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You’re never going to have time… and guess what? You don’t need it. 

May 25, 2021

 

On paper we can do all the things. In reality, not so much. So how do you fit in recovery on a regular basis without sacrificing your sanity? What follows are my top three time hacks for consistent recovery so that we can set aside the excuses and find a way to make it work. 

  1. Build it into your warmup

    I’m only a broken record on this, because it works. Look, in my house we have three crazy children who know how to interrupt a workout like no other. So when I wake up in the morning I have no idea how long I actually have to myself. Sooooooo I make sure my warmup has components of dynamic stretching, core and glute activation and a gentle build up.

    In this way I prep my body for strength training and I spend time setting myself up for the best outcome. Now, if my workout gets cut short or interrupted, I know that I’ve already done a good amount of self-care at the start. And no matter what the workout is, I do pretty much the same full body routine - 15 mins of cardio to break a sweat and the following.. (6) goblet squat pries (glutes, core, hips) and (12) weight deadbugs (abs, shoulder opening) for three total rounds. Works like a charm.

    I don’t have to think about it and it gets me warm and ready to go. It also means that I’m less susceptible to injury and the need for an in depth post workout recovery. So if I make it to the end and the crazies are still asleep, I don’t have to commit as much time to the recovery stretch as before. 

 

  1. Make it Short

    How do you save time? You use less of it. Well damn that was easy.

    Now, is it more effective to luxuriate over an hour of stretching and breathing? Hmmmm probably. Is it necessary? Hmmmm not so much. On average, my post workout recovery session is anywhere from 5-15 minutes. I get in, I get out.

    Because you’re coming straight off of a workout, you should be nice and warm. This means there’s a lot of blood circulating throughout the body, which means easier recovery (blood cells = nourishment). So by default, you don’t need as much time as if you were stretching cold.

    If you’re still wondering what this looks like, I’ve posted a FREE 7-day yoga challenge that has 15 minute flows that you can do on the daily post workout. That link is below and you can check that out at any time. Our Monthly Series also has 15 minute homework flows sent out each week in addition to an hour-long LIVE class. These shorter flows are designed to show you that recovery doesn’t have to take forever. Short burst done consistently over time have impact. A little goes a long way… especially when you’re already warmed up. 

 

  1. Plan to start earlier

    This seems pretty obvious, but not alway intuitive. We tend to think of recovery as this extra thing we do and therefore we don’t budget time for it. If you know that it’s only going to be 5-15 minutes, then start earlier so that you can fit it in.

    When we talk about transformation, we talk about becoming a better version of ourselves. What changes would the more successful version of yourself do? Would they leave the excuse behind? Would they wake up 15 minutes earlier to fit in their recovery? Start thinking about the person you’re becoming and then match their behavior.

    When I budget time for my workouts, I mentally run through everything that I want to do and guesstimate how much time that would be. This includes the cool down and recovery.

    There’s nothing worse than finishing a great workout and finding yourself stiff and sore the next hour. This is called doing the bare minimum, and I know you can do better than that. So put it in your calendar and mark out a few extra minutes to recover. We both know it doesn’t have to take a long time, it just has to happen.

    Let me know what some of your time hacks are and what resonated the most with you. Thanks for reading. I hope to see you on the mat soon!

    Until the next time,

    A-

 

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