Module 1c: Fuel and Recovery

Your training will only be as effective as your recovery.

In the last module we talked about fuel and recovery from the perspective of mitigating damage or at least staggering and spreading out how we “spend” our recovery points. The folks at Opex reminded me of two important things (here):

• Training is optional, lifestyle is not; and

• Training creates the need for adaptation, lifestyle allows it.

In other words, it’s very important to your gym or sports success what you spend the other 22 hours of the day doing. Regarding the first bullet point, recall the hierarchy of needs we discussed in Module 1a and the critical exercise mass we discussed in Module 1b.

Photo by Madie Hamilton on Unsplash

Training and playing are privileges – that I hope everyone can enjoy. Similarly, training implies focus, movement, and exertion towards a specific goal. A lifestyle that incorporates all of the pillars of health (Module 1a) is what gives us the tools to appropriately build systems that can support our sport or goal-oriented development.

In this module, instead of looking at recovery as the strategic placement of intense training, or the outright avoidance of it, let’s look at lifestyle factors that we can proactively take action towards in improving our ability to recover.

The graphic above isn’t necessarily drawn to scale, but it’s a powerful message all the same. It’s not that cryo-chambers and vibration plates, or supplements for that matter, don’t work. It’s that they’re the frosting on the cake. By focusing on internal decor first, you’ve missed the sunken foundation, leaky roof, and busted pipes in your house.

Even temperature exposure has its limitations. Partly, there is a logistical barrier to gaining access to saunas, pools, hot tubs, and cold plunges. Secondly, it’s easy to think of these things as magical, when in reality they’re additional stressors. Various temperature or environmental hormetics tend to be exercise mimetics.

They’re less stressful on our tissue than active training, but the catch is that our nervous system doesn’t know the difference. Stimulation is stress. Period. The point, however, isn’t to avoid it, but to learn to harness it, dose it, and dance with it.

By contrast, we all need to eat, sleep, and drink. It is in our great benefit to do those things well.