Coach Rozy’s 10 Favorite Recovery Tips
COACH ROZY’S 10 FAVORITE RECOVERY TIPS
To improve, it’s not always about your training! Yes how hard you go, how fast you move, what you do during a training session is important – but a HUGE KEY TO SUCCESS is what you do for RECOVERY AFTER the session is over. Here are Coach Rozy’s top 10 Favorite Recovery Tips that can help you to ELEVATE 2 GREAT!
1. Cycle Your Workouts
You can’t always go hard. It’s a recipe for injury, regression and pain, which can lead to overtraining, sickness and just wearing yourself down mentally as well as physically. Split up your routine to avoid working the same body parts on consecutive days. You can add different exercises, modalities and training tools.
2. Take 2 Days a Week for Active Recovery
I like to have two active recovery days a week. This doesn’t mean stay home and sit on the couch eating chocolate bon-bon’s! Do low-intensity activities like walking, yoga, meditation and stretching. These will encourage rest, regeneration and recovery, without further muscle breakdown and energy expenditure.
3. Take Time Off Each Week
This is the day to be a couch potato! Take one day off from all exercise per week – I usually use Sunday as my “off day”. During those rest days, be sure you’re eating right and fueling up on fluids for maximal recovery.
4. Foam Roll Pre-Workout
I really believe in foam rolling. I know some folks question the “ggod” stuff it does – but in my experience, and watching a number of high level performance folks use it – it’s something we use in our Coach Rozy Programs. All it takes is five minutes before your workout to lengthen your fascia and soften hardened tissue. We go “Toes to Nose”, starting at the calves and working up to the chest and lats. This 5 minute commitment will pay major dividends.
5. Stretch Before Bed
Increase your flexibility and mobility with a short stretch sequence before saying hello to your pillow. There’s no better time to lengthen and strengthen than right before bed. Find your areas that you need to loosen and lengthen, it doesn’t have to take a long time. Do 3-4 movements, each for about a minute or so. You’re done in under 10 minutes and it will relax your mind and prep your body for major recovery as you start snoozing.
6. Practice Breathing and Meditation Daily
No to get to “deep here” – but taking time to breath, mediate or clear the mind really helps to quiet the mind, connect with your spirit and tie in the body, mind, spirit process of who we are. That is why I practice breathing each day (I have an app on my phone!) for a few minutes each day. I have buddies that get hung up on the word “meditation.” So call it quiet time with thinking with intention! So whether it’s through prayer, meditation or breathing or combining some of each – take a few minutes minimum a day and see the impact it has.
7. Soft Tissue Work Is a Must
In my perfect world I would get a massage every other day!! For most of us, with both time and money, that isn’t possible. What we can do is get a massage or do self message at least once a month. When it comes to soft tissue work, the more, the merrier! Find a good massage therapist, or invest in a self massage tool to work those working muscles that keep us going.
8. Use Recovery Hacks & Tools
Other elite recovery tools include saunas, ice therapy, hot and cold contrast showers, inversion tables and massage guns/tools. Usually a quick 10-minute session will work wonders of one or more of these modalities a week!
9. Sleep Is Crucial
Did you know your phone has an OFF button? Ditch all your devices one hour before bed; no TV, computer work in bed, phone by the bed (had a good friend tell me, “Rozy – an alarm clock costs $5.00 – go buy one and turn off the phone!), invest in blackout curtains, find the right room temperature for you, read, listen to music that relaxes (30 minutes of Ozzie might be good for a workout – not so much before you are ready to crash!) and practice gratitude journaling for superior slumber. It’s not about the hours. It’s about the quality.
10. Follow Good Nutrition & Supplementation Habits
I take ZMA – Zinc and Magnesium, before bed. I have a multi-vitamin, multi-mineral in the morning with glutamine, protein, fish oil and tumeric. All excellent supplements to expedite recovery and amplify performance.
These are the tips, techniques and “tricks” I practice, preach and have endorsed for years. Invest time in recovery and you’ll feel and perform better than ever!
