We've all had the internal debate before at some point: you've been more consistent with your workouts -- maybe you've even added some Extra Programs into your weekly routine, or your hitting the SHIFT workouts regularly for the first time in months -- and it feels great.... until you reach a day where your mind says "go!" but your body says "NO". 

Or perhaps you wrestle with feeling like a "rest" day is being lazy, so a chill Sunday hike usually turns into 5k trail runs for time. Or maybe, because it is 2020 after all, when it's time for fitness your body says "ok!" but your mind says "No way." 

In all of these scenarios, there is much to be said about the value of rest AND recovery. 

What's the difference between REST and RECOVERY? How do YOU recover? Do you wait for the soreness to dictate your rest days, or is recovery part of your daily routine? What's mindful recovery? 

We asked our Street Parking Coaches some of these very questions, so go fill up your water bottle (especially you Palomas and Gallos) and take some time digging into the topic and perhaps getting a few new ideas to incorporate into your coming week...

• REST or RECOVERY?

• IS IT EITHER/OR? 

• COACHES Q&A

• 5 WAYS TO RECOVER BETTER

• ABOUT THE COLD PLUNGE...

• OUR FAVORITE TOOLS FOR YOU

• STRESS RELIEF, ANYONE?!?

REST or RECOVERY?

Many people associate “recovery” with passive activities like sleep and massage. Or perhaps you use the terms “rest” and “recovery” interchangeably. Both are essential parts of a healthy fitness regimen, yet they are quite different. 

Rest is just that, rest. You are taking your body and brain offline for a short period so that when you reboot, you are fresh and better prepared for the next bout of action!  Rest is certainly part of the recovery process but usually when we use the term ‘recovery’, we mean taking specific and intentional action toward the tissue repair and remodeling process. Recovery is an active process, a daily dedication to healthy habits. 

When you’re recovering, you’re providing your body with the nutrients, hydration, blood flow, and TIME it needs to repair itself and prepare for more exertion of any kind.

IS IT EITHER/OR? 

Along with the "How many rest days should I take and when?" questions, we are often asked if rest days should or should not be "active" rest days. We are also asked what is the "right way" to treat a rest day. The answer is "it depends". Regardless of how you choose to spend your rest or recovery days - the GOAL is the same - give your body and mind some downtime in order to be better prepared to push intensity again the next day (or when you return to training.)

For some people this might look like doing NOTHING that resembles fitness. This might mean taking a break from the garage, the gym, and the mental space it takes to "get going" for something physical. These rest days might be used to run some errands and get some things marked off of the to do list to allow you to feel less anxious. It might mean catching up on a movie you've been wanting to check out on Netflix, or spending time doing something fun with your spouse or kids during the time you would normally work out.

You may, instead, choose the "active recovery" route. This might look like going for a hike, a jog, or a swim. It might be an SP Maintenance session, or some general stretching. Whatever "activity" you choose - it's important that the intention and the pace is to help your body RECOVER. 

What we see time and time again is those who never rest often don't see as good of results - and almost never maintain peak intensity levels day in and day out - compared to those who rest regularly. It's important that we remember that exercise is a stressor. And this particular stressor NEEDS breaks in order to rebuild and to be sustained. 

COACHES Q&A

Need some inspiration or new ideas to incorporate into your own routine? Is there a cold plunge in your future...? We asked our Street Parking Coaches what they do for recovery and to share how their recovery habits are part of their full days. 

REMEMBER -- most of our coaches are working parents, with busy schedules and families, so these routines and habits are built into already full days. Just like all things Street Parking, recovery doesn't have to be time-consuming to be effective! 

JEB: These days, I am closely tied to my 10 month old daughter’s schedule. Lately I’ve been waking up before everyone else to do Maintenance in the mornings. During this I usually drink a ton of water too. At night, I have a bedtime routine which includes putting every device except my Kindle on 'Do Not Disturb', a cup of tea, reading, maybe a hot shower or sometimes a little Sleepytime Maintenance. Some version of this happens every day.
 

Waiting until I am super beat up or even worse, have some kind of tweak, to pay attention to recovery doesn’t work as well for me. I have to be proactive and preventative. In addition to Maintenance, I love cold plunges. I fill my bathtub with 50°F water (yes I bought a thermometer to test it) and will sit in there for 2-15 minutes. I take daily walks with my daughter and my dog. This is a great way to get the blood flowing. Walking is perhaps the most natural state for humans. We are not designed to sit or to stand in one place. We are built for walking! I also have an alarm set on my devices that I adjust seasonally to go off just before sun down. After that time, I’m either device-free or wearing my obnoxiously unstylish blue-light blocking glasses! This is great for signaling to my brain that it’s time to wind down and go offline soon. Why? Because, sleep. I do everything I can to get 8 hours. That is not always realistic, so with the time that I do have available to sleep, it better be of the highest quality. 

MAZIE: I’m the early riser, so it’s vital for me to take some time for prayer, Maintenance, and breathing exercises first thing. During this time, I drink tons of water to wake my body and mind up. Throughout the day I drink about 1.5-2 gallons of water. I love green tea as well. I’ll hit the ground running with the daily workouts followed by post-maintenance and fueling my body. I am a homeschool mom, so my son’s schedule stays pretty full that also includes time in the gym and yoga/maintenance. Depending on the day, I take midday horizontal mind breaks: shut the computer off, stay away from the phone, and decompress for about an hour, and my son does the same with me. 

It’s my nature to keep moving, so along with maintenance, our family goes on walks. Practical tools include foam rolling and barbell smashings (my favorites), time spent gardening, and my newest addition the inversion table with heat and massage. 

SEB: I am on a nonconventional schedule since I work night shifts, so I am working out as much as my #parentlife and schedule allows, and placing as much importance on recovery as possible as well. Maintenance, stretching and tissue manipulation are the game changers for me. Not just to maintain and support recovery through my training but also to keep old injuries at bay.

I do 2-3 Maintenance sessions per week and also try to have one good “mashing” session or tissue release session. Foam roller, massage gun, kettle bell, bands, etc. I also emphasize sleep! This is one of the main concepts of recovery that is under emphasized. Get some sleep!

ALEX: In my mind, recovery is fitness. It's when the magic happens, it's the other 23.5 hours of my day that will either bolster or hinder the 30 minutes I spend working out - so it's of the highest priority. It also goes far beyond the physical realm for me. If my mental, emotional, and spiritual health are not taken care of, my performance (and the likelihood of me maintaining workout consistency) is greatly stunted. I recover in these more intangible ways by spending time each morning journaling, reading, and meditating.

Don't get me wrong, I take care of my body physically, too, by getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night, hydrating adequately, and following the SP Nutrition Template. I also schedule two rest days each week and will typically do a long Maintenance session on one of those two days. These habits have been built over the course of eight years and did not come easily but with consistency and perseverance, they are possible and so worth it!

MIRANDA: I typically rest on Sundays and Thursdays. I am not an "on purpose" active rester. I take a lot of walks and play with Knox daily - so there's always that. I try to do some SP Maintenance or stretch pretty much every day too - but other than that - on my rest days I CHILL completely. Thursday used to be date night for Julian and I as well. We would typically go out when we would normally be wrapping up the work out. Oh when you used to be able to go to restaurants and movies....

Whether it's a rest day or just small doses of daily repair and recovery the most important elements for me are stretching and some rolling of areas that I know are my trouble spots (my upper back and neck). Also sleep is huge and checking out to listen to a podcast/book I'm super into or even some mindless TV (hello 'Selling Sunset') helps me kind of re-set. I don't have a lot of time for any of it - but just a few minutes here and there will go a long way.

5 WAYS TO RECOVER BETTER

• Pre- and Post-Workout Mobility: Warm Ups, Maintenance, Foam Rolling, Theragun, Crossover Symmetry (keep reading below!) 

• Active Recovery Days: Maintenance, not for time/not for intensity Bodyweight only workouts, Walking

• Hydration: a good baseline = drinking half of your body weight in fluid ounces of water every day (if this is new to you: start with up to 80 oz for women/100 oz for men) 

• Nutrition: following the SP Nutrition Food Chart, Recipes, green veggies at least once a day

• Mindfulness: journaling, meditating, screen free time, audiobooks/reading

ABOUT THE COLD PLUNGE...

Check out Coach Jeb's "Cold Plunge How To..." tip video (brrrr....) and since it's summer for us here in the U.S., now's a good a time as any to try it out!?!

WANT MORE IDEAS?!? For the entire month of August, Coaches Jeb (@jebstone), Mazie (@coachahmazing), Seb (@seb_felipe) and Alex (@alexandrarobintrahan) will continue to share more of their behind-the-scenes recovery tips over on Instagram! 

You can also tune in this coming week to the newest Jeb in Flow podcast episode on the Street Parking YouTube channel, Apple and Spotify as Jeb dives deeper into the topic of Recovery! 

OUR FAVORITE TOOLS FOR YOU

Here are a few of our tried and true favorite recovery focused or enhancing tools that all SP members can get DISCOUNTS on...

• THERAGUN - After trying several different options, the Theragun Mini quickly became our favorite percussive therapy device around the SPHQ office and garage.

• BUBS COLLAGEN - Collagen is the most abundant structural protein in the human body, making up over a third of the body’s protein content. While humans are perfectly capable of producing endogenous collagen, age and diet can slow the body’s ability to synthesize this vital protein. Exogenous supplementation with BUBS’ Collagen promotes health, vitality and improves recovery and healing from the inside out. Our favorite is to mix 1-2 scoops of BUBS Collagen into morning coffee or smoothies! 

• NOVA 3 LABS - If you are under a lot of stress and potentially not getting enough sleep or if you work a lot, travel a lot, or are a new mom... your adrenal system gets really taxed! The vitamins and minerals in Max Adrenal support that system which is why Miranda and Molly especially love it.

• CROSSOVER SYMMETRY - This system is great for more than just warming up! When you want some purposeful shoulder prehab/rehab, try incorporating sequences with the Crossover Symmetry cords for shoulder strengthening stretches on your active recovery days.  

STRESS RELIEF, ANYONE?!?

QUESTIONS or feedback about your SP membership or need help accessing the Members Only website? Email support@streetparking.com

COACHES are always here to support you, answer questions, even give feedback on movements! Email coaches@streetparking.com

SP MAMAS whether pregnant or postpartum, have resources, tools, modifications, and even private Facebook group! Email mamas@streetparking.com for more information or to connect with Coach Carolina!

NUTRITION support and guidance, as well as opportunity for some one-on-one coaching is available to anyone with a Street Parking membership! Email nutrition@streetparking.com