Welcome to the second installment of Back to Recovery Basics. In the first article of this series, we focused on the foundations of recovery. This serves as an answer to the “why” question of recovery and outlines the large role that recovery has in improving performance and maintaining your health and longevity in athletics. If you are just joining the series, I highly recommend you cover this material before moving forward, as it will give direction to your recovery plan.
Now that we have established why a solid recovery program is essential to your growth, the conversation now switches to how you can build your own recovery program. To continue using the analogy of recovery as a structure, every solid structure starts with a foundation. The foundation for a proper recovery program starts with three essential needs, “the big three.” Now, if you are thinking the big three are recovery are preworkout, protein, and creatine, you are sadly mistaken, and this may be a good opportunity for you to reevaluate your training priorities and influences. Before beginning, keep in mind that although the big three are being presented as an integral role in recovery and improving performance, they are also essential to a healthy lifestyle. Each of the big three can be applied to the general population in order to improve health and quality of life.
1. Sleep
2. Nutrition
3. Hydration
To read more on how to properly apply the Big Three into your life, read Dr. Detweiler's full article on EliteFTS.com, Back to Recovery Basics: The Big Three.