By Talya Minsberg
The New York Times
Rest is an important piece of any exercise routine, and on some days all your body needs is a long lounge on the couch. But active recovery, which falls somewhere between a full rest day and a workout, can help your body bounce back more quickly.
Research has found that low-impact movement, such as walking or swimming, can be more effective than rest for reducing muscle soreness after exercise. That may be why competitive and elite athletes have long incorporated active recovery into their training, though there’s not enough evidence to say that it improves performance.
If you’re exercising regularly, doing something on a recovery day is often better than doing nothing, said J. Jay Dawes, a professor of applied exercise science at Oklahoma State University, especially if your goal is to reduce soreness between workouts. Light movement like walking can increase blood flow and circulation, and “literally as little as a stroll can be beneficial,” he said.
Here’s how to use active recovery to your advantage, according to exercise scientists and coaches.
Why is active recovery helpful?
When you exercise, your body cycles between periods of stress and repair. Your muscles may be sore or tight after a hard workout, but with proper recovery that short-term soreness gives way to increased fitness.
Recovery days — both active ones and full rest days — allow your body to repair muscles and replenish stores of energy, said Kate Baird, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Active recovery can relieve pain, she said, and promote mobility and range of motion.
For anyone who follows a training schedule or exercises regularly, active recovery days can be mentally beneficial too, said Conrad Goeringer, an Ironman-certified coach who founded Working Triathlete, a coaching service. Continuing to move — however easily — can have a calming effect that a day of inactivity doesn’t always provide.
What counts as active recovery?
The most important thing, Goeringer said, is that active recovery sessions should be really easy. (He repeated and emphasized both “really” and “easy.”)
Low-impact movement — such as walking, yoga or swimming — can all be good options, he said. For experienced runners, very light running can also qualify.
Chantelle Robitaille, who is an exercise physiologist and the director of coaching at Uphill Athlete, said that the key is to focus on “getting your body back into balance,” and to choose activities that are not physically or mentally stressful.
In other words, pick something you enjoy that is easily accessible for you. If getting to your local pool on a recovery day is too much of a hassle, for example, you’re better off opting for a light bike ride or mobility exercises instead of dragging yourself to go swim.
Whatever you choose, don’t go overboard: Robitaille recommends keeping recovery sessions to 45 minutes or less. She said 30 minutes is “the sweet spot.”
When should I schedule active recovery days?
As a general rule, Baird recommends placing an active recovery day after the most intense, high-quality workouts of your week. But it’s also important to take a bigger-picture view: Consider your long-term exercise routine to make sure you are balancing heavier weeks with lighter ones. If you’re coming off a few weeks of more intense exercise, you may need a period of lower-intensity workouts with more active recovery days built in.
“We can’t just look at a workout as a workout for the day and not consider it in the context of your week or your month or your year,” Baird said. “All of these things are cumulative, and that cumulative effect can either promote improvement or it can promote deterioration in your improvement.”
If you opt for active recovery instead of full rest, be careful not to push too hard, Goeringer said. Turning an active recovery day into a workout will only prolong the time it takes for your body to bounce back. Try to make the session “as easy as you can stand,” he said.
“Think of it as more a therapy session,” Goeringer said.
