Saying "no" to more of anything is not something that our culture has a strong track record of doing. Supersize the meal? Sure! Make the workouts harder? Of course! Go faster? Yes! But there is one area that for most of our clients oftentimes say "no" to even if they have the best of intentions: Recovery!
Recovery can mean many different things for many different people, but with fitness and health I would narrow it down to a big three of what you can do to help: Sleep/Stress/Stretch (in that order!)
Being able to add more recovery time into your daily and weekly routine is no easy task, but one that often gets skipped because we are all busy with life. It's also more common and comfortable to be in favor of doing activities like working out or going for a walk vs stretching or finding way to reduce stress. But how does someone add more recovery to a busy schedule? Here is the number one thing you need to know to get started.
Trying to add more time to sleep, lower stress, or stretch will most likely mean neglecting something else you may need to or want to do. It's a mindset that this will now be more important than some of those other responsibilities that can be difficult to overcome. And it's going to, and okay to, feel selfish to do that at the beginning.
Of course, some situations or scenarios are unavoidable. But don't let one short-term challenge or situation lead into a long-term habit! Start with sleep, even 15 more minutes. Don't go for perfection, some nights may be much more difficult. At times life gets in the way. Think about what you might be able to say no to so you can say yes to recovery. It doesn't have to happen all at once. But being selfish for yourself will allow you to be even more ready for anything else you need to take on each day.
Clients come to PT in the D to help them move better and feel better, and it's more and more evident the low hanging fruit to do that is recovery. Maybe it's being on the other side of 40 or just listening to 15ish years of client experiences looking for a more complicated answer or solution. If your body is sore, joints are achy, feel tired, can't focus, have no energy, muscles feel tight, then it's time to start to say "yes" to recovery. Being selfish and taking time for yourself will not come easy, but the answer to moving better and feeling better is there. We just have to take the leap and do it!
