Lack of muscle growth for many individuals is sore subject.  They train hard with great intensity but just don’t seem to be able to make they gains they’re looking for.  So what’s the missing link?  In a word, RECOVERY.

Unfortunately a lot of folks do a lot of things right but completely over look the importance of recovery work.  If your body cannot recover from one training session to the next, its growth potential will be severely limited.

I like to either squat or deadlift twice per week. If I don’t put in the work to recover and take care of my body that second day of squatting or deadlifting is a waste of time.  Sure, I can push through soreness to get the lift in but if I cannot attack the lift and that training session turns into a maintenance workout, which is not what I’m looking for.  My ability to recover makes all the difference.

Before you think, “I don’t have time to do extra recovery work in the gym”, most recovery work can done away from the gym without taking up tons of your time.  Below are a few recovery musts to ensure you continue to grow.

Food

We’ve all seen the EAS commercials with NFL quarterback Brady Quinn telling us not to waste our workout!  I know he’s hocking EAS products but the message of the commercial is dead on.  Your muscles need nutrients to grow and the easiest way to refuel your muscles after a tough training session is to eat within 60 minutes of your workout.  Your post workout meal helps to refuel your muscle’s glycogen stores.  Not only does this help with muscle recovery but prevents your body from using your muscle as fuel, promoting fat metabolism.  The bottom line is your muscles need fuel to grow and recover and if they don’t get enough, you simply won’t grow.

Too bad he's not as good at quarterbacking as he is at training!

The Warm Up

I’m not a huge fan of stretching before you train. Your muscles are too cold and too tight to start pulling on them.  Instead, I prefer movement based dynamic warm up.  Movements such as walking toe touches, walking lunges, pushups, squats, and band pull aparts are my favorites.  A movement based warm up will get your muscles warm and get your CNS firing.  This is especially helpful if you’re still sore from the previous workout.  I also like to use this on off days when my muscles are particularly sore.  This will force blood into the sore muscles aiding in recovery without further exhausting them.

Soft Tissue Work

This might be the most neglected aspect of recovery.  The easiest way to stimulate the soft tissue and to message the muscle is to use a foam roller, tennis or lacrosse ball, or message stick.  Foam rolling helps to message the muscle, forcing blood into it, thus aiding in recovery.  This is not the most pleasant experience in the world as I have been reduced to high pitched shrieks when using these methods.  But trust me, you’ll feel like a million bucks afterward. Get rolling immediately after your workout.  This type of soft tissue work will help reduce scar tissue build up, which over time can lead to muscles becoming extremely tight and achy.  Foam rollers and message stick are wonderful but if you have a particular knot, my favorite is a lacrosse or tennis ball because you can really hone in on one spot.  You can use the balls just like a roller or stick but they’re particularly helpful for those hard to reach areas of the back.  Simply place the ball between you and a wall and start moving about.  When you get to a tight spot keep the pressure for 15-30 seconds before moving on.

These three simple methods which can be done any place at any time are key to your body’s ability to grow.  A few months back I made a concerted effort to be more consistent with my recovery work.  As a result, I’ve recovered better than I ever have after and between particularly intense training sessions and made steady gains in strength and lean mass.  I know it’s  a cliche but I wish I would’ve know back then what I now know about the importance of recovery.