Why expert says recovery is the new cornerstone of modern fitness

#HumFitTohIndiaHit: While pushing harder to stay fit is widely praised in the modern fitness era, healthcare professionals notes that resting your nervous system is equally important to achieve your goals.

#HumFitTohIndiaHit: In this frenzy quest to gain strength, stamina and outward transformation, contemporary fitness tends to glorify workouts but ignore something less noticeable, and yet, as powerful as the former, i.e., a post-work recovery. Repetitions, miles and calories burned can be easily measured but what is less evident though is the fact that it is time that the body needs to rest for repairing and rebuilding.

Recovery does not mean that nothing is going on

By its nature, exercise causes stress in the body which typically causes micro-tears in muscles, exhaustion in energy stores and a stimulation of the nervous system. As cited in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the synthesis of muscle protein happens during restful times and this is the time when tissues are able to repair and become stronger. This cycle will not be complete without proper rest and one will not make any progress but instead he or she will be tired, stagnate and even get injured.

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also emphasises the necessity of rest and sleep in general to promote overall health and physical performance. Sleep is not just restful, but it balances hormones, maintains the immune system and enables the body to adjust to physical activity. But in a society where intensity and consistency are praised, rest days are even considered as luxuries.

"The modern fitness movement has glorified the concept of intensity in workouts, heavier lifting and constant progression and improvement. However, the aspect of recovery has been completely neglected," says Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. "From the perspective of internal medicine, the human body does not get stronger during workouts but in the period of recovery after the workout."

It is an unspoken rule that one must rigorously train and do better than on any given day. From fitness trackers to social media feeds offering information to support the notion that more is better. However, you should know that the body is not optimized to work at full capacity. It lives by rhythm, i.e., work and rest, toil and rest.

General fitness culture

Overtraining is no longer an elite sport but it has pervasively made its way into the general fitness culture. Constant aches, decrease in performance, disturbed sleep and frequent disease are some of the weak indicators that the body raises when it is not given time to rest. Multiple studies have shown that poor recovery has long been associated with high levels of cortisol, low immunity and predisposition to musculoskeletal injuries.

Dr. Chatterjee says that without proper recovery, people may face problems such as fatigue, injuries, sleep problems and even hormonal imbalances. In his words, "Recovery does not simply mean resting but it also involves proper sleep, diet and other practices such as stretching and movement. Fitness is no longer just about pushing the limits of the human body but finding a balance between fitness and recovery."

Importance of recovery

Dr. Chatterjee notes that reintroducing recovery to contemporary fitness is crucial towards a healthier lifestyle. It is about acknowledging that rest days do not mean that you have gone off the plan. It is considering sleep as highly as strength and stillness as highly as sweat.

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