Recovery Archives - 12 Minute Athlete

When To Take an Unplanned Rest Day (And When To Work Out Anyway)

If you want to get the best possible results from your workouts, you need to work out consistently.

And sure, it may be easy to skip a workout if you just don’t feel like it (or you’re too busy, too tired, etc.)… but if these types of excuses become a habit, you’re going to have a hard time actually accomplishing any of your health and fitness goals.

Yet although being consistent is crucial, rest and recovery are just as important as working out—and working out when you actually should be resting may actually set you back.

It’s important to learn how to recognize the difference between being lazy and having an actual reason to take a day off. In other words, there are excuses—and there are valid reasons for giving your body rest.

Trouble Sleeping? You Might Not Be Eating Enough

Did you know that what—and how much—you eat can have a huge impact on how well you sleep?

Well, it does. And more than you think.

Because while you might never have thought about how your nutrition may affect your sleep, it has a bigger impact than most of us realize.

While society may constantly push the idea that eating less is better (and that we should constantly try to lose weight), sometimes eating more is the right answer—not only for your athletic performance, but also for your quality of sleep.

How to Bounce Back Faster from Your Workouts With Self-Massage

Hey athletes! I was asked to participate in the #NotGonnaStop campaign, sponsored by HoMedics®. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.

Although going to the spa for a massage is great every so often, most of us don’t have the time (and just can’t afford) a full massage once or twice a week.

That’s where self-massage can make a huge impact. You can get many of the same benefits as you would with a professional massage by simply spending 10-15 minutes every night rolling out the sore muscles on your body.

Doing so can help you bounce back from your workouts quicker, help reduce the possibility of injury, as well as keep your muscles flexible and knot-free. And that means you can keep being unstoppable and going after all those awesome fitness goals you’ve been working so hard towards.

In partnership with HoMedics®, here are some of my favorite self-massage tools to help you get back to your workouts faster:

How to Recover Faster From Your Workouts

Although it’s often worn as a badge of honor by some in the fitness community, being so sore you can barely pick up your fork or walk up the stairs the next day isn’t really that awesome.

Slower recovery means you have to give your body extra rest, which for those of us who consider ourselves athletes and actually enjoy moving our bodies and working on our fitness goals, is simply no fun.

That’s why in recent years I’ve tried to do everything I could to ensure my body recovers as quickly as possible from my workouts, so I’m never forced to take a day off when I don’t want to.

Here are five of the most important strategies I’ve found help me recover faster from my workouts, brought to you by KILL CLIFF:

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 6: Chest, Arms, and Shoulders

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Throughout the flexibility challenge, we’ll be focusing on one or two muscle groups each week. We’ll talk about why these areas of your body get tight in the first place, why you should be working on loosening them up, and also show you some of the best stretches that help you to increase your flexibility and get bendy.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 6, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out the previous weeks: Week 1: stretching hamstrings and calves, Week 2: quadriceps and hips, Week 3: lower back, Week 4: upper back and shoulders, and Week 5: abs and obliques.

How to Finally Achieve a Front Split

I have never considered myself to be a flexible person.

I very clearly remember back in sixth grade when taking the Presidential Fitness Test absolutely failing the v-sit and reach portion—there was no way I was going to touch my toes. Back then, I blamed it on long limbs, but the truth was that I just had very poor flexibility.

So when I first got interested in bodyweight training and gymnastics, the flexibility required to do several of the movements I wanted to do was undoubtedly daunting. I had never worked on my flexibility very much, only doing a very half-ass stretching session post-workout a few times a week.

Yet I figured there was no way I’d ever be able to do a front split—I just wasn’t a flexible person.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 5: Abs and Obliques

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 5, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out the previous weeks: Week 1: stretching hamstrings and calves, Week 2: quadriceps and hips, Week 3: lower back, and Week 4: upper back and shoulders.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 4: Upper Back & Shoulders

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 4, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out Week 1 where we talked about stretching hamstrings and calves, Week 2, where we focused on quadriceps and hips, and Week 3, where we paid special attention to lower back.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 3: Lower Back

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 3, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out Week 1 where we talked about stretching hamstrings and calves and Week 2 where we focused on quadriceps and hips.

Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge – Week 2: Hips & Quads

At the beginning of July, we started a brand new 12 Minute Athlete Get Bendy 6-Week Flexibility Challenge.

If you missed the introduction post where we talked about the importance of flexibility and how to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine, make sure to check it out here.

Do these stretches any time after your workout. To warm up before your workout, use dynamic movements like the ones here and here.

We’re about to start Week 2, but if you’re joining us just now, don’t forget to check out Week 1 where we talked about stretching hamstrings and calves.