We're always on the go. In today's fast paced world, where everyone is striving to achieve their day to day tasks, it's easy to overlook the importance of recovery days, especially for those of us who have fitness routines. Sometimes we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday and we simpley forget or just dont have the time to recover. However incorporating regular recovery days into your fitness routine is crucial for not only our physical health, but our mental and emotional health as well.
Why do we need active recovery days in our fitness routine? Some examples include:
1 Muscle repair and growth
2. Reduce muscle soreness
3. Injury prevention
4. Performance improvement
5. Energy restoration
6. Mental well being
It is crucial to add recovery and rest days to your routine so we can live our healthiest lives. Team IBX wants to help our members achieve more "me time" by creating recovery classes and member exclusive classes. Let's recap our latest member event led by Coach Evee and Coach Megan!
On Sunday Aug 20, Coaches Evee and Megan came together to provide members a 25 minute vinyasa flow and 25 minutes of foam rolling recovery class! We focused on bringing awareness to any tension that was being held in the body and worked to relieve this tension.
We began class with 25 minutes of gentle stretching and vinyasa flows to move the body and focus in our breath. By gently moving our bodies and bringing our attention to our breath, we were able to tap into the parasympathetic nervous system to help the body relax. From here, we could tap in further on where we were holding any tension and work towards releasing this tension.
Benefits of Yoga Flows
Tapping Into the Parasympathetic Nervous System
Yoga can be classified as active recovery, where you are still moving your body but at a slower pace. This allows us to slow down and breathe deeper, allowing our parasympathetic nervous system to more deeply relax our bodies.
Yoga Promotes Blood Flow, Which Aids in Muscle Recovery
This makes it easier for the body to get nutrients to muscle cells. These nutrients can be used to better repair muscle damage.
Yoga Increases Body Awareness During the Recovery Process
Part of effective recovery is knowing what your body needs and when. Yoga assists with this by increasing body awareness. You become more in tune with your body.
The second half of class was focused on 25 minutes of foam rolling. Foam rolling can be classified as more passive recovery with massaging technique. This allowed us to reach deeper tissues and muscles that yoga couldn't reach. Once we realized where we were holding tension, we could focus on that point and massage the area to feel a wonderful release.
Benefits to Foam Rolling
Myofascial Release
This is done by relaxing contracted muscles, improving blood and lymphatic circulation, and stimulating the stretch reflex in muscles. This helps release tightness and pain throughout your myofascial tissues.
Releases the body from pain
Foam rolling releases muscle knots, relieves inflammation, and improves overall comfort.
Helps Aid in Better Posture and Range of Motion
It can also increase your range of motion, flexibility, and mobility while boosting circulation and lymphatic flow.
Recovery and rest days are imperative to our health and fitness journeys. These days provide our bodies with the necessary time to repair, rebuild, and grow. These days help us prevent injuries, restore our energy, and live overall healthier lives!
Are you looking to add more recovery days to your routine? join IBX fitness on our next exclusive recovery class! Join here: https://www.ibxfitness.com/trial
