Today I want to give you some tips on properly recovering from your workout by request!
Drink lots of water
Perhaps one of the most overlooked nutrients is water. Remember your body is composed on maily water, and its important for metabolism, tissue repair, and flushing of toxins.
Eat Properly
One cannot expect optimal performance or recovery from training without proper nutrition. Ensure you are taking in enough calories for your BMR and activity levels. Without this, you will not see the muscular gains. This includes proper supplementation based on performance desires, needs and recovery times.
Cooldown
This is very important (just as important as a warmup!) By slowly lowering your heart rate & respiration you also allows your muscles time to start recovering and repairing before your next workout. Cooldown also helps your body release toxins (such as lactic acid), and allows your mind and body time to process the intensity of your workout.
Stretch
This is imporant to cool down the muslces, promote flexibility and proper range of motion to return, decrease muscle pain / stiffness, allows levels of adrenaline in the blood to be reduced, may help decrease DOMS, and also helps release toxins from the muscles.
Rest
This is a no brainer, but often not built in to a training program. Your body must rest and repair to function at optimal levels for performance. Rest time is different for every person, and each persons body may need to rest for various lengths of time. Rest is essential.
Active Recovery
Continue doing something! Sometimes it is not necessary to rest completely. There have been some studies done that conclude that active recovery can help promote toxin waste extretion, and help improve muscular recovery. It's also important to note that while resting a sore area of the body, you can work on a completely different muscle group. Bottom line - stay as active as possible! Don't overstrain your muscles but keep your body in motion and engaged daily.
Get a Massage
Not only does a massage help reduce stress levels, but also releases the fascia (connective tissue) & muscles to release knots, tension and toxins. Massage can help promote overall wellness benefits, and increase recovery time for intense workouts. Just remember to hydrate!
Self Myofascial Release (Foam Roller)
The foam roller offers many benefits of massage, but is used at the gym or in your own home. Foam rolling can help reduce injury, stress levels, chronic pain, help reduce muscular pain associated with DOMS among other things. Foam rolling is used by physical therapists, personal trainers and athletes alike. Everyone can benefit from foam rolling!
Ice Bath
Many athletes use ice baths to help soothe their muscles, often by alternating hot and cold therapies, and some studies have even showed increased sports performance and recovery times using this method. The idea behind an ice bath is that is constricts the blood flow to the body by pulling blood away from the core, and once heat is applied (or removing the body from an ice bath), blood flow will return to the "injured" area; thereby supplying fresh oxygenated blood for recovery. Even if you're not an athelete, you can enjoy the benefits of ice bath which include: repairing of muscle tissue, less muscular pain and stiffness, can help induce sleep, and prevents injury. There are many different studies that indicate different benefits, and while some are inconclusive one thing is sure. You`ll feel better! This form of therapy is also holistic and inexpensive.
Don't Overtrain - Listen to Your Body
The best way to recover properly without have to take days, weeks or in some cases months off is to avoid overtraining. Some symptoms of overtraining include: headaches, sudden decreased performance, feelings of lethargy, pain in muscles and joints, insomnia, increased injuries, changes in appetite, loss of passion. While overtraining is more common in athletes, it can affect anyone. Please educate yourself, listen to your body and be your own advocate! Stay disciplined, but train smarter! Not just harder... You need a well structured program to help avoid this problem and injuries. Consult a fitness professional if you are unsure of how to do this.
You have only one body....
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