When we’re trying to become stronger or fitter, it’s natural to focus on what we’re doing.
The workout.
The weights we’re lifting.
How far we’re walking.
How many sessions we’ve completed this week.
Whether we’re progressing.
But there’s another part of the process that can be very easy to overlook.
What happens between those sessions matters too.
Exercise gives our body something to respond to. We challenge our muscles, cardiovascular system, coordination and balance, and over time our body adapts to those demands.
But that adaptation doesn’t all happen while we’re exercising. We need to give it time and the right conditions to happen.
Exercise is the stimulus
When we strength train, for example, we’re asking our muscles to do something challenging.
With appropriate training and recovery, the body responds and adapts. Over time, we can become stronger and more capable of meeting that demand.
So if we want to progress, we do need some challenge.
But that doesn’t mean more is always better.
Doing more sessions, adding more weight or continually pushing ourselves harder without allowing enough time to recover isn’t necessarily going to get us where we want to be any faster.
Sometimes progress comes from knowing when to work…. And when to recover.
Recovery doesn’t have to mean doing nothing
When I talk about recovery, I’m not suggesting we all need to spend the day lying on the sofa after every workout.
Recovery can be active – such as:
It might be a walk.
Some mobility work.
A few stretches.
Eating well and drinking enough.
Getting a good night’s sleep.
Having a lighter training day.
Taking some time to breathe and allowing ourselves to come down from the constant doing that can fill our days.
It can also mean recognising when we’re tired and adjusting what we had planned. That isn’t giving up on the plan. It’s responding to what our body is telling us.
Midlife can change the conversation
Recovery isn’t a fixed formula.
What feels right for one person may be completely different for another, and what worked well for us several years ago might not always be what we need now.
Through perimenopause, menopause and beyond, changes to sleep, stress, energy levels and how we feel physically can all influence our experience of exercise and recovery.
Then add in everything else life may be asking of us at the moment.
A workout doesn’t happen in isolation from the rest of our day.
There may be weeks when we feel strong, energetic and ready to challenge ourselves.
And others when maintaining what we’re already doing is enough.
Part of building capacity is learning to recognise both.
Where does massage fit?
Massage can also have a place within that bigger recovery picture. For some people, it’s about easing areas that feel tight or uncomfortable. For others, it’s simply an opportunity to stop.
To lie down.
To breathe.
To not have to be somewhere else or do something for somebody for a while.
Massage doesn’t replace sleep, appropriate exercise, nutrition or medical treatment, and it isn’t a magic shortcut to recovery.
But it can be one of the tools we use to support how we feel physically and to create some space for relaxation and down-regulation. And sometimes that opportunity to switch from doing to being is valuable in itself.
Adaptation happens over time
This is perhaps the less exciting part of building strength and fitness!
There isn’t one workout that suddenly makes us strong.
One walk that transforms our cardiovascular fitness.
One mobility session that changes how our body moves forever.
Our bodies respond to what we do repeatedly over time.
Challenge.
Recover.
Adapt.
Then challenge again.
Some weeks we might progress the weight.
Some weeks we might improve our technique.
Some weeks we maintain.
And occasionally, circumstances mean we take things back a little before building again. All of those can be part of progress.
Give your body the opportunity to respond
So alongside asking:
What am I doing this week?
Perhaps ask:
What am I doing to support my body between those things?
Do I need more sleep?
A little more food or water?
An easier day?
Some movement rather than another hard workout?
Ten minutes without doing anything at all?
Perhaps a massage or something else that helps me slow down?
You don’t need to turn recovery into another task to perfect.
It’s simply about remembering that our bodies need both sides of the equation.
We give them a reason to adapt.
Then we give them the opportunity to do it.
Can I help you with this? If so, lets arrange a free discovery call.
Caroline