The Surprising Element You Need To Add To Your Exercise Routine for a Longer Life

Incorporating community into your fitness routine comes with some serious benefits.

No matter if you’re an exercise newbie or a veteran athlete, you’ve likely heard of active recovery—whether or not you know exactly what it is. Rest days are important in any routine, but it turns out the best active recovery workout may be just as good (or better) at promoting optimal healing of worn-out muscles, so you come back stronger more quickly.

Even as a long-time recreational athlete, I’m new to incorporating active recovery. I’ve always had self-planned run days, strength training days, and full rest days. However, this year, I decided to work with a trainer to prevent injury in my middle age.

We agreed upon two days a week of strength training to complement my running. When I checked my training app, I was surprised to find three workouts.

One of them was labeled “active recovery.” That was not what we discussed—did I have to give up one of my precious rest days? But I enlisted his help for my own good, so I had to give it a try.

Let’s just say, I’m now a believer. That recovery workout was the perfect amount of activity to help me loosen my stiff and achy joints and muscles, without breaking a sweat.

So how do you know how much to do on your active recovery days? Are active recovery days better than rest days? And how often should you do them?

We looked to personal trainers to answer these questions and share their must-do moves to create the best active recovery workout.

Benefits of active recovery vs. total rest

What’s the benefit of doing active recovery over a low-key, lazy day? “When we move, we are promoting blood flow,” says Nicole Winter, CPT, senior coach at Ladder. “I’m sure you’ve heard the term ‘motion is lotion’, which is exactly why incorporating active recovery can be so important to help our bodies recoup after a tougher bout of exercise.”

Anyone who’s spent hours on the couch knows it stiffens your joints. Admittedly, as a writer and Grey’s Anatomy binge-watcher, I often spend my breaks hobbling to the bathroom or the fridge