Technology and education – key to a better understanding of exercise recovery

The benefits of recovery and its importance in maximising the impact of exercise need to be communicated to the general public by the fitness industry. However, the introduction of various recovery-focused technologies will serve to give the fitness sector tools to rely upon in delivering more effective recovery concepts.

Both of these viewpoints were discussed in Health Club Management's Talking Point article (April 2019 issue), which asked how fitness professionals can ensure they communicate the importance of recovery.

Paul Trendell, CEO of boutique studio Victus Soul, told HCM: "The general public is not aware of the importance of recovery, so the health and fitness sector needs to do more to help educate and identify the most appropriate training recovery programmes for our clients.

"To do this, health and fitness professionals must fully understand the concept themselves and recognise the considerable benefits of incorporating it into training sessions."

Although Victus Soul incorporates active recovery into its classes, there is also a growing recognition of the need to individualise recovery, based on the many different lifestyle and emotional factors that can influence how people's bodies react to the stresses of workout.

Vivek Menon is chief commercial officer at HRV'>Elite HRV, a company that provides services to track heart rate variability (HRV). It says that HRV is an efficient indicator of the state of the nervous system and overall stress load.

"Services like ours are heading for the mainstream, as more people realise that a cookie-cutter approach to health doesn't work," said Menon.

He added that a great deal of technology was coming on stream to assist recovery, including high-altitude chambers, infrared therapy, injectables, cryotherapy and supplements. "Over time, there will be good data showcasing which of those work for which types of recovery and individuals," he continued.

"Fitness businesses will soon have a lot of proven tools to work with when it comes to services that promote recovery, and going forward we expect the health and fitness community to use these to play an even larger role in keeping the healthy healthier for longer."

To read the full article see the April 2019 issue of Health Club Management here