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Recovery // How To Bounce Back

Ollie Holtam. 19 May 2025

Living to Thrive

Post-Challenge Recovery: How to Bounce Back After tough Endurance Events

— By Ollie Holtam

Completing a challenge like the Yorkshire 3 Peaks is an incredible achievement — physically and mentally. But how you recover in the days afterwards plays a big part in how well your body adapts, repairs, and returns to full strength.

Recovery doesn’t mean complete rest — it means intelligent rest


🔁 Maintain Your Routine, Adjust the Stress

Your daily routine is grounding — don’t abandon it.

- Stick to your regular sleep, meal, and movement times.

- Instead of stopping, simply change the intensity: light walks, low-resistance, cycling, or gentle mobility sessions are ideal in the first 3–5 days.

- Think of it as “active recovery” — keeping blood flow moving without pushing fatigue further.


🚶 Movement Is Medicine

Gentle movement helps flush out metabolic waste, reduce stiffness, and keep joints mobile.

- Prioritise short daily walks, stretching, and foam rolling. These are your best tools to ease sore muscles and aid lymphatic drainage.

- Avoid total rest for more than a day — too much inactivity can make you feel more tired and tight.


🥗 NOURISH TO REBUILD

 - Focus on balanced meals with protein (for muscle repair), carbs (to replenish energy stores), and colourful vegetables (for inflammation control).

- Hydration is key — even mild dehydration from the event can linger, so keep drinking water across the next few days.

- You don’t need extreme supplements — just consistency and quality in your meals.

😴 Prioritise Sleep

- Your body repairs most during deep sleep.

- Make time for early nights and aim for 7–9 hours where possible.

- If you feel unusually fatigued, give yourself permission for a short nap or quieter evening.


⏳ LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

- Feeling tired or flat for a few days is completely normal. But ongoing soreness or joint pain could be a sign to rest more or seek support. 


- Gradually reintroduce training intensity over 7–10 days — not all at once.


💡 Think Long-Term

- Events like this are a stressor — but how you recover determines whether they build you up or break you down.

- Smart recovery not only gets you back to baseline — it sets you up to come back fitter, stronger, and more resilient.


Takeaway: 

Keep moving, eat well, sleep deep — and trust that recovery is an active process, not a passive pause. 👣🧠