to stay on top of life, and The Big Picture. ACTIVE RECOVERY
When I talk about recovery, I don’ t want you lying around like a sloth eating Cheetos and drinking beer. Recovery is all about engaging in things to support your body in recovering. Sleep is a good start.
Unfortunately we have become a society that respects the notion of“ working through the pain.” The only problem is that we’ ve taken it too far. There is a difference between pushing yourself during a workout and feeling the“ burn,” and pushing yourself when you have an injury. You must take time to heal if you are injured. Take it from me as I’ ve had my share of pileups over the years, but I have always given my body time to heal.
Here are some other ways you can help your body recover after a hard workout, or if you have injury:
Foam Rolling: As you know if you’ ve done my P90X2 workout, I’ m a huge fan of foam rolling. In fact, I incorporate it into my routine almost daily. It helps my muscles loosen, and makes me less prone to muscle stains and pulls.
Massage: Getting a massage is a great way to support the body in its own natural healing process.
Light Stretching or yoga: If you’ ve done a hardcore workout and feel sore, the best thing to do is stretch those tight muscles. Not doing anything will make them worse because the lactic acid will just continue to build up and create more tightness and pain.
Supplements: Some supplements are great to help the body repair and rebuild. Beachbody’ s recovery drink is awesome to mix up right after a workout to give the muscles the glycogen they need. Magnesium is also great for helping the muscles relax and to relieve cramping.
Epsom Salt Bath: Taking a bath in Epsom salts will help your stiff muscles soften and melt. The magnesium and sulfate is absorbed directly into the skin helping the muscles to relax and your nervous system will be soothed as well, so there are numerous benefits to doing this.
Engaging in any of these suggestions above will help you really rock your workouts and have a body that works with you, instead of against you, as well as reducing the risk for injury.
Taking time to recover doesn’ t mean you get to take an extended time-out. If anything, injuries can accelerate your level of training, because it will force you to get creative and figure out how to continue exercising the parts of your body that aren’ t injured. I always say, if the top is hurt, work the bottom and vice-versa.
The final piece to living a life of balance is to be sure you allow time to relax. Life will present us with challenges, and knowing how to relax in those moments will be key in your optimal health and wellbeing.
When the cosmic pitcher of life throws us a curve ball, the best course of action is to take a swing and then walk about, having learned a lesson. You can panic and freak out all you want, but time will still pass and life will still happen, whether you stress out about it or not. We can’ t choose whether or not we’ ll be thrown the curveball, that’ s out of our control, but we can choose how we respond to it.
Acute relaxation is the key to managing those curveballs. It’ s the ability to calmly and rationally assess a troublesome situation as it unfolds – at that very instant when you want to scream, cry or both. It’ s when you choose patience and curiosity over stress or defeat. Here’ s the math:
Problem + Patience + Curiosity = Solution
Patience means not freaking out or reacting emotionally. Curiosity means asking the right questions to help you find solutions. Has fear, worry and anxiety ever truly solved a problem? No! Have they ever made a problem worse? Absolutely! They just divert the energy you need to be using to find a solution. They are emotional kerosene on your smoldering challenge.
Here is a great action plan for when you find yourself tangled up in a situation:
1. Stop what you are doing. Honestly, just STOP what you’ re doing.
2. Take a few deep breaths to help clear your mind and calm your nervous system.
3. Once you’ re calm, reassess the situation. Think about it objectively and rationally, not emotionally or personally. This isn’ t about you; it’ s an external issue that you need to solve.
4. Consider the solutions and write them down. Ask yourself not just how you can solve the issue in the moment, but how each solution will pan out in the long run, in terms of the bigger picture.
5. If you find the solution, good work. If not, go back to # 1.
Keep in mind that some solutions take a little while to work. Not all issues are resolved in 30 minutes or less( that usually only happens on television). However, knowing that you are on the way to a resolution is half the battle.
So, now that you have your plan for how to Rest, Recover and Relax, you can get out there and rock your life. You deserve it. Give yourself the gift of these 3 R’ s and feel your life change for the better.
To learn more about Tony Horton and to purchase his book The Big Picture, visit www. tonyhortonlife. com.
Tony Horton is the wildly popular creator of the best selling fitness series: P90X ®, P90X2 ®, P90X3 ®, and Ten Minute Trainer ®, and most recently his 22-Minute military inspired workout, 22 Minute Hard Corps ®.
In The Big Picture, Tony shares stories of the hard-won battles he’ s faced— many of the same life challenges experienced by his fans— from childhood bullies and problems at school, to financial troubles and being overweight. Enlightening and practical, The Big Picture can help you how to slim down, feel good, and live better.
2017 SUMMER 23