Welcome to your new & upgraded recovery routine!
Since you're here, you're most likely well aware that allowing proper recovery for both your body AND nervous system is crucial not just for athletic progress, but also your overall well-being in the long run. If you're one of those people whose plans to take an actual rest day never actually pan out (we feel you!) or you're unsure and don't know where to start, this program is for you. Effective, enjoyable and easy to implement: your upgraded recovery routine is here.
Read on for some logistics and then dive in to your program!
What is nervous system recovery, and why is it important?
A chronically stressed nervous system can show up in a number of different ways:
- feeling sluggish, heavy and ineffective in your movements
- stalled athletic progress
- lack of mental focus, not being excited to work out
- being unusually uncoordinated or clumsy
- disrupted sleep: tired during the day; exhausted but wired at night; difficulty falling and staying asleep
- life stressors and grinding away at work are leaving you depleted and wiped out
If the above is sounding familiar, some guided nervous system down-regulation is an excellent place to start and get back on track.
This course offers a balanced blend of guided relaxation, gentle mobility and myofascial release for a comprehensive system-wide reset. Our convenient menu-style layout lets you pick suitable techniques depending on how you're feeling on any given day.
Good nervous system recovery gives you the extra 10% not just for training, but for life in general.
You know those workouts where you feel sluggish, heavy, or unfocused for no good reason? If you're not actually sore or otherwise physically depleted, inadequate nervous system recovery could be the culprit.
Your nervous system, which controls all aspects of your movement and coordination, can become fatigued and under-recovered, just like your musculoskeletal system can. While poor nervous system recovery might be harder to pinpoint than garden variety muscular soreness, its effects on your ability to move well and train efficiently are no less detrimental.
For optimal function and recovery, your nervous system needs the ability to seamlessly switch between sympathetic activation (you're amped up and ready for action!) and the parasympathetic state (calm, relaxed, and easily able to drift off to sleep come bedtime). Ideally, you have access to both of these states at the relevant times, AND are easily and appropriately able to flow between them.
Where does myofascial release fit in?
Myofascial release has some pretty fantastic benefits where soft tissue recovery is concerned: improved circulation, tension relief, enhanced hydration, and the potential for increased range of motion over time.
What we don't talk about quite as often are the great nervous system benefits- what's happening "under the hood", so to speak! Myofascial release can:
- provide soothing mechanical stimulus to help down-regulate the nervous system
- encourage relaxation and parasympathetic activation with gentle, feel-good sensory input
- boost proprioception, which has a research-backed correlation with better pain outcomes
- make for an extremely relaxing and enjoyable self-care routine that has invaluable trickle-down effects into the rest of your life!
We find the Rad Roller's Recovery Rounds to be the ideal tool for these mellower practices; they have the perfect amount of give to them, making for a softer and more forgiving MFR experience than your classic lacrosse ball. Every member of our coaching team swears by them! Plus, you get a discount when you shop using the link above!
Example Curriculum
- Upper Back & Chest: Rhomboids Myofascial Release (6:19)
- Upper Back & Chest: Upper Back Release (8:27)
- Upper Back & Traps: Manual Upper Trapezius Myofascial Release (6:27)
- Upper Back & Traps: Passive Thoracic Extension (7:45)
- Neck Tension: Levator Scapula Myofascial Release (6:06)
- Neck Tension: Neck Reset (with block) (10:30)
- Whole Spine Reset: Supported Supine Twist (11:42)
- Tight Pecs: Pec Pin & Stretch Myofascial Release (7:04)
- Tight Pecs: Passive Thoracic Extension & Pec Minor Release (10:59)
- Shoulder & Spine Reboot: Gentle Shoulder Reset - Gomukhasana & Twist (11:20)
- Low Back Refresher: Quadratus Lumborum Myofascial Release (6:42)
- Low Back Refresher: Prone Lumbar Release (7:14)
- Hip Reset: Gluteus Maximus Myofascial Release (4:55)
- Hip Reset: Mellow Hip & Spine Release (10:25)
- Adductor Release: Myofascial Release - Adductors and Pectineus (10:16)
- Adductor Release: Supta Baddha Konasana (13:02)
- Reset for Super Tight Adductors: Restorative Tree Pose (15:13)
- Hips & Side Body: Serratus Anterior Myofascial Release (7:29)
- Hips & Side Body: Cat Pulling Its Tail Plus (11:39)
Not quite what you were looking for?
Check out some of our other programs below. Better yet, drop us a line to let us know what resources you'd like to support your well-being, recovery, mobility and injury-prevention needs. Email [email protected] with your wishlist and we'll see what we can do!