A guide to recovery - why drinking water is so important

Recovery - the source of better performance

Remember to recover! You have probably heard it a thousand times before - “remember to recover when you have been physically active.” But what does recovery actually mean? And in particular, how much does water matter, and how much water you drink? Is there a shortcut to faster recovery?

→ Read along and learn more about how you can recover your body faster, as well as why and how recovery strengthens your body.

What is recovery?

Recovery is another word for restoration. It is about giving the body rest to rebuild and strengthen the tissue that has been strained after exercise.

When you recover, you give the body time and nourishment to gather strength and become even stronger for the next physically demanding challenge. This means that it is only after your workout that your body gradually begins to grow stronger.

When you, for example, strength train or go for a long run, you sweat to keep your body temperature down, which drains your fluid reserves. You put wear and tear on your body, and lactic acid builds up in the muscles, which causes soreness in the body. But fortunately, the body is so smartly designed that it is built to patch up the damage, if you give it the right conditions.

When you rest, the body super compensates and makes sure to become even stronger than before. This is a process that gets you into better shape.

How do I recover best?

After a more or less intense workout, the body needs to return to balance and rebuild. It can achieve this, among other things, if you:

• Drink clean water. The body dehydrates heavily during physical activity. Water is the best and fastest way to recover, both for the brain and to flush the body of waste products and lactic acid. You can benefit from drinking water with plenty of antioxidants to break down the oxidation the body has been exposed to during training. Read more about performance optimization here.
• Take it easy. This does not mean you have to lie on the couch and watch Netflix for the rest of the day. In fact, it is a good idea to keep the body moving - though at a low intensity. You can, for example, go for a short walk or cycle to work.
• Cool down. More and more people are utilising cold baths, as they can improve recovery and reduce muscle soreness. However, this is not scientifically proven, but it is worth a try if you are not afraid of cold baths. Cold baths are popular within the well-known "biohacking" movement, among others.
• Eat healthily. During the recovery phase, the body rebuilds its strength, and of course, it needs the right building blocks → nutrient-rich food - anti-inflammatory diet. The menu should consist of food and drink containing carbohydrates with plenty of antioxidants to break down the oxidation the body has been exposed to during training. Proteins are necessary for the body to rebuild, and carbohydrates help replenish energy stores.
• Get a good night's sleep. In order for you to function optimally, it is important that you get between 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. It is only during sleep that your brain can recover. Invest, for example, in a proper bed and mattress topper that suits you. This way, you will avoid back pain while your energy levels increase.

When you sweat, your brain shrinks

If you do not drink enough water, your grey matter can shrink, making it harder to think. Research shows that dehydration affects not only the size of the brain but also how it functions.

Just 90 minutes of steady sweating can shrink the brain as much as a year of aging, according to researchers.

When the brain lacks fluid, the grey matter is also forced to work harder to process the same information. If the brain is not replenished with the lost amount of fluid after exercise, it will affect performance at work and school - and exam results.

A team of researchers from across the UK scanned the brains of teenagers after an hour and a half of cycling. Some trained in three layers of sweat-inducing clothing, and others were very lightly dressed in shorts and t-shirts.

Those who were bundled up lost about 2 kg in sweat - and their brain tissue had shrunk away from their skulls, and a shrinkage of the brain tissue was found.

The people who lost the most fluid had the greatest shrinkage in the brain.

The study was conducted by Matthew Kempton and Ulrich Ettinger from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London.

Why is recovery important?

Rest is just as important as training, as this is when the body rebuilds itself.

When you train, you break down the body → only when you recover does the body grow stronger.

If you train too often without rest, your fitness level will go the opposite way, and you will experience getting weaker and weaker every time you train. Therefore, it is important to recover after exertion, as it will ultimately yield positive results that can be both felt and seen in the mirror and on the scale.

When and for how long should I recover?

As a rule, you should recover every time you have been physically active. How long you need to recover depends, among other things, on how intense the workout was and what kind of shape you are in.

If you train at a high intensity, you typically need to recover for a longer time than during low-intensity training. For example, a slow run may require half a day of rest, whereas heavy weight training that leaves a metallic taste of blood in your mouth can require four to five days of recovery.

In the chart, you can see approximately how long you should recover when performing physical activities of low, moderate, or high intensity. However, how long you should rest also depends on your age, physical fitness, sleep habits, and dietary habits.

INTENSITY	TYPE	RECOVERY
Low	Walking, yoga, light running and cycling	12 - 36 hours
Moderate	Regular running, toning and cycling	24 - 48 hours
High	Spinning, strength training and CrossFit	72 - 120 hours

Can I recover for too long?

You can easily recover for too long. If you take too long breaks between your workouts, the strength you have built up will have time to decline again. This means that you will not notice any progress, and your training will be wasted.

If you want to experience progress in your training, it is therefore important not to take too long breaks from training.

It is about finding a good balance between resting and maintaining your training. How much we need to recover after physical activity is highly individual. Therefore, it is important to listen to your body and ensure that we do not overload it with an unnecessary amount of training.

Five foods that can kickstart your recovery

The key to a good recovery is rest and a healthy diet. There are several foods that can help the body repair itself at a faster pace:

• Water. Get your salt balance under control by drinking about half a litre of drinking water with electrolytes after training. Preferably choose water with a high content of minerals such as potassium, sodium, or magnesium → for example, ionised drinking water.. An ionisation machine purifies drinking water and produces ionised alkaline water that contains a lot of antioxidants and 50% more minerals than drinking water from your tap. In an ionisation machine, it is also possible to add natural Himalayan salt as electrolytes. Read the latest research on molecular hydrogen in water and recovery/performance.

• Ginger. After a hard workout, inflammation occurs in and around joints, tendons, and muscles. This manifests as muscle soreness and can be relieved with ionised water and with ginger. You can, for example, add 5-10g of ginger to your water or to a homemade smoothie or fresh green juice.

• Superfood. In the 24 hours after a hard workout, your immune system will drop. Therefore, superfoods like omega-3, greens, broccoli, and cabbage are important foods when the body needs to rebuild and become even stronger.

• Protein. When protein is mentioned, most people think of meat. After a strength training session, it is a good idea to give the body a shot of protein, as it will boost recovery. But you do not need to live on big steaks, as meat is not the only 'right' approach to protein. You can, for example, get plenty of protein from a plant-based diet or by supplementing the menu with foods like tuna, eggs, or chicken.