By Amanda MacMillan, Outside

Any time you increase the duration or the intensity of your workouts, you also increase your risk of injury—especially if you’re not tending to those body parts that are seeing the most wear and tear. The solution, says renowned physical therapist, Kelly Starrett, is to do just that: Devote 10 to 15 minutes, every single day, to basic maintenance on your body.

By maintenance, he means a mix of active recovery and mobility work—a routine he teaches in his books “Becoming a Supple Leopard” and “Ready to Run” as well as his popular Mobility WOD blog. These techniques, he says, bring fresh blood into tight muscles, increase joint and tissue range of motion, and improve mechanics and flexibility.

“When you do nothing on your days off, all you’re doing is resting and perhaps catching a mental break from training,” says Starrett. “But when you perform mobility work, you’re potentially shortening your recovery time and improving yourself as an athlete. And the best part is you’re not compromising your recovery or doing anything that will tax you mentally.”

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