Life Kit How to recover after a workout
70 snips
Mar 16, 2026 
Anna Cockrell, Olympic medalist and pro track athlete who shares her training and practical recovery habits. Margaret Serino, producer who recounts a personal injury and led interviews exploring recovery. They talk about cooldowns and stretching, nutrition and protein timing, foam rolling and baths, sleep and rest days, and smart warmups to prevent overuse and return-to-exercise injuries.
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Returning Too Heavy Caused A Real Back Injury
- Margaret Serino injured her lower back after returning to heavy lifting without warming up.
- She bent to pick up a loaded barbell on her first session back and felt something snap, which led to months of physical therapy.
Two Typical Paths To Workout Injury
- Two common injury patterns are returning too intensely after a break and repeating the same movement without recovery.
- Dr. Natasha Desai explains deconditioning reduces muscles' ability to handle stress and repetitive microtrauma causes tendonitis and flare ups.
Always Do A 10–15 Minute Cooldown
- Do not skip a cooldown; spend 10–15 minutes lowering heart rate with light jogging or walking after intense exercise.
- Anna Cockrell makes cooling down nonnegotiable and says soreness feels better the next day when she cools down.