Entry 4: lets talk rest

 Hey guys

Following on from last week's post where I talked about some of the ways I stay "motivated", I thought it would be a good time to chat about one of my key tools - rest.  

I know this probably sounds simple and obvious right? 

Well, not really. Rest is often the most neglected aspect of a training routine. Not only have I seen this in others but it's something I've definitely done before in the past and I felt the consequences hard. 

And rest is not as simple as just taking a day off from the gym or exercise. No. One thing I have learned during my time in this industry is that rest and recovery are multi-factorial and an optimal recovery process is not a passive one. 

So I'm going to touch on a few really common things that I see people doing which isn't helpful for their body's recovery. 

1. Training every day 

This is a common one. And I want to clarify that being active every day isn't a bad thing but the problem is if you are training every day, AKA, doing your normal gym workout routine or split every day without a rest day. 

For 99% of the population, this isn't sustainable and actually puts you further away from whatever your goal is. Unless it is to burn yourself out or get injured, which I really hope none of you want. 

But that is the reality of what will likely happen if you don't give your body adequate time to recover and repair. 

Exercise, regardless of what it is, puts stress on the body and can cause micro damage to different body tissues. And this is a completely normal and essential part of becoming stronger and fitter. Because when you rest and recover properly, your muscles and nervous system have time to repair and rebuild better than before. 

But that is the key. Your body needs proper rest to be able to come back stronger. 

2. Not getting enough sleep 

Again, this probably sounds super simple and obvious right? But again, both things are massively neglected but I think this comes more from a place of underestimating the importance of them. 

So getting nerdy here, there is actually a lot of research showing how not getting enough sleep can wipe years off your life... I don't say that to scare anyone or be dramatic but more just to highlight how important sleep is, not only for recovery but for survival. 

Carrying on with the research, the average adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep each night but this is without considering how active some people are. 

If you are exercising regularly (say 4+ times a week), you are probably looking at 8 hours a night at least to ensure your muscles and body have sufficient time to recover. 

In New Zealand, the mean number of hours of sleep adults get each night is 7.5 hours. This sounds good, and to be fair it's not bad, but we need to keep in mind that there will be plenty of people who are falling below this amount. And as discussed, 8 is the minimum for the recovering body. 

This also doesn't take into account the fact that these people may be getting 7.5 hour of sleep but whats the quality like? 

In the last year, I personally started investing in my sleep and actually doing the things they recommend to help improve sleep quality and I would say this was one of the big contributing factors to such a successful year of training. 

The things I tried included not watching screens right before bed - I'm an avid podcast listener as I'm going to sleep and would 10/10 recommend. Or not exercising or eating right before bed. Both of these things can delay getting sleep and seriously hinder your sleep quality as well. 

The screens one can be a particularly tricky one in this day and age but I honestly love my nighttime routine now that I am really focusing on myself and doing that good old "self-care". 

So perhaps part of your new year routine can include getting in at least 8 hours of good quality sleep each night so that you are getting the most out of your training and just life in general. 

3. Not getting enough food (particularly protein) 

I considered lumping this in with the point about sleep but feel like it's quite important to chat itself, especially when considering the lack of protein people eat. 

So first, getting enough food in general. This is a topic I want to cover later in more depth because it's quite a complicated topic and I understand it's not simple for a lot of people for many different reasons. 

But the biggest message here is that you simply need enough energy to support whatever activities you're doing in your day-to-day life. 

So for example, if I expend 2000 calories in a day, I need to eat 2000 calories to support that. 

If I ate less and did that for an extended period of time, I would lose weight because I'm putting out more than I'm putting in. Likewise, if I ate over that number, I would gain weight because I'm consuming more than I'm expending, and this is actually how you muscle mass and get that 'toned' look but more on that another time. 

Of course, it's not as simple as just eating enough calories because what food sources you're consuming also impacts recovery but I'm not going to dive into that yet. 

But I do want to quickly talk about protein. 

For the love of god people, PLEASE eat enough protein. 

This is crucial, not even for superactive people or those wanting to gain muscle mass but for literally everyone. To put it simply, protein is the building block of the body. She's pretty important. 

Generally, you will see it is recommended to consume 0.75g of protein per kg of body weight each day but that is to prevent a deficiency. 

I'm not a nutritionist by any means so please take what I say with a grain of salt but from the courses I've taken, the research I've done and my own personal experience, you want to aim for about 1.7g of protein per kg of lean body weight minimum to support muscle growth and general health. 

I have recently started studying towards my sports nutritionist qualification and we talk about protein a lot - protein is potentially considered the most important macro. And yes I mentioned before that 1.7g per kg of lean body weight is the minimum (the range you'll find on the internet is normally 1.7-2.2g) but through the course, I've been learning that for true genuine muscle growth, you can even go up to 3gs. Now that is probably the highest you would ever go and everyones body is different and reacts differently so this is by no means fact or what you should be doing - its simply what I've learned recently. 

We can get more specific and more nerdy at a later date when we chat about muscle development in depth so don't worry, we'll get there. 

4. Thinking that rest and recovery is passive

I have fallen into this before myself and it makes sense. When you think of rest, you probably think of sitting on the couch and watching a movie or something. And that definitely has its place in the rest and recovery world but it doesn't stop there. 

When I say it's not a passive process, I mean that there are many different tools and techniques we can employ to enhance our recovery process and help our body repair itself. 

I actually like to frame it as active recovery and almost turn it into a form of self-care. I find it really nurturing knowing that I'm doing things to take care of my body and optimise the benefits from whatever workout I've done. I'm not working out for no reason right? I wanna get out of it what I'm trying to get out of it so that means being intentional in my recovery as well. 

So when we think of the things we can do to actively partake in the recovery process, sleep and food are obviously some of our big players but there are some others out there.

One of my favourites is walking. Yup, billy basic walking is great for active recovery. 

When we go for a walk, we're doing a number of things; increasing blood flow to worked muscles, flushing lactic acid from the body tissues and preventing the stiffness that can come after exercise. 

We can also try out hot and cold therapies - ice baths, saunas, spas, and steam rooms. Now there is a lot of conflicting evidence out there about these therapies and exactly how they impact the body but one of the biggest benefits is how they can enhance your sleep quality. And as we've already discussed, sleep is a big one.

They can also increase our blood flow and metabolic rate which can help flush things like lactic acid out faster. 

If you're interested in these types of therapies, I recommend doing a little bit of your own research or drop me a line if you wanna chat about it. 

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So wrapping this up, I hope that now you might have a better idea of the recovery process and maybe even feel inspired to try out some of the suggestions we chatted about. 

I do want to take a minute and acknowledge that a lot of this stuff isn't feasible for people, whether it be accessibility or time restraints, because let's be real, everyday life is busy as heck and just getting to the gym for an hour can be a stretch for a lot of people. 

Having said that I do think the food, sleep and walking are super realistic options. There may be an adjustment period where you're getting on your feet and figuring out a routine that works for you and meals that fit your needs but it is a process that is so worth it. 

And if you can, try to frame it like a new self-care routine. Because that's what it is at the end of the day - by prioritising your body and your health, you're undertaking the purest form of self-care. And doing this can make it feel easier and more worthwhile. 

So get out there, give it a go and love yourself guys! Would love to hear about anyone's experience trying this stuff out or your own recovery techniques. 

- Alex