For many adventure athletes, summertime spells BIG days. Whether it’s measured in distance, elevation, difficulty, or seriousness, these wholehearted days of adventure are what we’ve been looking forward to all year.
And while these days give us so much, they undoubtedly do plenty of taking. One big day in the mountains can fatigue the body and mind for several days to follow. Multi-day objectives may take a week or longer for full recovery.
But long hours of daylight and excellent weather are ephemeral things, and quite often we choose to embark on yet another adventure before we’ve had the chance to fully recover from last time. We might not even notice how deeply we have dug into a pit of fatigue until we glance upward and wonder how we will climb back out again!
If you want to avoid compounding fatigue, then, you must make recovery a priority. Plus, your chances of success on days out increase significantly if you have adequate (or even better, surplus!) energy for the occasion.
So here is your guide to the in-between hours; a short list of essential practices that will help you recover from one big day in preparation for the next.
How to Recover Quickly from BIG DAYS
1. Nourish your body.
If possible, aim to consume a surplus of calories for several days before and after your objective. Your body will likely need to call upon its reserves on the day of your outing (even if you brought plenty of food out with you), so you’ll want to ensure there is plenty in the tank.
In the days that follow your epic send, your body will need more calories than usual in order to replenish what it lost (and grow back stronger!). Aim to get your caloric surplus from simple, whole foods whenever possible.
These principles also apply to hydration – drink lots of water!!
2. Reduce training intensity.
During performance periods, it will be necessary to reduce both training time and volume. Presumably, you have been training for this very moment – so grant yourself permission to lighten up your training load (or even forego entire training sessions!) during this time.
If you feel compelled to maintain a training schedule, focus on movement training and skill-building. Use your training time to return to the basics, develop your personal style of movement, and make discoveries.
3. Adopt a daily restorative practice.
Meditation, stretching, breathing exercises and self-massage have an incredible way of restoring the body and mind. Find a small place in each day for some type of restorative practice.
These types of practices calm the nervous system, which in turn gets the wheels of physical and mental recovery turning sooner and smoother. Plop yourself down on a mat and notice what needs some love and attention! Even five minutes each day can make a massive difference in the long run.
4. Prioritize sleep.
More than anything else, sleep is key to recovery.
It is not enough to rely on getting a quality night’s sleep the day before your objective (especially because big days often require an early start!). It is instead a better practice to prioritize sleep in the days before/after. This ensures you will receive ample shut-eye for recovery while also eliminating the pressure to get tons of sleep the night before you head out.
In short, recovery from epic days out is all about healing. Nourishing food, restorative practices, and sleep all facilitate the essential processes you need for sending all summer long :)
