Recovery!

People love to talk and discuss different training methods, and sets and reps and different exercises and a million other things. But what a lot of them fail to realize is that you only spend maybe 3-7 hours a week training. There are 168 hours in a week, and at least 160 of those are spent not training, but RECOVERING! So, what's the message? Spend more time figuring out your recovery strategies and less time worrying about the actual training instead of just doing it. 

There are a ton of different recovery modalities including contrast hydrotherapy, ice, meditation, foam rolling, massage, ART, static stretching, dynamic stretching, tempo work and on and on and on. They are all viable options at different times, depending on what you've been doing and where you're at in your training and experience. It's taken me a while, but I've been able to figure out what to use when to use it for best results by listening to my body and being aware of how its operating. I recommend you do the same, apply what you are learning, and see your recovery (and in turn your gains) shoot through the roof.

And now, here's what not to do when taking a contrast shower:

Contrast Shower