Here’s why you should allow your body to recover after working out

Fitness Trainer Monadi Nasir talks about the importance of recovery after working out.

Whether you’re lifting heavy or trying to stay fit, allowing your body to recover is key, according to an Ottawa fitness trainer.

Recovery is very important for three reasons, trainer Monadi Nasir told CTV Morning Live Tuesday.

Monadi says it’s important to rest after working out to prevent injury.

“Unfortunately, when we work out too often, we run the risk of overusing and over training those muscles. And that can lead to bad form, bad technique or eventually injury,” she said.

It also helps to improve performance and strength, Monadi notes. Resting and recovering increase energy and strength, allowing the body to function with optimal capacity, she explains.

Recovery also helps to build sustainable progress, she says, pointing out the importance of remaining consistent. She says consistency and recovery work hand in hand to achieve results.

What happens during recovery?

She says while you’re recovering, your muscle fibers repair.

“When we are physically active, and when we work out, we actually create microtears in our muscle fibers. And this puts a lot of strain on our muscles, our joints and our tendons,” she explained.

“And so, when we recover, we’re actually able to repair those muscle fibers, have them heal and grow stronger.”

Your nervous system also gets a chance to adapt to the workouts while recovering.

Over time, she says, resting will help you improve your mental function, such as coordination, balance, focus and alertness. It will also reduce fatigue.

Active recovery

Monadi shares some tips to rest and recover, such as active recovery.

“Active recovery is low-intensity movements that we typically do in between hard workouts,” she said.

This can be done at the gym, at home and through having good food.

At the gym, spending 15-20 minutes at the sauna is recommended, she says.

Stretching, doing yoga and even going for a walk are examples of low-intensity exercises hat can be done at home, she says.

Monadi also recommends eating good carbs, proteins, and drinking lots of water. For good carbs, she suggests eating sweet potatoes, brown rice and oats.