American Fitness Industry Pays More Attention to ‘Recovery’

01The American exercise industry has changed over time.

02In the past, the industry often pushed a no-pain-no-gain model of exercise.

03The idea suggested hard, painful effort was needed to make progress.

04The current popular word in American fitness, however, is recovery.

05Now the goal is taking time, getting rest, and doing light activities until a person is ready to exercise again.

06Tony Horton is an exercise trainer known for P90X, a program that used difficult 90-minute workouts.

07Horton now recommends more rest and warns against overdoing exercise.

08Horton spent the 1990s training famous people.

09Recently, Horton told the Associated Press, I didn't know then what I know now.

10Horton added, Before Horton, Jane Fonda had pushed home exercisers to feel the burn.

11Now, the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Academy of Sports Medicine, NASM, pay a lot of attention to recovery methods.

12NASM's fitness and wellness certification program includes training in holistic health and wellness, including physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being.

13The industry has learned from research that shows the good effects of correct rest, said Stan Kravchenko.

14He is founder of OneFit Personal Training.

15During deep sleep, the body repairs muscle tissue.

16Studies show that well-rested people perform better and are less likely to get injured.

17But rest is only part of recovery.

18Kravchenko said personal trainers used to pay attention to exercises a client could do during their workout.

19Now, personal trainers are more like life coaches who also give exercise advice.

20It's more about your lifestyle.

21How you eat.

22How you sleep, he said.

23Are you stressed?

24What do you do for a living?

25Are you working from a desk?

26So it's taking a little bit more like a broad approach.

27The no-pain-no-gain idea is great for athletes who can survive difficult workouts and are looking to get stronger.

28But not everyone needs to push themselves that hard, Horton said.

29It depends on the goal.

30Michael Zordos is chair of exercise science and health promotion at Florida Atlantic University.

31Zordos told the AP that lifting weights until failure may build bigger muscles.

32But training to failure is not needed to increase strength.

33There is a difference between training for health and training for elite performance benefits, he said.

34To realize the health benefits of a workout, it is still necessary to push yourself.

35Horton said, In the muscles, the lungs, your heart, there's gotta be a certain amount of strain.

36There is a big difference, however, between discomfort and pain.

37If sharp pain affects joints, tendons, or muscles, then exercisers need to stop what they are doing.

38People's needs for rest depend on their goals and bodies.

39But Kravchenko offered a few simple rules.

40For lifting weights, he recommends 48 hours of recovery time for each muscle group that is exercised.

41He also suggests doing an upper limit of 10 sets, or groups of repeated movements, per muscle group, per week.

42During the workout, Kravchenko said, It is best to rest for 2 to 3 minutes between sets.

43In between workouts, it is not necessary to stay still.

44You're welcome to do walking, jogging, very light yoga, stretching, pilates, core exercises, Kravchenko said.

45That's all fine, because it's not specifically targeting the areas you've targeted before.

46Horton and Kravchenko both discussed a recovery activity not usually connected with weightlifting, meditation.

47Horton and Kravchenko believe that taking a few quiet minutes every morning helps people deal with the physical and emotional stress of life that can get in the way of wanting to exercise.

48Horton recommends establishing a mindfulness routine even before deciding on an exercise plan.

49This is because the mindfulness routine will support the consistency of the exercise routine.

50I'm John Russell.