What is Active Recovery?
Imagine you have just finished a workout. Your legs are like jelly, your lungs are burning and you just want to collapse on the couch. But instead, you pick yourself up and go for a brisk walk. While this might seem counterintuitive, doing some light activity after an intense workout – known as “active recovery” – has been suggested to reduce soreness and speed up recovery after exercise.
What is Active Recovery?
Active recovery simply describes doing some low-intensity physical activity after a strenuous bout of exercise. This is commonly achieved through low-intensity cardio, such as walking or cycling, but can also consist of low-intensity stretching, or even bodyweight exercises such as squats and lunges. The key thing is making sure the intensity is light or moderate, without moving into the “vigorous” range.
What Does Active Recovery Do?
Active recovery helps speed up the removal of waste products such as lactate and hydrogen, after exercise. These waste products are moved from the muscles into the blood, before being broken down and used for energy, or simply excreted. This is thought to be one of the ways it promotes recovery.
Is Active Recovery Effective?
There is some evidence to suggest that active recovery is effective, but it is not without its limitations. While some research suggests it can reduce muscle soreness and improve performance, other studies have found no significant effects. It is also possible that the benefits of active recovery are trivial to small, and may not always be considered “significant” in the scientific literature.
When is Active Recovery Useful?
Active recovery appears useful if you need to perform multiple bouts of exercise within a short time frame. For example, if you were in a tournament and had 10–20 minutes between games, then a quick active recovery would be better than doing nothing. Active recovery might also be a useful strategy if you have to perform exercise again within 24 hours after intense activity.
How to Get the Most Out of Active Recovery?
The good news is you don’t have to do a lot of active recovery to see a benefit. A systematic review looking at the effectiveness of active recovery across 26 studies found 6–10 minutes of exercise was the sweet spot when it came to enhancing recovery. Interestingly, the intensity of exercise didn’t seem to matter. If it was within this time frame, it had a positive effect.
Conclusion
Active recovery is a low-intensity activity performed after exercise to speed up recovery and reduce soreness. While there is some evidence to suggest it is effective, it is not without its limitations. The benefits of active recovery are likely to be small to trivial, and may not always be considered “significant” in the scientific literature. However, it is a low-risk and potentially beneficial strategy that can be used by athletes and individuals looking to improve their recovery and performance.
FAQs
Q: What is active recovery?
A: Active recovery is a low-intensity physical activity performed after exercise to speed up recovery and reduce soreness.
Q: What forms can active recovery take?
A: Active recovery can take many forms, including low-intensity cardio, stretching, or bodyweight exercises.
Q: Is active recovery effective?
A: There is some evidence to suggest that active recovery is effective, but it is not without its limitations.
Q: When is active recovery useful?
A: Active recovery is useful if you need to perform multiple bouts of exercise within a short time frame, or if you have to perform exercise again within 24 hours after intense activity.
