Hey friend,
This is an excerpt from my weekly newsletter Insights In Progress. Head on over to my SUBSTACK to read the full newsletter and subscribe!
Big Rocks For Recovery
The goal of hypertrophy training is to build muscle. I honestly think people lose sight of this when they start talking about recovery.
They just want to feel better and no longer be sore. They choose to focus their recovery efforts on cold plunges, excessive foam rolling, acupuncture, massage, and other recovery modalities that will have little-to-no impact. Maybe even a negative impact. They lose sight of the goal at hand.
Remember that your goal is not to recover. Your goal is to build muscle. Recovery is an important component of that process, don’t get me wrong. But your recovery should help to facilitate adaptation.
Focus on the big rocks for recovery when it comes to hypertrophy training.
Sleep – if you’re not sleeping well, you’re not prioritizing your goals, period.
Nutrition – make sure you’re getting adequate calories and protein for your body composition goals. Make sure you’re hydrating well and use an electrolyte supplement if you think you’ll benefit from it.
Training Fatigue – if you’re pushing yourself beyond your recoverable limits when it comes to volume and intensity in the gym, there’s no magical recovery intervention that you can do to get yourself there.
Stress Management – If you can’t manage your life stress, you’re probably putting yourself at a disadvantage hormonally and chemically for recovery from your training.
Pick up the big rocks before you even consider reaching for the tiny pebbles.