icon-account icon-glass

Popular Searches

Popular Products

The Lean Protein
Whey protein powder for weight-loss.
The Energy Booster
Pre/intra-workout powder with BCAAs.

CATEGORIES

What Is Active Recovery And Why Is It An Important Strategy?

7th February 2022

Fitness Health

7th February 2022

By Beth Shelper

If working out what kind of exercise routine or fitness goal you want to work towards wasn’t hard enough (what with all of the options, strategies and techniques), we’re sorry to break it to you, but to ensure that your recovery is effective and you keep yourself in tip-top condition to maximise your performance, you need to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself with a proper recovery technique, too.

Whilst this could sound pretty daunting (or, if you’re somebody that hates warming down even though you know it’s a necessity) boring, it’s actually a really exciting opportunity to make sure that you’re making the most of your fitness routine.

Whatever recovery routine you decide to pursue, whether it’s active or passive, one thing’s for sure: make sure you’re incorporating The Recover Capsules for the best results. And whilst there’s a huge range of recovery strategies that you can pick and choose from, today we’re talking about active recovery, and running you through some of our favourite active recovery exercises.

What is active recovery?

Active recovery basically describes the technique of recovery through activity. If you’re not sure what recovery through activity means, this refers to the strategy of incorporating a low-level, low intensity workout that follows a particularly strenuous workout or HIIT.

The idea behind active recovery is that this method of post-workout recovery is generally considered more effective than immediate rest (i.e, warming down gently is a lot better for you than plonking your bum down on the sofa immediately). Shame that, really.

This is because by immediately returning to rest, your body is more likely to cease up, with muscles becoming stiff and tight. By immediately entering active recovery (rather than a state of passive recovery… but more on that, later), you are keeping the muscles moving, ensuring that

Active vs passive recovery

If you’re ultra-attentive, you may have noticed that we just mentioned something called passive recovery. Good spot!

As we’ve said, when it comes to recovery techniques, there are a few that you can choose from, but in the fitness world, one of the biggest debates is around active vs passive recovery.

Whilst active recovery describes the method of getting (or rather, keeping) yourself moving after a workout, passive recovery is the complete opposite, and is pretty easy really, as it requires no movement at all.

Whilst initially this sounds pretty lazy, passive recovery is effective in the case of notable injuries (you know, like a broken bone or a strained tendon or ligament), so don’t write off the technique straight away. We just don’t recommend it if you’re trying to find a healthy way to recover and reduce soreness.

Our favourite active recovery exercises

The best thing about active recovery is that you can incorporate the technique really, really easily into your everyday life. We’re more than aware that everyone leads a very busy lifestyle, and some days, an extra twenty-minutes in the gym purely to warm down seems like time that you just don’t have to spare.

So, in order to make sure you can incorporate active recovery into your workout routine every single time you workout, consider perhaps walking or cycling to the gym, taking the stairs back to the showers, or incorporating any type of movement into whatever you’re doing next.

That call you urgently have to take after your gym class? Why not go on a walk whilst taking it. See how easy it can be?

Some great active recovery exercises include:

  • Running
  • Jogging
  • Walking
  • Cycling
  • Swimming
  • Yoga
  • Massages

Summary

When you’re feeling sore (or, if you’re reading this pre-workout, and want to avoid feeling sore), definitely start engaging in the active recovery techniques listed above. It’s important to be able to read your body, though.

If you’re feeling a little sore after a particularly heavy leg day, it’s definitely time to take a quick stroll around the block and get that blood flow going. On the other hand, though, if you’re in so much pain that you can’t really walk, or struggle to put any weight on a particular area, you should most probably be engaging in a more passive technique.

Most of all, remember to warm up and warm down… every single time. Take care of yourselves, take your recovery seriously, and keep up the good work, Innermo
< Older post Newer post >

Product Spotlight

The Recover Capsules. These nootropic capsules contain research-backed ingredients that support the recovery process, reduce inflammation, and regulate hormone activity.

The Recover Capsules
Our daily capsules to help speed up physical and mental recovery, reduce inflammation and regulate optimal hormone activity. Start your Innermost journey today.
Team Favourite

Need Expert Advice?

Take the quiz

Take the quiz

If you're not sure where to start, take our 5 minute health consultation to get product recommendations tailored to your goals.
Read more

Other Insights

Why Natural Protein Supplementation Matters

Why Natural Protein Supplementation Matters

Walk into any health shop, or scroll any supplement site, and you often find that protein powders start to blur into one. Almost all of them make the same promises on the front: ‘high in protein’, ‘no added sugar’, ‘no additional additives’. The wording is so similar that telling a genuinely good product from a synthetically produced product is harder than it should be. Read past the figure on the front however and you'll usually find a protein that contains artificial sweeteners, synthetic flavourings and colours, and even fillers or bulking agents just to name a few. The reason they tend to do this is that costs of production are much cheaper as a result of the lower quality ingredients. A naturally formulated protein supplement works the other way around. The protein comes from a quality source, the flavour and sweetness come from ingredients you'd recognise rather than ones built in a lab, and anything that doesn't need to be there is left out. This piece is about that difference: what natural really means for a protein supplement, why it matters, and how to spot it for yourself. What "natural" actually means in protein supplements "Natural" is one of the most used and least understood words in wellness, printed on plenty of labels with very little behind it. There's no strict, regulated definition for it, so a brand can reach for the word fairly freely. This is why it pays to know what you're actually looking for. Used honestly, natural points to ingredients that come from recognisable sources and are processed as lightly as the format allows. For protein, that usually means a base derived from food such as: Whey Pea Hemp Brown rice Other plant-based proteins Just as telling is what gets left out, and how openly the packaging accounts for what stays in. A natural protein supplement has little to hide, so the label tends to be short and the reasoning easy to follow. The real test is whether the formula makes sense as a whole. Can you understand what's in it? Does each ingredient have a clear purpose? And does the brand explain the benefit plainly, rather than hiding behind vague wellness language? Why ingredient quality matters in protein supplements When people compare protein powders, the first thing they often look at is the amount of protein per serving. It matters, but this number doesn’t tell you everything about a supplement’s quality. A synthetically formulated powder may contain just as much protein per serving as a natural alternative, but it may also include more artificial additives that are bad for your health.  This is especially important as supplementation is usually taken regularly as part of a daily routine. If something becomes part of your breakfast, post-workout routine or afternoon shake, the quality of the overall formula may influence how well it fits into your daily routine. Natural protein powders are often separated by a few key criteria: Ingredient sourcing: Whey is highly bioavailable and naturally rich in essential amino acids that support muscle repair. A good plant-based blend can also be effective when it is built to provide a strong amino acid profile. What surrounds the protein: Sweeteners, thickeners and flavourings affect taste, texture and how a shake feels once you have taken it. Some formulas rely heavily on artificial sweeteners, gums or thickeners, which may contribute to bloating or digestive discomfort. Digestibility: A protein you absorb and tolerate comfortably is more useful than a bigger number on the label that does not sit well with your body. Purpose: A formula built around a specific goal, such as strength, performance, energy or satiety, is more useful than a generic powder with no clear reason behind the ingredients. The benefits of natural protein supplementation The real value of natural supplementation becomes clearer when you look beyond protein content alone. Below are some of the key benefits of choosing natural protein supplements over more artificial or heavily processed alternatives. Supporting strength and lean muscle Building strength and lean muscle is one of the main reasons people turn to natural protein supplements.  A good one supports muscle repair after training and helps maintain muscle over the longer term. That's especially useful if you train regularly and eat well but can't always put together a high-protein meal straight after a session. Helping with recovery after exercise After a workout, your body needs nutrients to repair and adapt, and protein is central to that process, particularly if you train several times a week. A natural protein supplement offers a convenient way to support recovery without making nutrition feel complicated, whether mixed into a shake, smoothie or simple post-workout snack. Supporting satiety and body composition goals Protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer, which makes balanced eating easier to stick to.  For anyone working towards fat loss, lean muscle or general body composition, natural protein supplementation helps steady your daily nutrition alongside whole foods, movement and rest, without relying on the added sugar that some cheaper formulas contain. Making daily nutrition easier Even with good intentions, it is not always easy to get enough protein through meals alone. Busy days, training schedules and travel can all make consistency harder.  A natural protein gives you a simple, repeatable way to keep your intake up on the days that get away from you, using ingredients you can actually recognise. Natural supplementation doesn't have to taste bland There's a common assumption that natural supplements have to taste bland, chalky or unpleasant. Plenty of people have met exactly that: a protein that sounds healthy on paper but turns out too earthy, too sweet or too gritty to enjoy. It gets used for a few days, then pushed to the back of the cupboard. The problem there is usually the formulation, not the missing additives. Chalky, overly sweet shakes come from corners being cut. Getting flavour and texture right without falling back on heavy sweeteners is genuinely hard, which is a good sign a brand has done the work. Taste matters for a practical reason as much as an enjoyable one. A protein you look forward to is one you'll keep using, and consistency is what actually delivers results. The best-formulated supplement on the shelf does nothing while it sits unopened. The innermost approach to natural protein Everything above is the standard we at Innermost hold ourselves to. Our proteins are built on clean and naturally-derived ingredients, formulated with the backing of nutritional science rather than guesswork. We leave out the fillers, bulking agents and needless extras that have no business being in a quality protein, and we're open about what goes in and why. We also happen to think clean and natural should taste good, because a protein you enjoy is a protein you'll actually use.  Explore our protein powders to find the formula that best fits your goals, routine and lifestyle. References Morton, W., Murphy, T., et al (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 52(6). Click here. Jäger, R., Kerksick, C., et al (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. Click here. Seijo, M., Naclerio, F. (2019). Whey Protein Supplementation and Muscle Mass: Current Perspectives. Click here.
Read more
The Protein Mistake That's Holding Back Your Results

The Protein Mistake That's Holding Back Your Results

I've written at length about creatine. I've written about collagen, electrolytes, the GLP-1 moment, even the science of sleep. But I've never written a personal email about protein. That's a strange omission for someone who built a brand that makes some pretty ground-breaking protein powders. So let me explain why, and then actually say the thing I've been avoiding. Protein is the most foundational supplement in the Innermost range. It's also the hardest subject for me to write about personally, because there's nothing surprising about it. Creatine had a story. Collagen had a story. Protein is well... protein. Everyone knows you should eat more of it. The mechanism is not a secret. Muscle protein synthesis, leucine threshold, net nitrogen balance. If you've been in the fitness space for more than a couple of years, you've read this before. And I think that's the problem. The familiarity makes people stop paying attention. Here's what I actually think about protein, after a decade of working in this space. Most people in their thirties and forties are under-consuming protein and don't know it. Not by a small amount. The gap between what most people eat and what the research supports for muscle maintenance and body composition outcomes is significant. Studies looking at optimal intake for adults prioritising body composition consistently point to between 1.6 and 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day. Most people are eating somewhere between 0.8 and 1.2. The difference is not cosmetic. Adequate protein intake directly affects your ability to preserve muscle tissue during a caloric deficit. It supports recovery between sessions. It has a measurable effect on satiety, which means it influences total caloric intake downstream, not just at the point you consume it. There's a subtler point too, and this is the one I've come to think matters most: protein is the nutrient where consistency compounds most directly. The benefits of creatine saturate over time in a relatively predictable way. Collagen has a timeline that research measures in months. But protein's effect on body composition is essentially continuous. Every day you hit your target, you preserve something. Every day you don't, you lose a small amount of ground. Over a summer, that adds up. This is what I've observed personally, and it's backed by the research on muscle protein turnover. The people who maintain their body composition through summer are not, in my experience, the people who train harder during that period. Most of them train less. Their routines are disrupted. They're travelling. Their eating is less structured. The people who come back in September looking broadly the same as they left in June are the ones who kept their protein intake consistent. That's it. That's the variable. Why I take The Lean Protein I’ve been taking The Lean Protein the past few months for a straightforward reason: the protein-to-calorie ratio. Much like our other protein blends, each serving delivers over 30 grams of protein. The calorie count is low relative to that protein yield. When my training is consistent and my eating is structured, I don't think about this very much. But in the periods when those things are less reliable, that ratio becomes the thing that holds the rest together. The formula also includes acetyl-L-carnitine, inulin, pomegranate extract, and yerba mate. These aren't afterthoughts. Acetyl-L-carnitine has a research base in fat metabolism. Inulin supports satiety and gut function. The pomegranate extract is included for its antioxidant contribution to recovery. This means that the formula does more work per serving than a standard whey and just what I need going into summer. The thing the industry gets wrong about protein Most protein marketing leads with taste and price per gram. Both matter. But neither tells you whether the formula will support body composition outcomes over time. The two questions I'd ask before buying any protein powder are: what is the actual protein-to-calorie ratio, and what is the leucine content per serving.  Leucine is the branched-chain amino acid most directly linked to triggering muscle protein synthesis, and there is a threshold dose, roughly 2.5 to 3 grams per serving, below which the anabolic response is blunted. Many protein powders do not disclose this. They just list total protein and move on. The Lean Protein does not have this problem. The formula is transparent. The dose is evidence-based. One thing I'd ask you to consider: if you've never actually checked whether you're hitting your protein targets, try tracking it for three days. Most people find the gap is larger than they expected. If you're not sure which Innermost product fits your specific goal, the quiz on our site is a good place to start. Find the right protein for your goal  
Read more