You may think that stiff, sore muscles are all part of exercising, but you don’t have to suffer for an extended period after every workout. In this article, we’ll share advice on how to recover from a workout.
The Importance of Post-Workout Recovery
One of the most neglected areas in fitness training is recovery. Stiff and sore muscles are a sign of a good workout, but they can be quite uncomfortable. Plus, they may prevent you from advancing your fitness levels and improving your overall health.
This is why post-workout recovery is so essential. It’s also important to consider your lifestyle when it comes to proper muscle recovery, including your training regimen, diet, and more. If you get these things right, you’ll cut down on the time your muscles are sore and improve your overall health and fitness levels.
Tips for Recovering from a Workout
When you find yourself with achy muscles after a tough workout, follow these essential tips and techniques to revitalize your body.
1. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
It’s important to keep your body properly hydrated, especially while you’re exercising. However, if you’re dehydrated before you start a workout, you’ll find it much harder to train and recover.
Pre-exercise hydration is important, but post-workout hydration is crucial too. You need to replenish the fluids you’ve lost through perspiration. Don’t pass up the Nuun Sport lineup as well, which provides a great balance of ingredients for mineral replenishment and optimal hydration before, during, and after your workout.
2. Take Rest Days
A proper workout regime will always include rest days. Just like your body needs sleep to recover, it requires a full 24 hours of rest without intensive exercise at least once a week.
If you want to keep exercising daily, take active recovery days. On these days, make sure you do light exercise that doesn’t get your heart rate up. Going for a walk or doing gentle stretches keeps you active but doesn’t raise your heart rate.
3. Increase Your Protein Intake
Nothing builds your muscles like protein, and that’s why it’s an important part of your muscle recovery process.
A protein shake is a quick and easy way to increase your intake. Alternatively, you can snack on cottage cheese, eggs, Greek yogurt, or any other high-protein foods you prefer. Whey and plant protein are excellent sources of protein. Learn more about the difference between whey protein and plant protein here.
4. Warm Up Correctly
The warmup section of your exercise routine sets you up for a good workout and a much better recovery afterward. You need to take the time to wake your muscles up slowly and carefully, raising your heart rate at a consistent rate rather than jumping straight into your training.
A bit of dynamic stretching as part of your warmup will get your muscles ready for exercise and increase the blood flow to your entire body.
5. Always Cool Down Afterwards
As with your warmup, no exercise routine is complete without a post-workout cool-down.
If you stop exercising and go straight back to normal life, your muscles won’t have a chance to get rid of the lactic acid buildup that has been occurring while working out. Take a moment to get your heart rate down and let blood flow into your muscles that are burning for oxygen.
Whether you’re cycling or training for a marathon, slowing down your exercise towards the end will give your body time to recover better. A few proper stretching exercises are also important in your cool-down routine.
6. Invest In a Foam Roller
The foam roller is one of the most effective tools for muscle and workout recovery. Many people use it as part of their warm-ups to lengthen their muscles and increase their range of motion for exercise, too.
A foam roller gives you as strong or light a massage as you desire. Plus, it can count as a workout because you have to use your muscles to roll over it and hold yourself in the correct positions.
7. Get 7-8 Hours Sleep Every Night
Getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night will give your body plenty of time to recover and let your muscles get back to fighting fit. If you’re getting less sleep than this, your body won’t have the time to replenish what your training took out of it.
A 20-minute power nap a couple of hours after a strenuous workout is also a great way to reduce recovery time.
8. Stretch Every Morning
Many people only stretch directly before and after their workout—if even then. However, if you want to relieve sore, stiff, and tired muscles, you need to do some form of stretching every day.
Stretching every morning is the best because it sets your body up for the day ahead. All it takes is five minutes in the morning, and you have increased blood flow to your whole body, which helps get rid of muscle soreness. You’ll find your muscle recovery after an intense workout much better.
9. Try Compression Gear
Professional and amateur athletes commonly wear compression clothing such as socks and arm sleeves, and there’s no reason you can’t, either.
Research has shown that compression increases blood flow to the area, which boosts your circulation and removes lactic acid and other metabolic waste from your muscles. There is still a debate over whether you should exercise in the compression gear or wear it straight afterward as part of your recovery. Try it out for yourself and see what works best for your body.
10. Massage Those Muscles
A good old-fashioned massage is great at helping your muscles recover after a big workout or if you’ve increased your overall training levels. However, it’s not always possible to head to the spa, a sports masseuse, or a physio appointment.
As an alternative, invest in a massage device that uses percussive massage to target your sore muscles at home. A percussive device will give you an intense massage that’s different from the foam roller. Combining the two types of massage will give you the best results.
By combining these tips and taking advantage of the rehydration boost Nuun can give you, your muscles will recover far faster and with a lot fewer aches and pains than previously.
