Video:Sample Active Recovery Routines

Transcript:Sample Active Recovery Routines

Hi I'm author, speaker and trainer JJ Flizanes of JJFlizanes.com.  And I'm here to talk to you today on behalf of About.com to teach you a few sample active recovery exercises.

Definition of Active Recovery

So what is active recovery? Active recovery is a lower intense form of a cool down from the exercise that you just did. Active recovery can help stimulate circulation, which helps improve recovery of your muscles, and decreases onset muscle soreness. 

Examples of Active Recovery When Running

One example of active recovery would be when you are running or doing some kind of sprinting.  Rather than going from running or sprinting to stopping, someone would naturally think well I should probably walk to cool down. That is an example of an active recovery. You can also use walking as an active recovery in biking. 

Additional Examples of Active Recovery

You can use treading water as an active recovery after doing laps in the pool.  You can use shadow boxing as active recovery after boxing with a heavy bag. And you can also use active range of motion and active stretches after doing any upper body exercise and lower body exercise as well.  Be sure to incorporate these active recovery exercises to help avoid injury and increase your body's performance.

Thanks for watching.  For more information, please visit us online at About.com.