Rest and recovery are essential to your training if you want to enjoy the effects of your workouts. By incorporating a few healthy habits as part of your post-training routine you will be able to increase your performance in the gym and your overall sense of wellbeing.
1. Get a good stretch after each workout
The reason you should stretch after a workout, when your muscles are still warm, is that you will be able to reduce muscle stiffness, basically regaining pre-exercise ranges of motion. A good stretch of the muscles you used in the workout will help you not only increase your flexibility, but also induce relaxation.
2. Hydrate yourself properly
During exercise you lose a lot of fluids. Best is to replace them during the exercise by constantly hydrating yourself. This is an easy way to boost recovery. By hydrating yourself also after the workout you will support your metabolic functions and nutrient transfers in the body, besides improving bodily functions. Hydration is even more important when you’re practicing endurance sports, when large amounts of water are lost during long training hours.
If you’re looking to combat the fatigue, as well as hydrate yourself properly during a workout, you could benefit from using Hype, a hydration supplement that was specially formulated to fight thirst and fatigue associated with physical exercise.
3. Get your protein in right after the workout
After an intense workout, your muscles are starving for protein that is accessible and easy-to-use. The more accessible that protein is, the quicker your body can get back up to 100%. The standard digestive process, where consumed protein is broken down into usable peptides, is slow. For athletes who want to be able to get back to building their bodies quickly, the faster the digestion, the faster the absorption.
Progenex Recovery is made with hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, which is basically pre-broken down into the protein’s most useable form, allowing it to completely bypass the digestive system and head straight to those damaged muscle fibers. The result is recovery that allows for more, higher-intensity workouts in a shorter period of time.
4. Eat healthy, clean, unprocessed food
If you workout regularly, you probably already know that your entire nutrition needs to be healthy to support your fitness journey. Having a protein shake right after the workout will help your muscles a lot, but going home and eating two bags of chips while chugging a few beers will be detrimental to any type of diet or lifestyle. If you expect your body to get stronger and be ready for the next challenge, you need to pay attention to what you put on your plate. Cooking your own food, eating your veggies, snacking on nuts and fruits will be tremendously helpful for your body. By embracing a clean diet on a regular basis, you will be able to enjoy higher energy levels on the long run, better sleep and, obviously, better results in the gym.
5. Practice mindfulness and meditation
It was scientifically proven that meditation consistently helps athletes with recovery after training or competition. Physical training puts high levels of stress on the body, so what meditation does is help reducing the overall stress and anxiety, increasing pain tolerance and awareness.
Moreover, a new research has shown that practicing mindfulness might help athletes recover from injury faster. The study conducted by University of Kent concluded that “One way that mindfulness could help with injuries is by drawing attention to what is happening. As a result, individuals who practice it may pay better attention to what is happening without inflicting self-criticism.”
6. Relax and get a good night’s sleep
Training depletes you of energy, fluids and breaks down muscle. Hydration, protein and the right fuel are only part of training and recovery. Proper sleep is essential for everybody, especially for people who work out regularly. During sleep, your body produces the Growth Hormone (GH) which is responsible for tissue growth and repair.
Some researchers say that sleep deprivation induces increased levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Sleep deprivation has also been seen to decrease the production of glycogen and carbohydrates that are stored for energy use during physical activity. Basically when you get less sleep you will increase the possibility of feeling fatigued, you will experience lower levels of energy, and weaker focus. As a result, poor sleep quality will also slow down your recovery.
The quality and amount of sleep athletes and fitness enthusiasts get is often the key to winning. Always aim to get six to eight hours of sleep and you will enjoy improved mood, performance and concentration.
7. Use CBD to reduce inflammation instead of anti-inflammatory pills
The basic role of inflammation is to stimulate positive training adaptations. But when there is too much inflammation, the body will find it difficult to recover fast and that will hurt performance. Instead of popping an anti-inflammatory pill, it’s worth considering switching to a CBD Oil. There are studies that have shown that CBD can be up to twenty times more potent in reducing inflammation, compared to ibuprofen. Studies say when taken regularly, CBD can provide a systemic relief of inflammation.
Besides the anti-inflammatory effects, CBD appears to be a great source of antioxidants, with a myriad of positive effects such as reducing anxiety and stress, reliefing pain, including gut discomfort, and improving the quality of sleep.
Read about the benefits of CBD for athletes.
8. Include active recovery in your weekly routine
Top athletes typically allow themselves one day of active recovery per week. If your goal is not to train intensely 6 days a week, then you can include a few of such days, when your goal should simply be moving. Walks around the park, a bike ride, yoga or a relaxing swimming session will improve your circulation. This, in turn, will help promote nutrient and waste product transport in your body, which ultimately helps the muscles repair and refuel faster.
9. Use a foam roller every other day
Once every two evenings you can use a foam roller on your big muscles to increase circulation to your tissues, break down adhesions and remove waste products like lactic acid. The best use of foam roller is to perform “trigger point therapy”, which is basically releasing those spots that have waste products accumulations.
Read more about the top 3 foam roller uses.
10. Treat yourself with a massage
The two main benefits of getting a massage are that it improves circulation and it allows you to relax. Having a massage will help relax overly tensed muscles and will provide you with additional flexibility. Overall, having a good massage shortens the recovery time, reduces your stress levels and will simply make you feel good.
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