People always tend to get confused on the recovery process and just how important it can be when it comes to handling stress. Stress is something that is characterized by the deviation of the homeostatic state of an organism. One of the things that can really bring you out of homeostasis is physical activity, mainly because your central and autonomous nervous systems are firing above the normal rate.
Recovery can come in many different ways, while just laying around after a workout is a very popular method recovery can range from active recovery, nutrition, Icing and even just simply working out at a lower intensity for a day or two. If recovery is not taken seriously, and your body is not returned to homeostasis the side effects could include:
Drowsiness
Apathy
Irritability
Fatigue
Anxiety
Confusion
Disturbances in sleep
Clinical depression
Some of the different recovery methods that are used to avoid stress and over working the body are:
Sleep
Eating
Hydrating
Relaxing
Icing
Stretching
Low intensity workout
Massage
These are all things that we as people tend to enjoy the most. Being able to go home and kick our feet up while eating a nice healthy meal after a good workout. And who doesn't love massages?
What are the benefits of recovery
There are many benefits when it comes to recovery. One of the most important ones is that it reduces stress. Resting your body after it had been kicked into over drive is not the easiest thing to do, it is hard to settle your body down after an intense workout. Even thought you might feel like you are all burned out, the neurological side of your body is still firing at a rapid pace. It is your job to speed up that process and help your body reach homeostasis as soon as it can. There are many different things that come on the beneficial side of recovery:
Better mood
More energy
Limited Soreness
Better workouts
Less stress
Homeostasis
Better Results
Why hold yourself back and not recovery adequately? Everybody enjoys sleeping and eating, and both are a huge step in the recovery process! Why put yourself through the process of seeing poor results in your workouts, and being sore all the time? All you have to do is take your recovery seriously and you will see better results and minimize you stress from day one!