Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Muscle Recovery: Have you just begun a new workout routine and found yourself hurting and fatigued during the week? You’re probably suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), a kind of soreness that usually appears 12-24 hours after activity but may peak between 24-72 hours. When you do an activity that you aren’t accustomed to or haven’t done in a long time, DOMS is prevalent. However, we all know that exercise offers a plethora of health advantages, and adequate recuperation is crucial for sticking to a fitness routine.
Dr. Jason Wersland, DC, Founder and Chief Wellness Officer of Therabody, says, “Recovery has always been essential for athletes, but it is becoming more crucial for the average person.” “People are seeing how much better they feel when they make recovery a daily priority. In the long run, good recuperation helps to decrease inflammation, avoid injuries, and improve range of motion.”
Not only will focusing on recovery make you feel better, but Wersland also points out that the effects of poor recovery may accumulate over time, which you’ll want to avoid. “Excessive muscular stress may stifle development, wreak havoc on our immune systems, and, in the worst-case scenario, inflict severe muscle injury,” he adds. “It’s critical for our bodies to have downtime.” To begin prioritizing your exercise recovery and giving your body some much-needed TLC, try these comprehensive tactics and suggestions.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Muscle Recovery
Don’t scrimp on warm-up time.
“True healing begins before your exercise,” explains Wersland. He emphasizes the need for a good dynamic warm-up in preparing your body for the big dynamic movements that will be performed throughout the exercise.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Muscle Recovery: Allow time for a thorough warm-up before you begin working up a sweat, as this may assist to reduce the chance of injury and even reduce DOMS. Pre-workout stretching that includes relaxing your joints to enhance range of motion and blood flow is known as dynamic stretching. You’ll prepare your body for such movements throughout the workout by actively working joints and muscles in exercise-specific motions. Walking lunges, hip circles, torso twists, and leg swings are all excellent examples of dynamic stretches.
Make a five-minute commitment
Making time for even a little cool down after an exercise may lead to injury and discomfort. Take at least five minutes to perform some static stretching, which includes moving a muscle or joint as far as it can go and then holding it for a period of time to speed up muscle healing. While dynamic stretching needs you to be active and moving throughout the stretch, static stretching requires you to remain motionless and breathe into the stretch. Static stretches such as the quadriceps stretch, hamstring stretch, and tricep stretch are all examples of stretches that may assist relieve and relax muscles after a workout.
Get some rest
The period when your body repairs, recuperates, and recovers are when you sleep. Adequate sleep benefits your emotional, mental, and physical health. Try to avoid screens an hour or two before bedtime and use your bed only for sleeping; you want your bed to be a relaxing haven, not a stressful location where you respond to business emails all day. If you can go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, you may be able to establish a more consistent nighttime routine.
Post-workout refuel
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Muscle Recovery: According to Wersland, healing isn’t only about stretching, but also about “how you treat your body from the inside out, and what habits you practice… from food to sleep.” After a sweat session, choosing the finest muscle recovery meals may aid in the rebuilding of muscle protein and glycogen reserves.
Although protein is important for muscle growth and repair, carbohydrates and protein combined make for an excellent recovery combination. In your post-exercise snack or meal, aim for a 3:1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio, and eat within 45 to 60 minutes after finishing your workout so your muscles can absorb nutrients as quickly as possible. Great choices include a Greek yogurt parfait, protein snack, or even chocolate milk. While a well-balanced post-workout snack is beneficial, a well-balanced diet throughout the week is just as essential.
It should be rolled out
Say hi to your new favorite tool for data recovery. A foam roller is an inexpensive and effective piece of recovery equipment that may be used pre-workout to help warm up or post-workout to assist cool down. It can relieve muscular tension and stiffness, increase muscle length, and improve range of motion. Foam rolling, particularly after a strenuous exercise, may aid in the healing process.
Massage seems to be one of the most effective ways to reduce DOMS and felt tiredness after an exercise, according to research, and a foam roller may be a wonderful self-massage tool to help with that. Foam rollers exist in a variety of shapes and sizes, the most common of which is a cylinder composed of hard compressed foam. Some models include bumps or ridges, and newer models even vibrate, which is believed to relieve discomfort and enable you to foam roll for longer periods of time.
Take a sip
If you’re just doing out for an hour or less, plain water will suffice. However, coconut water, which is basically nature’s sports drink, is an electrolyte-rich option that may help with recuperation. Although water is essential, Wersland believes that being comprehensive in your approach and mindful of your diet, sleep, and mental health will provide the greatest outcomes.
Every day, in the morning, stretch
Stretching should not be limited to just before and after your exercise. Stretching first thing in the morning offers many advantages, including easing tension or discomfort from the previous night’s sleep. Morning stretches, above all, may assist improve blood flow to muscles and joints, as well as prepare your body for the day ahead. Try this fast morning stretch routine that takes less than five minutes to complete:
- Begin by lying in bed for 30 seconds and softly hugging your knees toward your chest.
- Slowly drop your knees to the left side of your body while maintaining a vertical torso; hold for 30 seconds, then swap sides.
- Then, for approximately a minute, sit up and fold forward.
- Finish in a 60-second child’s posture.
