Optimize Your Recovery: Tips for Better Performance

Sam Englander
Jan 1
2 min read

Why Recovery Is More Than Rest Days

Recovery isn’t passive — it’s a biological process involving hormones, neural recalibration, and tissue repair. In the performance rehab world, understanding recovery capacity is key to maximizing gains while minimizing breakdown.

The Cortisol Curve: Stress, Sleep & Strength

Cortisol is your body’s primary stress hormone. While it helps mobilize energy and adapt to stressors, chronic elevation can blunt muscle protein synthesis, impair sleep quality, and delay recovery. Studies show elevated evening cortisol levels are correlated with reduced strength adaptations over time.

Action Step: Implement stress-reducing habits (10 min walks, breath work, cold exposure, or journaling) post-training to down-regulate your nervous system.

REM Sleep & Muscle Memory

REM sleep is critical for motor skill acquisition and neural adaptation. While deep sleep repairs muscles, REM sleep strengthens neural pathways — essential in both rehab and performance. Interrupted REM reduces movement coordination, reaction time, and training response.

Action Step: Stop screens 60 minutes before bed and keep the room 65–68°F. Consider adding resistance bands or balance pads to your evening mobility flow to promote wind-down.

HRV: Your Recovery Dashboard

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is the most practical biomarker for recovery capacity. A higher HRV usually indicates better parasympathetic tone and resilience to training stress. Overtraining, illness, or poor sleep drop HRV scores — often before symptoms appear.

Action Step: Use wearables (Whoop, Garmin, Apple Watch) to track HRV and adjust your training intensity based on trends, not emotion.

How I Help Patients Use This Data

At Top Performance PT, I integrate HRV, sleep, and training load to personalize rehab and coaching plans. Whether you’re recovering from injury or looking to improve performance, we match your training to your readiness.

Recommended Recovery Tools

Mini Thermal Massage Gun – Great for post-training soreness and nervous system relaxation.
Massage Lacrosse Balls – Improve tissue quality and reduce tension before sleep.
Adjustable Dumbbells – For customized loading and deloading at home.