Do you ever feel like you need a day to recover instead of a challenging workout? How often do you actually do something that is for the express purpose of recovering like what are now popularly referred to as “active recovery” workouts or perhaps some stretching or massage?

As a younger athlete and avid “worker-outer” I used to neglect recovery more than I care to admit. Afterall, it can be easy to neglect things like slower paced dedicated recovery sessions, but as you get older it may be something you consider more. I recently got inspired watching Dr John Berardi’s new recovery protocol as he is now turning 50 and still really likes to train hard doing more track and field type workouts. The thing is, you don’t need to be turning 50, or well past it to realize the importance of recovery and maybe doing more specific “recovery” type movement. We like to incorporate a variety of recovery type workouts and exercises into our own training and even make workouts (or sections of them) dedicated to this as we do in our RB- Build online training program 2 days a week.

While I wish I had incorporated more recovery into my training earlier on, I am finding that I actually perform better now than I did when I was younger in many areas. Learning how to better balance when to push and when to put more back into my reserves has been a skill acquired through more experience. We lay out some of the key takeaways and why you will want to try this fascia focused active recovery workout below (and others like it).

Lower intensity Zone-2- ish work like most of these active recovery type sessions are don’t tax the body very much if at all, can promote accelerated recovery and healing, build a more robust cardiorespiratory fitness foundation, and actually leave you feeling even better than when you started the session. We will often use fascial flows with clients either during warm-ups, cool downs , or even as entire sessions.

In this video,  I include a lower intensity Z-2- ish movement (I use the airdyne bike) to induce some thixotropy (think of your tissues like a viscous substance that can get some more softness and flexibility with lower viscosity through movement and warmth); create flow, exchange and clearance with blood and lymph; mixed with some solid fascial flow to get into key ways/lines of tissues the body uses rather than just focus on a “muscle”

The fascia that surrounds all your muscles and other tissues throughout your body can become a bit stagnant, stiff, dehydrated, or just plain unhappy if you want to think of it that way. Indeed this may make sense as emotions can also have an effect on how many of your tissues including fascia behave.

Imagine your fascia as a 3-D webbing/weave of connective tissue that flows throughout your entire body, from head to toe and also encases other organs and tissues. Akin to a fibrous web, it wraps around and supports your muscles, organs, blood vessels, nerves, and bones.

What Does Fascia Do?:

• Structure and Support: Fascia is like a scaffolding, holding things in place and allowing your body to move smoothly and cohesively. It helps your muscles contract and stretch, cushions your joints, and protects your organs.

• Communication: Fascia is densely packed with nerves, making it very sensitive. It plays a crucial role in proprioception ( your body's awareness of its position and movement in space). It thereby helps maintain balance and coordinate your movements.

• Flow and Waste Removal: Fascia contains lymphatic vessels that help eliminate waste and toxins from your tissues. It also plays a role in regulating blood flow and ensuring proper delivery of nutrients and oxygen throughout your body.

Different Types of Fascia:

• Superficial Fascia: This is the thinnest layer of fascia, located just beneath the skin. It helps keep your skin smooth and lubricated.

• Deep Fascia: This thicker layer surrounds muscles and groups of muscles, separating them and providing support.

• Visceral Fascia: This delicate layer surrounds and supports your internal organs.

Fascia, Pain, & Dysfunction:

It was once thought fascia was passive, but we now know it can play a big role in pain and dysfunction. When fascia becomes tight, restricted, or inflamed, it can contribute anything from tender spots that refer pain out to other areas in myofascial pain syndrome, chronic low back pain, and also other niggles and aches.

While regular movement and exercise helps to keep your fascia hydrated, lubricated, and mobile, it can also help to add in a dedicated session with that as a primary focus since many resistance training activities can create restrictive type of movements that aren’t as long and flowing. Of course, other tools like self-massage can help along with stretching, and definitely staying hydrated

The Video:

When you do some of these flows if you are very tight you may only be able to get part way you may also feel some stretch burning pulling sensations. This can be ok and a sign you may need to do this more often and ease into it. Feel your body out as you do these and don’t think that you need to commit to all-in or even these particular movements. Again, the whole idea here is to explore your body and how it is feeling and where you may need to create some better movement, hydration, flow, etc.

5min on, get off and flow, 5min on, get off and flow weighted, 5min on, get off and MFR yourself, Add in some other recovery like a bath, sauna or plunge at the end if you like. Remember you can do these sections more than once and make this longer or do the parts off the bike several times through. Give it a go

5 Minutes Erg… then

• Dynamic Frog Rock to Twist and Reach x 5-10/side w/ pause

• Alternating Crab Reaches (and modified crab reaches) x 10/side

• Elephant Walk Steps x 10-20/side

• Repeat 1-3X

5 Minutes Erg…then

• BB Side Bend x 10 (or more if you like)

• Standing DB Arm Swing Switches x 10

• Wide Leg BB Twist x 10

• DB Shoulder Extension Hinge + Swing x 10

• Wide Leg Twist + Hinge x 10

• Several Other DB + BB Movements Not Shown

• Repeat 1-3X

5 Minutes Erg… then

• MFR- Upper IT band + Front of Hip and Quads

• MFR- Armpit, latissimus, teres, infraspinatus, serratus and so much more interface

• MFR- Your choice x as long as you like

• Breath- inhale + 2X length exhale for 3min

*Feel free to add in anything else like a sauna, or cold plunge, or perhaps a nice walk.

Key Takeaways to Make Your Own Active Recovery Fascial Flow:

Focus on movement variability: Fascia thrives on diverse movement patterns. Incorporate exercises that involve different planes of motion, ranges of motion, and intensities. Yoga, Pilates, and animal flow exercises can be good options. Move in novel ways and move gently into restrictions

Myofascial release techniques: Techniques like self-massage with foam rollers or massage balls can help loosen tight fascial tissues and improve their gliding ability. We will implement this on our final pass through of our session

Controlled movements with slow tempo like dynamic stretches and fascial flow: Focusing on mindful movement with slow and controlled repetitions can help you better connect with your fascia and improve its responsiveness.

We don’t have the longer time frames listed, but you could go either shorter or longer durations. Importantly, your body is unique and will likely have specific areas you want to address more. This demo tries to cover a lot of bases but ultimately this is about exploring your body a bit and finding what works and feels good for you. Sometimes you may even find yourself making up your own movement and that is great!

Give this one a try and remember to do your best to stay in control, focus on connecting to sensations in your body, and explore what feels good.

Interested in similar quick workouts that take 40 minutes to 1hr max? Check out the RB build daily programming- https://www.resilient-body.com/rb-build

Want an efficient cardio workout with core? : Try this one

As always, if you have any questions or are interested in working with us, shoot us a message.

Reference:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8304470/