The key to improvement...

To improve, you need to rest. Now, there are probably a lot of lazy people out there that will take this the wrong way. If you are one of them , please don't. Actually, let me rephrase that first sentence: To improve, you need to work your ass off, rest and repeat. There, that's better.

There are way too many people out there that are so Type-A that they can't take a day off, can't go easy for a couple days and don't listen to their bodies, when it's telling them to pull it back (I should know, I used to be one of them and I ended up with a stress fracture). Your body doesn't reap the benefits of your workouts during the workout, it needs time after to recover and super-compensate (which is basically raising your baseline levels up a little bit and higher than they were before said workout). That is how people get stronger, how people get faster, how people improve. 

For most people, you are going to need a good 24 hours to recover from a normal workout, whether it's lifting weights, playing pick-up ball or some conditioning work (it should be noted that workouts like these can also help speed up recovery from harder workouts). There are a few exceptions, though. Following a high-intensity workout, which would involve either maximal, fully recovered sprints or plyometrics or lifting maximal (+90% of 1 rep max) weights, most people will need roughly 48 hours to fully recover. These workouts are much more intensive systemically, and your muscles and nervous system need the time to regroup.

Intensive work.

 

Now this doesn't mean you should be sitting on your ass between workouts. There are a ton of things that you can be doing to help facilitate recovery in the meantime. They can include:

• Stretching (whether it's static, dynamic, PNF, etc. just do something)
• Contrast showers
• Ice baths (my personal favorite)
• Hot tubs
• Sauna
• Foam rolling
• Tempo conditioning
• Playing a pick-up sport that you really enjoy (but don't kill yourself)
• Getting the proper nutrition in you starting immediately after your workout and staying consistent with it until your next workout

My idea of a fun afternoon.

Those are just a few of the literally hundreds of things you can do to help recovery.  If you follow those guidelines between workouts and remember to deload  for 3-7 days every 4-6 weeks, I guarantee your results will continue to come in steadily. 

K.I.S.S.

Since this is my first post, I figure I'd start by talking about the basics. And there is nothing more basic to training than K.I.S.S., otherwise known as Keep It Simple, Stupid. Nothing works like the good, old basics. Look at the title of this website: Sprints, Squats, Jumps and Hops. I can personally guarantee that if all you ever did was those four things (and did them right!), you would end up one, athletic son of a gun. 

An athletic son of a gun.

Obviously, there are ways to get to that desired level faster and more efficiently, but training really is simple. If you want to get stronger, you have to lift weights. If you want to increase your speed, you have to run sprints. If you want to jump higher, you are going to need to use plyometrics (and use them how they were meant to be used. Doing 27,000 box jumps is not how they were meant to be used). And if you want to improve your conditioning, you are going to have to run, whether it be tempo, fartlek or any other form of conditioning out there.

It seems like a lot of people out there think they have the secret formula to turning Stevie Nicks into Stevie Nash, but they don't, solely because there is no secret formula. People think running with parachutes on TV is going to really improve their speed (only if they're ghastly out of shape) or running through agility ladders talking about how much quicker it's going to make them (if they're a beginner, yes). Or other people think sitting in a squat position for five minutes a day is the answer (once again, if you're a beginner, injured or in dire need of some mental toughness since those holds are painful!). Or others might say it's all about being flexible (yea, if you have everything else solid and are really tight, getting more flexible will help). Those are all good things. They can all be utilized, but it depends on entirely on the athlete in question. Remember, everything works, but nothing works forever. All those things I mentioned before are quite gimmicky. You can use them. I'd just prefer easier, faster results, which will come in the form of (drum roll please...) the basics. 

So, remember, Keep It Simple, Stupid!