#7: Don’t Sleep on Recovery

When people scratch their heads thinking about why they can’t grow muscle as easily as they’d hope, rarely recovery comes to mind.
Think of a trinity: there’s no diet and exercise without resting.

The reason is how dominant diet and especially exercise are the health & fitness space, so naturally people would skip the arguably most important aspect, convincing themselves they should just eat more or working out harder.

But why is recovery so important? Well, as surprising as this might sound, growth doesn’t occur during a workout.
As we train, we send a signal to our body and the related hypertrophic response only occurs after, when we eat and especially rest.
An intense workout (not only in terms of heavy weight but also cardiovascular output) is only one half of it, as when our body is put under a greater stress than in can handle the only choice is to either to grow or improve the cardiovascular capacity.
But in order to that our body needs fuel and needs to recover according to the intensity of the workout.

There’s however an argument to be made about Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and how deeply they affect recovery speed. This might explain why in the elite circles, at the top of the bodybuilding game, recovery is not mentioned too often as it will open the door to an uncomfortable conversation about steroids and their ability to allow prolonged sessions and enhance the resting period.

Natural athletes might often feel frustrated by how volatile progresses are and how that single aspect slows down the achievement of their goal, but it’s a necessary part of any routine and should never take the backseat.
It’s not a coincidence that all the top names in the industry are those who have the most relaxed lifestyle, keeping stress to a minimum and organising their daily schedule into a rigid scheme to limit the effect of unexpected events.

Bodybuilding, just like Powerlifting and CrossFit, is a completely immersive lifestyle that needs to be dialled down correctly to prevent certain aspects to take control of our lives. Living around the clock, having to constantly cook your own food and take it with you to avoid skipping meals, not to mention being consistent with your gym’s visit while the rest of your life is happening can be an exhausting endeavour so it’s no surprise this is not for everyone.
In a way, for people looking for ways to organise their lives in a strict way or looking for a drastic change that would allowed more control on their diet and exercise habits this type of life might be what you’ve been looking for the whole time.
Knowing when to train, eat and rest might be too predictable and understandable so but for whoever stuck with the industry it’s a saving grace: not having to worry about what to cook for dinner, knowing when you’re free or not based on your scheduled workouts and knowing when it’s time to wrap it up because you need your “beauty sleep” can avoid so many headaches and give a solid structure to your life.
In a way, it’s a model resembling boarding schools or even the army, where rigid rules are in place and they have been for as long as they’ve existed to ensure the level of success they strive for and, in a way, to control the quality of the students or cadets produced.

To go back to the main focus of this article, a healthy sleeping routine could be the key missing from your routine, it’s the secret ingredient that might finally bring together your diet plan and exercise programme.
When a plateau is reached and no more progress seem to occur, a change is needed but to monitor the correct effect of that change the other variable must stay fixed. So, when diet is on track and workouts are heavy and regular, a good nap or longer sleeping patterns might be all is needed for a boost to the metabolism, unlocking more progress and overall improved energy levels and mood.
To maximise sleep it’s worth mentioning the negative effect of excessive screen time as smartphones keep our mind alert and block the signals that our body sends to say that it’s time to go to sleep. Progressively dimming the lights in the room is a slow but effective way to put your mind and body in the right zone, ensuring a correct signalling of the next step. A comfy mattress and an appropriate temperature in the room also help regularising sleep.
A pre-bed routine like a calming herbal infusion or skincare routine can have their place and are definitely healthy habits that promote better rest.
 
It’s not about adopting all of these habits and forcing them into your routine if they don’t fit, it’s more about finding what works for you and being consistent with it as we can all be healthy in different ways.

These days a lot of fitness influencers, including elite athletes, are talking more frequently about the importance of resting after a workout, which will hopefully shine a light on this neglected aspect of any health and fitness journey.