Active Recovery
An active recovery is light or low-intensity exercise performed after and between workouts. Low-intensity exercises include walking, swimming, yoga and biking. An active recovery is also referred to as a cool-down and cross-training and is thought to reduce muscle fatigue, speed up the breakdown of lactic acid and increase the circulation in your muscles. According to a 2003 University of Vermont Burlington study, a three-minute active recovery between bouts of high-intensity exercise was more effective than rest alone. However, in order to further reduce fatigue and aid in the removal lactic acid -- which builds up in your muscles -- your active recovery may need to be longer than three minutes.
Stretching and Massage
Stretching lengthens your muscles and may increase blood circulation, helping to maintain flexibility and promote healing after exercise. Stretching, however, has not been shown to reduce muscle soreness. Massage may help improve muscle flexibility, increase blood flow, decrease muscle soreness and lactic acid build-up. Although massage is used frequently to help with recovery, the benefits of massage and its ability to reduce your recovery time is still widely debated, according to a 2008 "North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy" article. On the other hand, recovery is not just about physically recovering, it is also about recovering mentally -- and stretching and massage appear to relieve stress and promote relaxation.
Additional Factors
Other contributing factors to your recovery include your sleeping patterns, diet and water intake or hydration. A lack of sleep, fatty diet and dehydration could slow down your recovery and negatively impact your athletic performance. With sleep, it is about quantity and quality. A good rule of thumb is to go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time everyday. Your diet should include a variety of foods while avoiding high amounts of sugar and saturated fats. Lastly, drink at least eight glasses of water daily.
Recovery Time
The duration of your recovery time between workouts varies. With high-intensity workouts, you may need between two and 10 days before you can perform another high-intensity workout. Your symptoms help you determine when you should rest, have an active recovery day, jog or weight lift. If you have mild muscle soreness, one or two days of recovery may alleviate your soreness. Fatigue and extreme soreness may require multiple days of rest and recovery before your symptoms subside. When you do not allow enough recovery time between jogging and weightlifting workouts, you increase your risk of overtraining and sustaining an injury.
