Tired and sore…
The first full week of January comes to a close, and many people are likely feeling the effects of a new workout routine or a compounding gloominess from living for several weeks now in the long dark of winter. The light is on its way. Evening is beginning closer to 5 PM and morning light peeks in around 7:30, but the dark times are still greater than the light ones and will be for a while longer. I took a walk yesterday evening at 4:30 PM and was delighted that the remaining embers of the day lasted for 20 minutes or so before the street lamps blinked on. Nevertheless, I feel the pull of hibernation-mode serenading me to sleep longer, take naps, and go to bed early. Though I haven’t yet shifted gears dramatically on my workout routine, I have incorporated some new exercises that have brought on soreness in particular areas.
Between the winter call to rest and muscle soreness from exercise, attention to renewal and recovery is advisable at this time of year. I’ve learned many techniques for recovery, though I sure I haven’t learned them all. It’s an area for which it took me some time to develop an appreciation, and I have a friend well versed in this area to take for a fair bit of what I have learned. The rest I have discovered through trial and error and generally attempting to make improvements in my life. Recovery is required to build strength, and, in effect, heal. Life is filled with stressors and accidents. Add to that self-imposed physical stress, like exercise, and you have a recipe for fatigue, burnout, and sometimes failure or giving up. The best way to mitigate these negative effects is to understand that they will occur if left unaddressed and to apply processes and protocols to facilitate recovery.
Renewal…
I like to add the word “renewal” into the mix when thinking about recovery because, to me, it’s more evocative of what’s actually happening in recovery. You’re not just returning to a prior state, you are undergoing a process of renewal to come into a different state. Think about it. When you start a new exercise routine you are looking for a different outcome from where you started. Let’s say you’re building strength. In that case you will be working muscles to a certain point of fatigue and then letting them heal back into a strengthened, perhaps larger, state compared to when you started. This analogy extends to mental processes, emotional processes, and pretty much any other change from one condition to another, including recovery from injury. The brain also needs time to change. If you’re learning something new or deeply changing your mind or feelings about something, it takes energy and time for your brain to physiologically adapt to the changes. Your body renews and your brain renews through recovery.
In this time of change and newness, I would like to offer you some suggestions for renewal and recovery that have benefited me.
Hydration – While obvious, it must be stated that good hydration or attention to hydration is pretty much number one for both performance and recovery. If you, like me, are a poor hydrator try adding in a glass of water or herbal tea to your day. Small steps seem to be the most effective ones.
Protein – Especially for a sore body, attention to the amount of protein you’re intaking can be helpful. When I go through intense periods of physical or mental labor I find that eating high protein low everything else meals helps me sustain energy levels.
Naps – Rest is crucial. Getting enough and good quality sleep at night should be a priority, but it doesn’t always happen. Sleep is where most of the renewal occurs, and if it’s too little or too interrupted it’s effectiveness is reduced and may not even be noticeable. Naps, though, don’t have to be long to be effective. Taking a sweet 10 to 15 minutes can do wonders. Just remember to set an alarm. Sleeping too long during a nap will interfere with good sleep quality. Aim on the side of no more than 20 minutes for naps. And for those who don’t do naps, see the next point.
Non-sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) – Non-sleep Deep Rest, or NSDR, is a scientifically validated method for inducing helpful sleep states without falling asleep. It’s a perfect way for people who don’t nap to get beneficial renewing rest. It’s not uncommon, even for those no-nap folks, to fall briefly asleep during an NSDR session. Don’t worry, it normal, and it’s good. It means you need sleep and the process helped you get into that needed sleep state. People who do nap can also benefit from NSDR, I certainly have. We tend to live our lives in an overstimulated hurry. That’s not exactly what our minds and bodies were designed for. NSDR is a modern solution based on ancient traditions to a modern problem which takes us out of ancient ways of being for which we are adapted. The simplest way to use NSDR is to go on YouTube and search for guided NSDR and enter a time limit. Try out a couple and find what works best for you.
Stretching and Mobility Movements – Stretching can help mind and body through gentle movement that opens up or relieves tension on bones, muscles, tendons, and fascia. It’s good for relaxation prior to rest and it’s good for warming up and loosening the body prior to working out. I have a 5 minute routine I do daily while using my red light therapy panel and it serves me very well. My focus is on hip opening and waking up the glutes, but there are stretches for everything you can imagine! Whether you do a 5 minute routine or a 90 minute routine it’s all good. Mobility is often an overlooked purpose for a movement routine. Mobility exercises can be similar to stretching, but their focus is more on increasing mobility (e.g., rotational range) in different parts of the body. If you feel stiff or limited in certain areas mobility movement patterns might be more beneficial than stretching. Stretching and mobility can be a continually consistent practice, but they can also be used on-demand for differing day-to-day needs. Just go to YouTube and look up “stretches for **fill in the blank**” or “mobility exercises for **fill in the blank**”.
Walking – Walking falls into the category of “active recovery” in the workout world. It’s movement that is gentle, not stressful, and supports recovery from other strength and endurance building exercises. Walking is also meditative and healthy for the mind. Did you know that your eyes are an extension of your brain? They are your brain outside (or at the outer part) of your body. Range of vision and visual intake can have a substantial impact on cognitive function, mood, and other experiences regulated by the brain. Walking gives your brain a kind of break from the other things you do (unless you already walk a lot). It lets your eyes gaze out to further distances or focus in and out from shorter to longer ranges. It’s an understated mode of recovery, but one that’s well worth doing. You could consider a walk your exercise for the day that is also a recovery activity. It’s a two-fer!
Rolling – Have you ever seen those long tube-like colorful foam rollers at the gym or the store and wondered what to do with them? Well, basically, you just roll them under and along parts of your body. Rolling can provide huge relief for a stiff and sore body. I’ve used rolling to relieve muscle tension before bed, and it has really helped me to be able to get to sleep instead of waking up from muscle pain. However, it is not pleasant to roll. I always have to psych myself up to do it. It helps to know that it’s really effective, but, just to be clear, it hurts a little before it gets better. Here’s a guide for anyone new to rolling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9CDXyjjFNI
Hot Baths – As discussed in my post on heat, hot baths are an amazing way to let the tension dissolve. They melt my busy talkative mind into a calm balmy apricot sunset, and it feels so good to get heat all around a sore or tired body.
Heated Blankets – Similar to hot baths, heated blankets are a real treat for sore muscles. They can also support getting good rest because they help relieve muscle tension. Just make sure they time out or get turned off so you don’t fall asleep and wake up from overheating!
Tea – Herbal tea in particular has general relaxing properties, but some kinds of teas can be beneficial for recovery and renewal specifically. The standards, like chamomile, lavender, and peppermint, are great for calm and sleep. Increasingly teas and powdered blends containing adaptogens from plants like ashwagandha and mushrooms such as reishi are available to consume as hot beverages and offer a multitude of recovery benefits.
Mix and match renewal and recovery supports, but you don’t need to use them all. One is often enough, and I always find it best to aim for the one that I’ll do over ones that I think might be good to do. Last night, for me, that was apple, cinnamon, chamomile tea. Tomorrow it will be a long walk in the middle of the day and some light stretching.
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