So, you have been to the gym and given your workout everything you have got, but by the following morning you can barely get out of bed without groaning in pain and you have lost all motivation. It is difficult to stay determined and get through a workout when you have aches and pains to contend with, and so it is essential that you take care of yourself post-workout.
After a resistance training session, the muscles in your body can be inflamed and torn which leads to muscle soreness and can leave your arms and legs feeling pretty exhausted. However, with a few simple practices, you can ease any soreness post-workout and also prevent injury. Remember that if you get an injury from pushing yourself too hard then you could be out of the game for a while. So here are some of our post-exercise tips that everyone should follow.
Stay Hydrated
During a workout session you likely have a bottle of water by your side at all times, but it important that you do not neglect your water intake as soon as your session has ended. Drinking water is not only essential to our overall health and wellbeing, but it is also what keeps our brains and our muscles working at peak efficiency. So, neglecting to drink enough water is like letting yourself run on empty. Always have water with you and remember to replenish the water that your body lost during your heavy workout.
Get Plenty of Sleep
While we all know how important it is to our physical and mental health that we get a good night sleep, a lack of sleep can be fatal to a workout. When your body is tired you are not as focused, which can lead to injury as you are pushing your body too far.
Also Read: 8 Tips to Reduce Fat While Building Muscle
Additionally, if your body is tired and drained of its energy then it will take a lot longer for your muscles to heal post-workout and your recovery rate will slow down. Not to mention that it could do serious damage to your body in the long term if you continue to work your body on little energy and sleep.
Consider Recovery Tools
In recent years. there has been an increase in the amount of good quality muscle recovery equipment that is now on the market, which can boost your post-workout recovery. If you tend to really go for it during a workout then you are likely to have tense and sore muscles once you have finished. This is why it is so important that you make the most of the tools out there to make your body heal more effectively.
Stretch it out
After a heavy session, you may feel like getting out of the gym and getting home as soon as possible. But it crucial that you do not jump straight off the machines and head home. Instead, you should take the time to stretch out your body and muscles to help loosen any tightness that could later cause you pain or discomfort.
Make The Most of Self-Massage Therapy
The foam roller is a great tool that offers massage therapy in the comfort of your own home through the use of vibration technology. The vibrations in the foam roller can deliver different levels of vibrations to individually target muscles that are tight post-workout. This helps to promote improved blood flow and gets more oxygen to your muscles, helping them to recover faster.
Take A Cold Bath
If you finish a workout session experiencing a lot of pain, then we recommend taking a cold bath to help reduce inflammation and ease pain. However, a cold ice bath is not for the faint-hearted, so if you do not feel like going the extra mile then you may just use an ice pack and apply it to the affected area. This should provide you with some relief and help your post-workout muscles recover.
Have A Rest Day
Not many people are aware that the rest days that you schedule into your fitness regime are just as important as your workout days. Without providing your body with the rest it needs, your joints and muscles do not get the time to recover, meaning that they cannot work to their full potential next time you are exercising. So always be sure to plan a rest day into your schedule.
Also Read: 8 Great Tips on Running for Beginners
By making a few changes to your post-workout routine you can provide your body with everything it needs for a speedy and effective healing process.