Resting isn’t being lazy. Resting is being wise. The best athletes in the world surely grind harder than anyone else but they also make sure that they recover better than others. This balance between work and rest is part of the secret to their phenomenal success. They know when to push and when to pull back. They listen to their bodies and act accordingly. They employ various muscle recovery techniques such as massage, sleep, good diet, and more. With these strategies, they benefit in the following ways:
Reduce the Risk of Injury
Training without recovering is a recipe for disaster. When you keep pushing your body to its limits, you increase the risk of injury. You will damage your bones and muscles instead of making them better. Injuries will often require downtime which sets back development and causes frustration. With adequate recovery, you give your body a chance to heal itself so that damage does not accumulate. The risk of injury will be reduced while development will continue unhampered.
Avoid Chronic Fatigue
Training to exhaustion may be necessary on some days. However, training to exhaustion every single day is unnecessary and unwise. Every good training plan will incorporate variety into each day. Some might be dedicated to complete rest while others are for active recovery. Only a small percentage of time should be set aside for the hardest workouts. This is to avoid chronic fatigue and make training sustainable. Athletes who want a long career must learn to take good care of themselves.
Improve Performance
There is a tendency among some people to train so hard that they spend all of their energies in the gym. They end up with disappointing results during tournaments because they have nothing left in the tank. With regular muscle recovery, athletes can feel fresher week after week. They can bounce back faster from the heavy training days and go back for more. They will be able to perform at their best when it counts. Their hard work and smart training will be rewarded. They will continue to achieve personal records until their best is at par with the biggest names.
Increase Strength
One of the reasons why people work so hard is that they want to get stronger and fitter faster. This is an admirable plan but they have to be careful in their execution. They have to be realistic with their timelines and give their bodies a chance to recover throughout the training cycle. Stress damages the muscles. Rest lets them heal and grow. You can be stronger only if you let yourself recover.