We’ve been travelling a bit over the past several days, so no recipe this week. I thought it might be good to talk about recovery.

This topic came about because of becoming ill after I was working towards increasing my running speed. I knew that week I was becoming ill because my run that Monday was horrible. I was also coughing a lot. Since it was mild, I chose to walk instead of run and continue lifting as usual. It was pretty much forced recovery.

An interesting thing happened when I did that. Not only did I feel better, my weight started to drop. Once things stabilized and I was feeling better, my runs turned back to normal. Since then, I have changed things up a bit. Two weeks at normal running days, then one week with two extra walk days for a fuller recovery. I think that will help me increase my speed without killing my body. Here’s why recovery should be a part of your workout routine:

In a study from Bishop, Jones,& Woods (2009), recovery is one the most important parts of exercise. They looked through the literature and found that recovery varied by type and duration of exercise. Regardless, it all points to recovery and its importance.

How do you decide about how much recovery you need? See how you feel. If you are maintaining, you will need less recovery time than if you are increasing your effort. Consider at least once per week. I have changed my recovery day(s) as my workouts have changed. If you need more, take more. If you are sick, rest as much as you can. However, don’t delete your recovery. It’s necessary.

Finally, what should a recovery day look like? Mine include walking and ab work. Recovery days do not need to be just sitting around. Be active, just don’t stress your body out. Walking is not stressful for me. Keep track of what your body needs. It might just be you stay on your feet more throughout the day instead of exercising. If you are injured, definitely give your body a chance to heal itself.

Remember, include recovery as part of your exercise regimen. Your body will thank you and you will keep making progress.