Five recovery mistakes athletes make: overtraining without rest days, using cold plunges instead of heat to boost blood flow, cutting carbs when they're your primary fuel, drinking only water instead of adding electrolytes, and undereating because you're not hungry. Eat enough anyway.
These are the top 5 recovery mistakes for athletes. Number 1 is the David Goggins mentality. So many athletes think it's noble and amazing to work yourself into the ground, to never give your body a rest. More is not always better, guys. Better is better. So get your training dialed in, give yourself rest days, and make sure that you're allowing your body to work smarter, not necessarily all the time harder. Number 2 is cold plunge. Research actually shows that cold plunge can get in the way of recovery for your muscles because it slows down blood flow. We want to increase blood flow, so hot bath, sauna, heat is going to be fantastic for that because the more blood The more nutrients it can carry and the more oxygen you're going to get to your muscles at once. Then we have carbs. So many people restrict carbs. Carbs are like the gas to your energy tank. Without carbohydrates, you can't go. Number 4 is water. So many athletes drink just water and don't factor in electrolytes. Hydration equals water plus electrolytes, and that gives you the whole entire picture. And number 5 is trusting your body. I'm all for trusting your body, but when it comes to appetite, 99% of my athletes don't feel like like eating. When that happens and you listen to your body, your body will adapt to lower amounts of food. Your metabolism will slow down, your hormones will change and mute your hunger. So we don't want that. Make sure that you're getting enough food and not just following your mood about how hungry you are.
