#1 – Practice active recovery.

Instead of taking a day off entirely, spend some time to help your body actively recover. Low-intensity activities not only help reduce stiffness and soreness, they also help prevent more serious injuries from creeping up! Walking, yoga, foam rolling and (of course) stretching are some of our favorite ways to actively recover!

“Low-intensity activities not only help reduce stiffness and soreness, they also help prevent more serious injuries from creeping up!”

Tips

• Give yourself a break, and let us do the work. Book a 25-min, 55-min, or 70-min Stretch*d session.
• Stop by Stretch*d to stock up on tools to help you recover from home—foam rollers, stretching straps and massage balls are easy to use.

# 2 – Make recovery part of your routine.

Plan recovery like you plan your workouts. You know it’s good for you—scheduling the time dramatically increases the chances that you’ll do it.

Tips

• Plan recovery sessions into your weekly calendar.
• Multi-task! You can recover while watching TV, listening to an audiobook or unwinding before bed.
• Allow additional time before / after your workouts. Just like you allow for travel time, allow for time to adequately prepare your body and recover.
• Switch it up – there are a ton of different ways to recover that focus on different parts of your body, make sure to keep things different!
• Take some recovery tools to work and look after your body while you take a little mental break.

# 3 – Sleep on it.

We all know sleep is good for us, but why is it good for recovery? Sleep enables us to recover, both physically and mentally, by promoting muscle growth and repair. In the different stages of sleep your body is repairing and replacing cells, regulating metabolism and removing toxins—not to mention the additional energy and mental alertness a good night’s sleep provides. Trust us, the extra zzz’s are worth the time!

Tips

• Get a little loose with our favorite stretch*s for stress relief. These stretch*s are designed to help you relax and decompress before bed, leading to a better night’s sleep.
• Ditch your devices an hour before bed. Give yourself a chance to mentally relax, as well as avoid blue light which is proven delay the release of melatonin.
• Try different sleep aids like CBD, or technology like smart lights and mattresses.

#4 – Get some help from recovery tech

There’s a ton of new tools out there to help you recover faster, easier and more effectively—why not use them to your advantage?

Our favorites

• NormaTec Boots – uses compression therapy to increase circulation, remove metabolic waste, and reduce pain and soreness. Perfect for those who are always on their feet or always traveling.
• Hypervolt – uses percussion therapy to accelerate warmup and recovery, while relieving muscle stiffness and sore spots.
• Book a Get Puls*d or Get Buzz*d at Stretch*d to get a taste of NormaTec and Hypervolt.

#5 – Incorporate these buzz-worthy trends.

There’s a reason why you keep seeing them all over your feed—they work! Whether it’s getting a little extra sweaty, or braving freezing temperatures – we have some tips for how to add these trends into your recovery routine to help you achieve your goals.

Tips

• Infrared Sauna – by increasing blood circulation and sweating out your toxins, infrared saunas relieve inflammation, stiffness and soreness. Ease into this trend by adding a Get Warm*d to your next stretch… getting stretch*d on an Infrared Jade Mat. A similar effect, without all the sweat.
• Lymphatic Drainage – boost your lymphatic system…you know, the one responsible for flushing out waste and toxins. Whether via therapeutic massage or the NormaTec compression boots, reducing stagnant fluids will leave your body feeling refreshed.
• Cryotherapy – whether you’re you’re going whole body or localized, exposing your body to extremely cold temperatures can relieve muscle pain, reduce inflammation and boost your metabolism.