Do you get the right recovery?

What's an active recovery?

Active recovery is the engagement of low-intensity exercise after completing a heavy workout or athletic event. As paradoxical as it may seem, the best way to recover from a marathon or other sports competition is to exercise at a lower intensity rather than remaining still.

Active recovery can reduce soreness and speed up the muscle-rebuilding process. For example, after five days of solid training, an active recovery session (walking, biking, hiking, swimming, stretching, yoga, etc.) helps your muscle recovery by increasing blood flow without putting a heavy strain on your muscles and joints. Aim for 1-2 days a week of active recovery.

Within our GfM community, the workout routine should be integrated with at least one active recovery day. 

1. Week Example:

- 4 GfM workouts

- 2 runs (cardio activities)

- 1 active recovery day (stretching)

2. Week Example:

- 3 GfM workouts

- 2 runs (cardio activities)

- 2 active recovery (stretching + walk)

The main point is that it takes our bodies longer to recover if we spend the day sitting at the desk or on the couch. Even just 30 mins of low intensity activities could be really beneficial for your active routine.

Stretching weekly session

Stretching should never be painful. Always stretch only to a point of mild discomfort, or tightness. Pain should not be a part of your stretching routine. If you are feeling pain while stretching, you may be stretching too intensely and this could cause injury.

All the GfM memberships include a weekly stretching session. The stretching session is 30 minutes long and it’s a combination of postural gymnastics, Pilates and cool down exercises.  

To underline the importance of taking care of our body and mind in a low intensity way, the stretching session is always the first video uploaded in the weekly link and I now offer two 30 minutes session a week on zoom: Wednesday 6am - 11am [MT]

It’s my daily duty to remind my students to include at least one stretching session a week in their routine. 

I’ve heard that some of the offline members do the stretching session on Monday in preparation for their GfM weekly routine on Tuesday. 

The hybrid members try to fit this session in their own schedule, whatever works for them.

Giorgia's Stretching Experience

I wish I did more stretching when I was an athlete!  It’s probably one of my biggest regrets. 

Only when I was forced to take a long break from Judo did I realize the importance of stretching. It was 2014, and for almost a year I didn’t do judo in order to treat two lower back hernias that really impacted my daily life. 

At that time, I started to do pilates and met a wonderful pilates teacher who gently showed me the importance of stretching, listening to your body, and taking your time. At the beginning of the pandemic, I also joined some postural gymnastic classes that one of my favorite italian PT teaches and felt so good and refreshed. 

I have to be honest, I still prefer working hard, sweating, listening to my heartbeat in my ears, and suffering while exercising, but I admit that stretching is so important. After years, I can finally say that stretching is essential for a complete, balanced, active lifestyle. 

At the end of each Giorgia fitMindset workout we dedicate 5-10 minutes to stretch, especially the muscles that we used most that day. On top of that, I also teach a weekly offline stretching class in order to promote its importance. 

For those like me who love intensity, it is challenging to find time to stretch and relax our bodies. But, it’s a matter of prioritizing and maintaining balance in our workouts.