4 Ways To Speed Up Your Recovery After A Workout
Sore muscles are an inevitable part of any fitness routine. In order to get stronger, you need to cause micro-tears to your muscle through physical activity; when your body repairs those muscle fibers, they grow stronger which gives you bigger muscles and more strength, according to Muscle for Life. Although that's true, you shouldn't have to suffer through muscle discomfort longer than necessary. Here are four ways you can recover faster after your next workout:
1. Warm up first.
It's a common misconception that you should stretch before a workout, but this can actually cause damage to cold, stationary muscles. This doesn't mean that you should just jump into your workout unprepared. Instead of doing stationary stretches, start with an easy warm up. Brisk walking and light calisthenics make a great warm up routine. Your goal should be to get your muscles moving and prepared for the workout ahead.
2. Stretch afterwards.
Stretching is an important part of any workout. You might be tempted to skip it since it seems so easy, but stretching plays a vital role in muscle recovery. Stretching after every workout helps to prevent delayed onset muscle soreness, and it can also improve your flexibility to keep you injury-free. Runners Connect recommends stretching for at least 10-15 minutes following your exercise routine.
3. Get a massage.
Sometimes after a particularly hard workout, you're so sore you can barely move. When this happens, it's time to get professional help from a massage therapist, such as at Body Well Mobile Massage. Massage helps to quickly alleviate soreness by flushing lactic acid from overworked muscles. Make sure to let your massage therapist know which sport you participate in, so they can tailor your massage to your particular needs. A trained massage therapist will know exactly what technique to use for best results. If you're too busy to make a trip to the massage parlor, don't worry. You can have a traveling massage therapist work on you in your own house for maximum convenience.
4. Eat lots of protein.
This isn't an instant fix, but incorporating a lot of protein into your diet can help prevent muscle soreness in the long run. Protein is what your body uses to repair muscles damaged during workouts, so if you're not getting enough of it, your body will take longer to recover. Luckily, it's easier than ever to maintain a protein rich diet. You can drink a protein shake after your workout in order to supplement your meals.
You don't need to be sore all the time for the sake of your fitness. These quick and easy tips will help you recover faster after your workouts. After all, exercise shouldn't slow you down.
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