The benefits of Active Recovery
We all know that recovery is an important piece of the health and fitness pie, and recovery days (also known as rest days) are part of many people's weekly routines - but have you heard about active recovery days?
Active recovery is just as the name suggests, a form of low intensity movement like walking, swimming or yoga, that gives your body a chance to recover from high intensity or strenuous training. In contrast to passive recovery, in which your body is at a complete state of rest (think Netflix and chill), active recovery has a whole host of incredible benefits and can improve your performance including:
Reduce muscular build-up of lactic acid
Increase blood flow and circulation
Helps reduce soreness/stiffness in muscles and joints
Elimination of toxins from the body
Improves range of motion/movement
Helps create long lasting healthy lifestyle habits
So if you’re looking for some inspiration for your next active recovery day, check out one of these ideas below.
Mind/Body Class
Low intensity classes like Yoga, Pilates and Body Balance are perfect for those days when you’re experiencing dreaded DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). The stretching required in this type of movement will help promote blood flow to your muscles, which in turn will help reduce the buildup of the lactic acid that’s responsible for your sore legs.
Swimming
Swimming is a great (and not to mention fun) way to clock some low intensity movement, while taking the pressure off your muscles and joints. Swimming based recovery sessions are popular with many elite athletes as it reduces the impact in your body.
Unleash your inner child
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to undertake traditional forms of exercise to reap the benefits. Active recovery could be a few rounds of 10 pin bowling, a couple of hours of mini golf or even some time in the air at Sky Zone. The good news is, that our friends at Fun Lab are giving all ZAP Fitness members 70% off throughout the month of February..
To access these great offers please visit the below URLs and use the codes associated below to take advantage of these great deals.
www.strikebowling.com.au - CODE - Activebowl
www.holeymoley.com.au - CODE - Activeputt
Skyzone.com.au - CODE - Activejump