventually injury.

We definitely don’t want to be this guy.

Implementing Recovery Protocols

So, how do we make sure we’re taking full advantage of the SRA curve?

Here are some fundamental recovery protocols:

1. Rest Days

• Don’t train the same body part on consecutive days. You need to give your muscles time to recover.

• For example, if you’re doing an upper/lower split:

  • Monday: Upper body

  • Tuesday: Lower body

  • Wednesday: Rest

  • Thursday: Upper body

  • Friday: Lower body

• This schedule gives you two days of rest between your leg days, which is ideal for recovery.

2. Active Recovery

Incorporating light activities on your rest days can significantly enhance your recovery process. Here are some detailed active recovery activities you can include:

• Walking: A leisurely walk can increase blood circulation, which helps to deliver nutrients to your muscles and remove waste products like lactic acid.

• Stretching: Gentle stretching feels nice.

• Yoga: Practicing yoga can improve flexibility, reduce stress, and enhance your overall sense of well-being. Poses like the child's pose, downward dog, and cat-cow stretch can be particularly beneficial.

• Foam Rolling: This can help with improving range of motion and can also feel nice.

• Swimming: Low-impact and full-body, swimming can help loosen up tight muscles without adding strain.

• Cycling: Light cycling can be a great way to increase blood flow to your legs without the high impact of running.

3. Sleep

Sleep is one of the most critical components of workout recovery. Here’s why:

• Growth Hormone Production: Deep sleep stages are when your body releases the most growth hormone, which is essential for muscle repair and growth.

• Muscle Recovery: During sleep, blood flow to the muscles increases, which helps repair and grow tissues.

• Mental Recovery: Your brain also needs rest. Adequate sleep improves cognitive function, mood, and overall mental health, which can affect your performance and motivation in the gym.

• Optimal Sleep Duration: Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Create a sleep-friendly environment by keeping your room cool, dark, and quiet. Establish a regular sleep schedule and avoid caffeine or electronic screens before bed.

4. Nutrition

Proper nutrition is vital for recovery and muscle growth. Here’s what you need to focus on:

• Protein: Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth. Ensure you know what your requirements are. Typically, in a fat loss phase, this would be 2x your Bodyweight in kg and +1.6x if in a muscle building phase.

• Carbohydrates: Carbs replenish your glycogen stores, which are depleted after intense workouts. Include complex carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables in your diet.

• Healthy Fats: Fats are crucial for hormone production and overall health. Incorporate sources of healthy fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil into your meals.

• Hydration: Staying hydrated is key to optimal performance and recovery. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, and consider electrolytes if you’re sweating heavily.

• Micronutrients: Vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium play crucial roles in recovery. Ensure you’re eating a varied diet rich in fruits and vegetables to cover these needs.

• Post-Workout Nutrition: After a workout, aim to consume a meal or snack with a good balance of protein and carbohydrates within 30-60 minutes. This can be a protein shake with a banana, a chicken sandwich on whole grain bread, or Greek yogurt with berries and honey.

The Big Picture

More isn’t always better when it comes to training.

As we’ve seen from the SRA curve, if you train while you’re still recovering, your performance will drop.

Respect your body’s need for rest. If you’ve missed a workout, resist the urge to make up for it by doubling up.

It’s counterproductive and can lead to burnout or injury.