When you train your body launches its “fight or flight”
response, becoming more sympathetic. This response is normal; if you don’t
become more sympathetic during your training session, you are not training hard
enough. Making the transition into a sympathetic state while training is
important for your body, as it provides the energy and drive to perform. If we
stayed in a parasympathetic state, aka the “rest and digest” state, we would
feel lethargic and not have a great training session. Getting into the
sympathetic state allows us to produce a great enough stimulus, via training,
to make our bodies adapt and perform better. We should not stay in this state
after training or for an extended period of time, however. After all, being in
a “fight or flight” state causes our bodies to become catabolic and break down.
Since you just put all that hard work in at the gym, it
would be a shame to let it go to waste. Before you leave the gym, an activity
that returns you to a “rest and digest”/parasympathetic state should be incorporated
into your training session. This type of activity will allow you to “turn off”
the sympathetic switch and turn on a parasympathetic one, getting your body
into the repair and recover mode as quickly as possible.
How do you get into a “rest and digest” state, though?
Get your body to relax, bring your heart and breathing
rate down, and just calm down overall. This can be achieved through a couple of
methods. Meditation, deep breathing, and walking outside are just a few that
you could try after a training session. Personally, I find that laying on the
ground with both my legs straight up against a wall and keeping my eyes closed helps bring me back to a parasympathetic
state. I like doing this because it helps return blood to the heart, because it’s
simple, and because it allows me to lay down and take some diaphragmatic breaths.
It only takes about 3-5 minutes and it’s definitely worth the time. Always
leave the gym feeling better than when you came in.
Ryan Goodell, CSCS
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