Why recovery is important to achieving your training goals

You don't get results from your workouts; you get results by recovering from yourworkouts. You must give your body a day off each week in order to improve performance and prevent injury or overtraining. Spend today relaxing and eating healthy food. Take a hot bath or Jacuzzi and spend some time stretching and foam rolling (see below)

Recovery Tip

A foam roller is a long foam cylinder that trainers and physical therapists often use to help their clients improve flexibility and recover from workouts. Simply rolling sore or tight muscles over the dense foam helps to break up scar tissue, improve blood flow, and increase range of motion. Use the foam roller (if your gym doesn't have one, you can order one at optp.com) as often as you like, but it's especially good before and after workouts. Be sure to spend extra time rolling out very tight areas, which are typically the hips, hamstrings, and calves. Try rolling each muscle group 50 times back and forth.

Go for a Stretch
If you can't make it through the day without your physical fix, go for a stretch. Work on these stretches regularly to keep your muscles conditioned for activity. Hold each for 30 seconds, and repeat for two or three set on both arms/legs.

• Hip Flexor. Kneel on the floor in a lunge position but with your back knee on the floor. Push your hips forward so you feel a stretch in the muscles in the front of your back leg. To increase the stretch, raise the arm that's on the same side as the back leg overhead.


• Chest Stretch. Stand in a doorway and place one arm at a 90-degree angle against the door frame (the meat of your forearm presses against the frame). Lean forward to stretch the muscles across your chest and the front of your shoulder.