Keep it Moving

I’ve run a lot of ultramarathons. Over the past 7 years of running these long distances, I've learned that the most important factor in my recovery is to keep moving. The more I move, the better I continue to feel in the hours and days post race. And while you might not have an ultramarathon on your mind, we can distill important lessons from these extreme events to help our everyday life.

Whether you've just raced, you're sore from your first workout in 10 years or your legs are beat up from a tough hike, it pays to keep moving in the following days to aid in recovery. The simplest way to get moving is go for a walk, but sometimes doing a ‘recovery’ focused workout can be exactly what the body needs.

Here are 4 examples of a recovery workout:

1.

3-5 rounds

Bike 1000m or row 500m @ easy pace

10 lateral squats

10 plank to downward dog

2.

3-5 rounds

Bike 60 seconds

10 goblet squats @ light weight

10 ring rows

3.

Bike 30 minutes @ all day pace

4.

3 rounds

10 bw squats

5/s reaching SLDL

10 plank shoulder taps

5/s cross behind reverse lunge

5.

Sled drags for 10-15 minutes

Start slow, listen to your body, and remember, the goal is to feel better than when you started. Moving around when your body is sore and beat up will support your recovery despite seeming counterintuitive. Contracting the muscles will help your blood flow and pump the junk of out of your system. Motion is lotion, keep it moving when you’re feeling banged up.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain