03 Nov Recovery; don’t get caught up with the trend. It’s a lifestyle.
Let’s take a major step back to acknowledge something that should be taken into consideration with this so called “Recovery” business. When you break it down, the most overlooked and under-achieved aspect of performance boils down to one thing. Respecting how your body was designed to function. The definition of Recovery says it all. According to google, Recovery is a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. As the general public becomes more aware of what the sports performance world has known for ages, it is important to be pointed in the right direction on what will be best for you and your family on your journey to increase performance. We must remember that pushing our bodies until we throw up, or pushing through the pain, are outdated mentalities and cause long term damage to body and mind. This does not mean we should not push ourselves through a hard workout, but rather gain better body awareness as to how far is too far, for us personally, because “every body” is different. We must also get rid of the western mentality to only turn to recovery or injury prevention once something is already damaged. For example, when we receive the symptom of thirst, this actually means we are already dehydrated. So chugging a bunch of water will do nothing more than start hydrating us for the following days. 80% of recovery happens off of the sports field, or out of the gym. The first thing we have to take into consideration is our daily lifestyle habits, that attribute to how well our body is recovering.
The Younger the Better.
As a massage therapist, specializing in sports performance for over 7 years, a common question that is asked, is how old do you have to be to start receiving treatment? My answer is the younger the better. The earlier you teach your children this mentality to take care of their precious bodies, the more prepared their bodies and minds will be for a career in sports, and just a life well lived. Too many of my clients are suffering from old sports injuries that were not properly rehabbed or treated, as they were told to “rub some dirt in it.” We now see in our time people are turning to more of a holistic approach to medicine. This takes time and effort to put into play, but will soon be the dominating method for not only sports medicine, but general health care for the 21st century. Parents must understand that their lifestyle habits will in turn become their children’s habits. If you expect your child to be “healthy,” you must be following the same pattern. Taking a new approach to healthier lifestyle habits can be a fun challenge for the whole family.
Where do I begin?
Before you got spending hundreds of dollars on supplements, packages for sports massage or chiropractic visits, be sure to take note of some tips that will save you both time and money. In this series we will be breaking down recovery and injury prevention into the different lifestyle and training habits that should be done on a daily basis. Whether you are an athlete, CEO, or an occasional gym-goer, all humans will benefit from from “Recovery”, to increase your body’s ability to return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.
– Chelsea Taylor, CMT