Now that we are in the aftermath of the largest earthquake event here since 1964 and the aftershocks keep coming, we are all feeling stressed and worn out. As you work to do clean up in your own home, office, or your community, take a few minutes to allow yourself to recover. Your body will thank you!
Here is an excellent positional exercise to try straight from an expert Olympic Physical Therapist and renowned Strength and Conditioning expert, Dr. John Rusin. This is effective not just in the gym (which we highly recommend) but also in your home, office, etc. And for more training recovery information, please check out his full article (link below).
"Here’s exactly how I setup my athletes for recovery breathing after each and every training session to spark the recovery process before they ever leave my watch:
Lay on your back with the head resting on the ground.
Elevate the legs to above heart level with knees slightly bent.
Elevate the arms up overhead.
Close eyes and relax the body reducing any tension of stress.
*A quiet area of the gym away from music or noise is preferable.
From this position, you should be able to relax every single muscle in your body to allow a fully passive response to take place. From here, we will focus in on only one single movement, that of your breath.
Start off by using this set parasympathetic breath rhythm and tempo:
Inhale 3-4 seconds
Hold at Top 2-3 seconds
Exhale 6-8 seconds
Hold at Bottom 2 seconds
The main focus with the tempo of the breath is about slowly inhaling and exhaling under control. Since most athletes and lifters have trouble slowing down, especially while in the presence of the iron, using specific tempos can be very useful when initially adopting this recovery breathing strategy.
Inhale for 3-4 seconds fully, hold for a few seconds at the top of the breath, and then really focus on extending the exhalation to around 8 seconds. We want this tempo to be slow and controlled, but also habitual to the point of being passive. The last thing we want to do during recovery breathing is to stress about exact numbers of the breath counts, so you have an excuse to chill and zone out a bit on this one.
The time of recovery breathing is about turning off the sympathetic switch before we leave the gym, so techniques such as positive mental imagery can absolutely be synergized together out of this position to really get the most out of these few minutes. Set your iPhone timer for your prescribed duration in order to avoid checking the clock, and just enjoy your time on the floor in celebration of the work you just finished."
Click here for more information. Thank you Dr. John Rusin for your expertise!