Spring is the best time to be living in New York City, without a doubt, and you might even be one of those early morning/weekend warriors eagerly getting back to your routine in Central Park now that it's warming up. Next time you're logging miles around the reservoir, take a look at the folks sitting lazily in the grass or taking a slow jaunt through the park and consider that they might be doing the best thing for their personal training routine-- taking a rest day.
We've already talked about the benefits of recovery in your training plan but here's a step-by-step guide on how to maximize your rest day with the help of your personal trainer/physical therapist to guide you.
Recovery tools for muscle relaxation, repair, and recovery:
- Acupuncture is a great way to release tension and to soothe aching, tight muscles. If you have knots and pain you haven't been able to ease with other methods, it might be time to give this a try.
- Icing is such a common approach to recovery that it might not even be on your radar as a recovery option anymore. However, couple icing with a good rest day and you'll be fighting inflammation and even increasing muscle recovery and repair.
- Yoga, especially a restorative practice, couples both long periods of stretching with deep breathing, which brings greater levels of relaxation to both your aching bod and your mind.
Your step-by-step weekend recovery plan:
- Sleep in! Go ahead and hit the snooze button. Don't worry about fighting through the crowds in Central Park for at least one day.
- Wake up and do a little meditation. If you're not the type to give into meditation, don't knock it til you try it. Here are 10 reasons athletes should meditate to back me up.
- Make your way over to Sloane Stecker Physical Therapy and rotate in these weekly recovery treats:
- Week One: Acupuncture
- Week Two: Icing
- Week Three: Private yoga
- Grab a coffee from our front room and just relax in one of our massive treatment rooms and take in the view.
- Spend an evening relaxing away from the chaos of the city if you can, it'll help drive home all the recovery "work" you've put in to avoid crowds. Consider taking a relaxing stroll through Riverside Park- just remember to keep the pace under a brisk walk and stop to smell the daisies now and again.
Don't underestimate the massive benefits of recovery in your personal training plan. If you think the day outlined above sounds like heaven, then let's just say heaven is at your fingertips and this could be your day every Saturday. (Or Sun/Mon/Tues...you get the point.) Best of all, you won't have to kill your rejuvenating vibe by running from an acupuncturist to a yoga class to a serene treatment room overlooking the UWS. We're a one stop shop and have all of these amazing perks under one roof.