So you’re trying to reach your fitness goals but you feel like you’re spinning your wheels. You’re always sore and tired. Your fat loss or muscle growth has plateaued.
Now what?
Even if you do the best and most intense workout routine, your post-workout recovery might be the problem. If you don’t focus on recovery after working out, you’re not letting your body heal and grow.
Keep reading for a few of our top tips for your next post-exercise recovery session.
1. Always Do a Cooldown
One of the best things that you can do for your body after a workout is to give yourself plenty of time to cool down and relax before you go about the rest of your day. Everyone talks about the importance of warming up, but cooling down is no different!
Your cooldown will vary depending on your workout style. If you’ve been running or jogging, your cooldown may start with a slow walk. If you’ve been lifting weights, you may move into an active stretching routine.
Never skip your cooldown!
2. Fuel Your Body
Many dieters try to avoid eating after or before their workouts. If this sounds like you, you might be standing in the way of your own progress!
Regardless of whether you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle, you need to fuel your body if you want it to keep working for you. Make sure that you get plenty of carbs and protein so your body can repair itself.
You should also fuel yourself with water and electrolytes! You’ll feel better than ever and ready to complete the rest of your day.
3. Care for Your Muscles
After a workout, you’re probably already preparing for the next day’s soreness. While you can’t truly prevent soreness, you can mitigate the damage and start the healing process early.
If you can, try going for a massage after a heavy workout. If this isn’t accessible, buy a foam roller and learn how to “roll” your muscles. It’s going to be uncomfortable at first, but it makes a huge difference.
It also doesn’t hurt to take a nice warm bath after a heavy workout to release those muscles.
4. Consider Professional Help
If you struggle to recover after workouts and you feel like you’re not making any progress, consider seeing a professional.
You could see a coach or physical therapist. They can observe the way that you exercise and teach you better habits for less soreness, or give you ideas of cooldown stretches and exercise.
You could also start a recovery workout system like SITx for quick results and stronger muscles.
5. Have “Recovery Days”
Too many people ignore the importance of rest days. Instead of calling them rest days, let’s call them recovery days. Doesn’t this make them seem more important?
Post-workout recovery doesn’t end when the day is over. If you’re still feeling sore and burnt out the day after your workout, it’s appropriate to take a day off and incorporate a recovery day into your workout routine.
You can do nothing at all, or you can do something gentle, like pilates, yoga, or walking.
Focus on Recovery After Working Out
Sure, you want to hit the gym all day when you’re chasing your goals, but if you don’t give yourself enough time for recovery after working out, you’re going to damage your body.
Remember that muscle growth happens during recovery. Your muscles are fixing themselves and they need to rest! Recover well and you’ll see major gains in no time.
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