Can Active Recovery Between Strength-Training Sets Boost Your Fitness Gains?

August 26, 2012

by Cathe Friedrich

Active recovery is sometimes used to describe low-intensity exercise you do after a more intense workout, as a part of the cool-down. It’s not a good idea to plop down in a chair after exercising since blood can pool in your lower body and cause lightheadedness or dizziness. Instead, it’s better to cool down gradually by walking or doing dynamic stretches. Active recovery also refers to lower intensity exercise you do the day after an intense workout when you’re sore and need time to recover. After a heavy day of lower body strength-training when you’ve worked your legs harder than usual, you might do nothing the next day except take a walk or do a yoga DVD. It’s a way to stay active when you’re not up to a full workout.

You can also use active recovery to recover between strength-training sets. After each set, instead of passively resting until the next set, you would do a low-intensity activity that keeps your heart rate up slightly. This may sound a lot like circuit training, but it’s different because the activity you do between sets is carried out at a lower intensity. For example, after doing a set of push-ups, you might lightly jog in place for three to four minutes before moving on to the next set.

Can Active Recovery Boost Performance

There seems to be some benefit to this. In a study carried out on short distance runners, sprinters who did a four-minute active recovery where they cycled at 40% of their V02 max before doing another sprint performed better on the second sprint than those who recovered passively. Another study found that males who did squats followed by an active recovery period of four minutes performed better the second time around than males who rested passively for four minutes.

Why Does Active Recovery Offer Benefits?

When you do intense exercises such as sprinting or heavy lifting that taps into the anaerobic energy system, lactic acid builds up. If too much lactic acid builds up, the blood becomes more acidic. Some experts say this reduces performance. The theory is that doing light exercise between strength-training sets helps to remove lactic acid and lowers blood acidity so you’re less fatigued with the next set. This may not be the mechanism after all since recent research shows that lactic acid accumulation is only a weak contributor to muscle fatigue. Instead, it may be the increase in blood flow and oxygenation during active recovery that improves performance.

What’s the Best Way to Actively Recover between Sets?

Do a low-intensity exercise between sets that keeps your heart pumping at between 30% to 40% of your V02 max. Light jogging in place, kickboxing punches, light jump roping or dynamic stretch work well for active recovery. They key is not to exhaust the muscles you’re working, but exercise at a light intensity that will continue to deliver blood flow and oxygen to your muscles.

Active Recovery after Exercise

After completing your workout, do 5 to 10 minutes of low-intensity exercise like walking, light jogging or slow cycling to keep the blood moving through your body and reduce blood pooling and the risk of lightheadedness. Don’t forget to rehydrate after your active cool-down.

The Bottom Line?

Doing low-intensity exercise between strength-training sets may help you perform better than resting passively – but don’t overdo it. The key is to keep the blood flowing – not to get a cardio workout. That’s what circuit workouts are for.

References:

Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1996;74(5):461-9.

Effects of Active and Passive Recovery Conditions on Blood Lactate, Rating of Perceived Exertion, and Performance During Resistance Exercise. 2000.