My friends often tell me how unfit they are. After I heard them out, I gave them a little pep talk on the positive aspects of fitness and undoubtedly they got all enthusiastic and decided they will also join me for a run from the next day. Couple of them said they would join me from next week and their discussion continued. Finally, they came to an agreement that everyone will join from the very next day.
The next day, I reached the decided point and I was surprised, my friends were all there on time. We began with some stretching then walked and jogged simultaneously as they were not used to it. We walked/jogged for an hour then ended the day’s session again with some stretching. Everyone felt energetic after the workout. Couple of my friends decided they would start gyming.
Next day we followed the same process and everyone was there. However, on the third day none of them turned up for jogging and neither had they gone to office? The reason being they had not rested enough and recovered well to be able to go about their daily routine after a workout.
It is very important to understand and bear in mind that ‘Rest and Recovery’ are two important aspects of any fitness regime. All the muscles and tissues utilised during a workout needs rest to recover.
We really need rest and what happens during rest?
Most people give importance to work out and diet but do not pay attention to rest and recovery. I am sure many out there reading this would have experienced something similar. Do you know that to get a good body rest is important as much as workout and diet? Growth occurs in the sleep phase as maximum hormones are released from the glands at rest.
The mail growth hormone testosterone and female growth hormone estrogen is released while in sleep mode. Throughout the day, the body undergoes lot of breakdown at a cellular and muscular level which gives rise to free radicals in the body. Free radical affects the immune system in the body. So sleep is very important for recovery.
Adult must get at least 6-8 hours of REM (Rapid eye Movement) sleep. But, the quality of sleep is equally important. One must feel fresh after a good sleep. Good sleep also helps to reduce stress which is main cause of all psychosomatic disorders.
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