The following five factors will play a fundamental role in speeding up your recovery after training

1. The time factor

One of the primary aspects of recovering from training is the time aspect. While the time can be measured either in hours or days in between consecutive workouts, the recovery time is also measured through training cycle periods.

The ultimate aim of the recovery is to help get normal in order to resume the subsequent training session. Thus, you ideally need to know the best amount of time needed to completely recover. You should also consider aspects such as your nervous system, trained muscles, hormonal system and immunity levels.

If you train at high intensity levels your recovery times between sessions will be more. If you are training at lower intensities then you can continue the next workout sooner. Thus the frequency of training sessions should depend on the training intensity and amount of workouts in every session.

The subsequent step is to provide sufficient time margin between consecutive training cycles. There are two kinds of recovery namely full week and half week duration recoveries.

What this entails is extremely light relaxation sessions and less strenuous aerobic workouts. This is to be continued through the time of recovery between training sessions. Your body is bound to benefit tremendously by approaching recovery times in a strategic manner.

After every period of 12 weeks, you should leave a recovery gap of a complete week. This is irrespective of the conditioning levels. Thus, if you have a training workout schedule lasting 12 weeks, make sure to take half the week off after 3-week intervals. Thus after a period of 3 weeks and a half, you need to leave a gap of 4 days before you start the next session lasting 3 weeks. If your training intensity is higher, your body will benefit more from recovery times.

If you do not follow these suggestions for recovery, your body will suffer from a plateau phase, plenty of injury and excessive training. If you are a trainee of the average category, that is, trained fewer than four years, you should not continue training for 6 or 9 weeks at a stretch. If you fall into the category of an advanced trainee then your training should not go for 12 weeks at a stretch.

2. Nutrition aspect

This is a very significant aspect but sadly most persons are not sure of what the right foods are to eat. Recovery times should be complemented with proper nutrition. Good nutritious food helps our bodies recover and provides all the essential vitamins needed. If you wish to achieve fat loss objectives then nutrition is also crucial. If you do not follow a proper plan for optimal nutrition then no matter how many gym hours you invest it will not show results!

3. Supplements

The doubt of whether supplements have a place in training depends on your mental makeup and the kind of supplements you are ingesting. This subject needs a dedicated chapter because it is a very important topic. The best way to take supplements and achieve real results is by pre-planning them towards niche phases of training. You also need to prioritize these supplements as per your individual goals of training. You must avoid using artificial supplements during the initial 4 weeks into training. You can really achieve great results if you eat good wholesome food, train in the right manner and make sure to get proper recovery times. Sleep is another vital aspect.

4. Sleep

Muscles grow optimally when you are asleep. However, you also need to know the optimal timeframe for sleeping to get the best body changes as well as expedite recovery. You also need to know how to fit in the mandatory 8 hour sleep schedule into hectic lifestyles, working late, caring for kids, watching TV and a whole lot more! Procrastinating should be avoided and time management skills are critical but you need to get down to just doing things right.

The primary reason sleep is so critical for muscle development is because our growth hormones in the body peak when we sleep. As soon as we sleep, this hormone peaks within 30 or 45 minutes. If you have started training on a serious basis, you need to get 8 hours of sleep. However, this depends from one person to another and many people can easily get by with just 6 hours of sleep.

There is a technique to help you discover your individual sleep requirement. Try to sleep without using the alarm clock for a period of 3 days, splitting it for 2 days during the week and one day during the weekend. Check to see how long you sleep before you naturally become awake. Take the estimate average across three days and you get the amount of sleep required every night.

There is a popular notion that each hour slept prior to midnight is the same as two hours sleep. Thus, sleeping at 10 at night and waking up at 6 in the morning makes you feel like you slept for 10 hours!

Power naps are also said to help tremendously. If you were to take a quick nap of 20 minutes during the day you can be as fresh as you slept for 2 hours! If you have had a disturbed sleep the previous night, such power naps can really help. The best period for muscle recovery is during sleep and this happens in between your training sessions. When the body has not received enough sleep, the Leptin hormone is released, which causes a feeling of fullness inside the body. This triggers you to consume more carbohydrates, which causes fat gain. Using ZMA or B-6 supplements can help with sleep problems. Warm milk helps in sleeping well.

5. Stress management

Stress is a big hindrance when it comes to recovery in between training sessions. Various triggers for stress include finances, relationships, studies, job environment, travel, social environment etc. If these aspects are causing stress your training schedules are bound to be affected as well. Stress inhibits the body’s natural ability to defend against sickness.

The above five should help you recover better and faster!