To get in shape, you need to work out as much as possible. But how do you attack Wednesday’s training session when you can barely move from Monday’s?

The answer is recovery.

Professional athletes push their bodies to the limit week in and week out over the course of a long season. Teams spare no expense to ensure their players are rested and rejuvenated, but not all of us have Mark Cuban footing the bill. Here’s how to recover like a pro without needing the seven-figure contract.

The first step is developing a consistent recovery routine. Recovery work is cumulative meaning the benefits build up over time. Here’s an example of a daily recovery routine that maximizes your time and money.

BEGIN YOUR DAY

Wake up with a contrast shower. Start with a warm flow for five to 10 minutes to dilate blood vessels, then alternate one-minute intervals of hot and cold. Do six to eight intervals of hot and cold (three to four of each temperature) finishing with cold water. This extreme temperature contrast aids blood flow by shuttling the byproducts of energy production away from the muscles while supplying oxygen and nutrients to speed recovery.

After your contrast shower, drink a morning shake made of nutrient dense greens powder and a high quality whey protein. The antioxidant rich greens powder neutralizes cellular free radical damage, a byproduct of hard training. The amino acids from whey protein rebuild damaged muscle tissue.

Pick a cold processed whey protein from grassfed cows. It’s a little more expensive, but you get far more value for your dollar in nutrients per-serving. Whey from grass-fed cows is richest in immunosupportive nutrients, antioxidants and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), particularly leucine, which has been shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis even in times of food restriction and prolonged physical hardship. Cold processed whey is the exclusive source of glutamylcysteine, the most bioactive form of cysteine, which gets destroyed by heating from cooking or processing. Glutamylcysteine is important because it’s converted into glutathione, your body’s most powerful antioxidant enzyme. Cysteine has also been shown to do the following:

• Decrease body fat percentage while increasing muscle mass;
• Increase muscle endurance;
• Decrease risk of oxidative damage to your muscle’s mitochondria.

BEFORE YOUR WORKOUT

You probably don’t have a massage therapist on staff like most pro athletes. Instead, get in the habit of dedicating at least 10 minutes to self-myofascial release (SMR). This improves tissue quality by releasing tension in the fascia covering the muscle tissue. SMR prepares your tissue to be effectively lengthened through stretching and other forms of mobility work. Mobility work done without properly releasing tension is a waste of time because it doesn’t create lasting change.

After SMR, spend another 10 minutes lengthening muscle tissue and creating space in the joints to improve range of motion (ROM) and overall movement quality.

This pre workout routine causes more efficient movement for less wear and tear on your body, particularly your joints. Achy and inflamed joints are indicative of dysfunctional movement patterns that can usually be corrected with regular SMR followed by mobility work.

AFTER YOUR WORKOUT

Spend another 10-minutes on SMR and drink the same morning shake 20-30 minutes post-workout to stop protein muscle breakdown and stimulate the recovery process. Wait 20 minutes so as not to stunt the release of growth hormone (GH) your body experiences as a result of intense resistance or explosive training. This rule doesn’t apply for endurance training.

Adding coconut or MCT oil will help absorb the fat-soluble vitamins from the shake mixture. Taking fish oil loaded with omega 3’s post-workout has been shown to improve protein synthesis. It also has anti-inflammatory properties to calm exercise-induced inflammation in the tissue and joints.

NBA players like Kobe Bryant regularly do an ice bath submersion at halftime to freshen their legs for the second half. Ice baths are one of the most effective ways to stimulate recovery and stop inflammation. It takes a little getting used to, but when you experience how fresh your muscles feel afterward, you’ll be hooked. All you need is a tub, a couple bags of ice and enough courage for a five to 10 minute soak.

BEFORE BED

End your day with another contrast shower (end with hot water this time) to relax you.

The final piece of the recovery puzzle is sleep. If getting more sleep isn’t an option, implement these no-cost strategies to improve the quality of the hours you currently sleep.

• Go to bed earlier, even if it means you have to wake up earlier. Hours before midnight count as 1.5 hours as far as your body is concerned.
• Make your room cool, quiet and as dark as possible.
• Move any electronic devices out of your room or as far away from your head as possible. The electromagnetic waves interfere with your brain waves and keep you from falling into a truly deep sleep.
• Never go to sleep angry. This is good relationship and recovery advice.

Professional sports teams spend millions of dollars on hyperbaric chambers massage therapists and the most advanced recovery technologies. But you don’t have to spend like a “baller” to feel like a million bucks. Give these recovery techniques a try and you’ll be amazed how great you feel and perform.

References
http://www.f3hydropool.com/pdf/ReviewAthleteRecoveryHotVCold.pdf
Unlocking Your Muscle Gene: Trigger the Biological Mechanisms That Transform Your Body and Extend Your Life by Ori Hofmekler North Atlantic Books; 1 edition (October 4, 2011)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509161106.htm