How One Small Change Made My Recovery Stick

Gday mate! 

Over the holidays, Milena and I dined at Osteria Francescana, one of the world’s best restaurants. I’ve long admired Chef Massimo Bottura and his wife, Laura, for what they’ve built in Modena. This was my second time meeting Massimo, and he shared something that blew my mind—the cost of employing staff in Italy. For every $1 paid in salary, nearly another $1 goes to taxes, meaning a $50,000 salary costs the business around $90,000.

That conversation got me thinking about training and recovery. Just like running a business, not investing in recovery has a steep price—injuries and burnout. If you push hard without taking care of your body, the “taxman” will come knocking.

Now that we’re in February and training volume is ramping up, recovery is more critical than ever. This is when injuries start to surface—I’m dealing with a slight hamstring issue myself, but with targeted mobility work, I still hit a solid speed session. Recovery isn’t about doing less; it’s about ensuring you can do more over the long term. Let’s dive into what recovery really means, how to approach it, and what to do if you’re already managing an injury

In this newsletter (6 min read):

 🤔 Make Recovery Reps not time

⚾️ Recovery Modalities: you don’t need to spend a dime

🛌 My go to recovery equipment

Last week I forgot to put in the links to the hybrid series (my bad), so below you will the links to the last three respectively! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Recovery Mindset: Reps, Not Time

For a long time, I procrastinated on recovery work. It felt like a chore, and since it wasn’t as measurable as training, staying motivated was tough. The shift happened when I switched from time-based to rep-based recovery. Instead of saying, “I’ll foam roll for five minutes,” I started doing 15 reps per muscle group—working through my IT band, quads, hamstrings, and calves. Suddenly, the same work felt more structured and rewarding.

The same applies to mobility drills—if counting seconds feels dull, count reps instead. This doesn’t work for everything (you can’t count reps in a cold plunge), but for lacrosse ball work or single-leg RDLs, it keeps things engaging. And the results? More mobility means fresher legs and better performance.

Recovery Modalities: What Works and How to Use Them

I have dealt with a number of injuries, but the more prevention or recovery work you do the less susceptible you become. Not all methods are needed below I have outlined options from minimal to no equipment to splurging:

Accessible Recovery (15 minutes twice a week)

• Mobility Work: Daily stretching and movement to maintain range of motion

• Breath Work & Meditation: Reducing stress to improve recovery quality Basic

• Stretching: Particularly after workouts to maintain flexibility

You can get all guided options of these from our Centr App HERE

Recovery with Equipment

• Foam Rolling: Self-myofascial release to improve tissue quality-as noted above go into reps and sets.. 15 reps on each major section of the body.

• Lacrosse Ball Work: For targeting deeper knots and tight spots-smaller movements but keep the reps 15 reps

High-End Recovery Investments

• Red Light Therapy: May reduce inflammation (Studies show it enhances muscle repair). I do this every morning for 20 minutes whilst reading with Maverick

• Cold Plunge & Contrast Therapy: May improve circulation and speed up muscle recovery (A study found contrast therapy reduced muscle fatigue and enhanced endurance performance, with a 0.8% improvement in 3,000m run performance.) We will go into the modality of this in more detail, particularly flushing, in subsequent newsletters. 3-4 minutes in the cold, 10-15 mins in the hot

• A Quality Mattress: Sleep is the foundation of all recovery—without it, nothing else matters (but by now i do not think this shocks anyone) One study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning. To me this is one of the biggest investments you can make in your health

For the more accessible options above you can pick up my favorite foam roller and the recovery equipment set i use from Centr HERE. I use the foam roller twice a week, massage stick every other day and the ball in the morning when rolling out my feet!

FAQs from last week

How much time between my AM and PM training sessions? I usually allow 7 hours between each. I also make sure they are dominating the same energy systems or muscles

Can I skip the shake and go straight to a meal after AM workout? For sure! just make sure you get it in quickly (especially if you have not eaten anything before) and minimize the fat so your body can take on the carbs and protein quickly!

Quick Notes:

🥩 The Cheapest cut of steak you will find was a video a released this week! check out the recipe for my skirt steak video HERE to cook up at home

❤️ Next week I am touching on my blood work and the changes I am making.. If you want to get your blood work done, i am an adviser to HONE and that is what i get tested every three months… click through HERE

🏃🏻‍♂️ Congrats to everyone who competed at Hyrox Vegas! It looked epic, and a lot of my mates crushed it! Eric Hinman qualified for worlds, Hunter McIntyre battled it out with Dylan Scott, and Matt Choi & Sean threw down in Pro Doubles. Pumped to get back out there—stick to your plans and keep grinding! 💪🔥

Cheers,

DC

#EatGoodFeelGood