Active Recovery

How are you actively recovering during or from your training session?

Active Recovery can loosely be interpreted as exercises/drills/activities that are performed (with lower intensities & volume) at the end of high intense training sessions or on an “off-day”.  Activities such as biking, yoga, hiking, walking, stretching, or even "playing" (not competing in) a game are just a few of the more common types of Active Recovery that have been noted. However, there are no hard written rules that say AR exercises can’t be integrated as actual exercises within the main portion of the training session…more specifically immediately following your Primary Exercises. Here are my random thoughts about Active Recovery and what you should be doing:

       1. The AR eliminates and/or minimizes any idle time.

       2. The AR allows for more total work to be performed & integrated into a training session        without compromise

      3. The AR exercise can be performed while allowing for recovery from the Primary Exercise

      4. The AR provides an opportunity for functional exercises to be integrated into more traditional training programs

      5. The exercises (Functional) performed as part of an AR are capable of being implemented without interfering with or exhausting the Primary Muscle Group.

      6. AR exercises ought to be performed from functional, ground based standing positions that trains the opposing muscle group or a movement opposite of the Primary Lift.

      7. Core work, upper/lower body mobility, prehab/rehab work, etc  make great AR exercise options that be can also be seamlessly integrated along side the Primary Exercises.

      8. The AR exercise typically is lighter in terms of intensity and volume. In other words it should not be fatiguing…

HOWEVER,  I don’t follow the notion that the AR exercise can never be challenging.

      9.    As a client/athlete increases the strength of their neural system so should the intensity of their 

             AR exercises

    10.    Depending on one’s specific training goal, multiple AR exercises/drills can be added after the 

             Primary Exercise.

FOR EXAMPLE:

A. Hypertrophy (suggested rest period 30-90 seconds) - you want minimal rest/recovery time away from your primary lift; but don't simply do nothing...include 1 AR drill. One that is fairly quick and simple to perform that allows client to get right back to the primary lift to make those hypertrophic gains.

Primary Exercise: Traditional Flat Bench Press (8-15 reps)
Active Recovery: Standing 1-arm cable row (15 reps)


B. Strength (suggested rest period 2 to 5 minutes)- Since the weights lifted during the primary exercise are heavier, more rest is required in order for the muscles used during the primary lift to recover as completely as possible. Again, the rest period is not idle rest; and because the rest is longer more AR can be performed. Two AR drills is ideal here.

Primary Exercise: Traditional Flat Bench Press (4-6 reps)
Active Recovery: Standing 1-arm cable row (15 reps)
Active Recovery: Lateral lunge (15 reps)

-OR-

Primary Exercise: Traditional Bent-over 1-arm row (4-6 reps)
Active Recovery: Standing 1-arm cable press (15 reps)
Active Recovery: 1-leg bodyweight squat (15 reps)


All in all, AR should not be overlooked or simply thought of as some kind of recovery implemented on so-called "off" days. With proper exercise selection and implementation, Active Recovery can maximize training benefits that would otherwise not be achieved if all you did was sit down and did nothing during your "rest".

Your RECOVERY needs to be ACTIVE

Out train the game.