We’ve all seen those annoying posts on Facebook or Instagram. A load of shite about morning rituals and how important they are?
That you must meditate for an hour before the sun comes up.
And get in a killer workout before getting ready for work.
Prep all your food for the day before a bird has sung a single note.
In other words, get up before you went to bed.
And then you realise that it’s all written by someone who doesn’t have a life.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s value in making a point of doing all of the above…
If you can make it work.
The meditation and meal prep are big time savers, not time wasters.
And if you have the ability to train first thing in the morning then your workout is done and dusted before “the day” can de-rail it.
In fact rituals and habits play an important role in how successful we are in pretty much anything.
And your training is no exception.
Yet one of the most important habits or rituals you can have is often overlooked.
And they are, perhaps, the most important 2 minutes of your training day.
Let me explain…
You can turn your legs to jelly on hill reps…
Sweat so much on the Erg you look like you’re actually rowing on a lake..
Cranking out the reps in the gym for a burn so deep you look like the “Human Torch”…
None of it matters if you don’t get this part of the session right.
Well, I’m exaggerating a bit but it is important.
Be it a hard or an easy session the last few minutes are every bit as important as the rest of the session.
You see, once you’ve done the hard work you want to calm things down as fast as possible.
Because the good stuff, the adaptations that make you stronger, faster and generally harder to kill only happen once you’re finished.
It’s the recovery period between the sessions that you make your gains.
And we want to get into the recovery zone as fast as possible.
To do this finish your run with a couple of minutes of gentle walking.
This should see your heart rate drop below 100 bpm.
Then once you’re inside you want to lie down and pop your feet on a seat and breathe.
Nice and gently, in and out through your nose.
Pause after the inhale and again after you exhale.
Or spend some time in the “Child’s Pose”.
A couple of minutes spent in either of these will bring your heart rate right down.
Flipping the off switch on the production of all the hormones associated with exercise and flipping on the switch for all those that help you recover.
Give it a try after your next session it’ll help speed up your recovery.
