7 Active Recovery Ideas for Your Busy Schedule

November 11, 2013 12:46 am / Posted in , ,

Active recovery is one of the most important personal fitness habits you can develop. It helps to keep you strong and limber for your workout days and, more importantly, makes it easier to keep in the habit of regular exercise. This last point is particularly important because exercise habits are developed over time, and so a commitment to everyday active recovery is key to long term exercise success.

But how do you find the time for active recovery? And what type of activities should you do?  Well, let me help you with that…

7 Active Recovery Ideas

1. Moblity Exercises

I start every one of my personal training sessions with mobility exercises: side-bends, forward stretches, horse stance uppercuts, and so on. These normally involve around 5 to 15 minutes of exercise. For clients who haven’t exercised in a long time mobility exercises actually form the bulk of the fitness program. They also happen to make for excellent active recovery!

Spend 10 minutes of your day going through very basic, low intensity exercises. Not only will these help keep you limber and strong for your next big workout, but mobility exercises will also help keep you compliant with your overall fitness and nutrition program!

2. Go for a Walk

Don’t feel like parking yourself in front of a mirror for 10 minutes? Then put on your shoes and go outside. Finding time for a brief walk can be a great form of active recovery. Whether you’re going to do groceries, picking up a tea at the nearby coffee shop, or simply wandering around your neighbourhood, walking is a great way to stretch the legs and get the blood flowing.

Walking counts as light cardiovascular exercise, which means it helps condition your lungs and improve circulation throughout your body. I recommend walking for 20 to 30 minutes every day regardless of whether you worked out that day (depending on your fitness level).

3. Yard Work

Looking to be more purposed in your active recovery? Then maybe you should step into the garden. Whether you’re weeding your garden, raking leaves, or shoveling snow, yard work can help condition your muscles while also helping you accomplish useful tasks around the house.

Taking the time to do these tasks yourself can do wonders for your overall fitness, as well as the condition of your home.

4. Active Play

Chores got you down? How about lightening the mood by chasing your toddler around the house? Not a parent? How about taking your dog to a park? If you don’t own a pet, or aren’t a parent, you can always ask a friend to meet you to toss a Frisbee around. The key is to make sure you’re not getting too competitive and exposing yourself to injury. This is active recovery after all – not the olympics!

5. Tai Chi

I’ve got to say – Tai Chi is one of my favourite forms of active recovery. It’s low impact and really helps focus the mind (I talk about meditation in another article). Tai Chi is all about the details and slowing down – about the grace and the harmony of every movement. It forces you to concentrate on the smallest elements of every gesture, while almost guaranteeing that you won’t get injured.

6. Light Bike Ride

Riding a bike can be a great way to get your active recovery in as well. Whether you’re using your bike to get to work or simply for fun, a light ride can help you take in nature while also getting a great cardiovascular workout in as well. While I wouldn’t recommend going all-out on active recovery days, a lightly paced bike ride can be a great way to stay limber and get around town.

 7. Get Outside

Unless you’re sitting around the campfire, almost anything you do outside is going to count as active recovery: walking, jogging, chopping wood, going for a swim – the list goes on. I don’t know about you, but the very fact of being outside pushes me to move, which is exactly what active recovery is all about.

Final Thoughts on Active Recovery

Active recovery not only helps to keep you in the habit of regular exercise, it also enhances your recovery between exercise sessions better than complete rest alone. This helps you feel stronger for your next workout, while also keeping you compliant with your program. And compliance means results!

Be sure that the type, duration, and intensity of the activity you choose promotes recovery and does not take away from your strength, energy and function in regularly scheduled training sessions.

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