Do you have a post-workout routine? What you do after exercise is just important as your exercise time. Simple recovery things can go a long way to helping you avoid exercise injuries and help reduce muscle soreness.
You have just completed your workout and you are a hot sweaty mess. What is the next thing that you do after exercise? If you answered, jump in the shower, then you need to keep reading to learn about why you need to include a post-workout routine in your fitness plan.
What you do after your workout is an important part of yielding results, such as muscle gain and weight loss, while also reducing muscle soreness and exercise injuries. A post-workout routine might just make it easier to stick to your fitness plan. Read on to learn how you can design an effective plan to start the recovery process after you exercise.
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Steps to Follow for a Post-Workout Routine
1. Hydrate
Rehydration is an important part of exercise, even if you did not break a sweat. When you exercise, your body loses fluids. Replenishing your fluid levels improves muscle flexibility, builds strength, and prevents muscle soreness.
The best liquid for exercise hydration is water. Water is the perfect hydration drink for exercise. Skip those sugary sports drinks and only reach for a sports electrolyte drink for hydration if you exercised for more than an hour, exercised outdoors in the summer, or sweated so much that your clothes are wet. The best way to tell if you should drink an electrolyte solution is by thirst. If you still feel thirsty after drinking 16 ounces of water, that might be a sign that your electrolytes and minerals may need replacing. My favorite hydration drink is pickle juice. These delicious shots of pickle juice contain the right amounts of potassium and salts to rehydrate and prevent dehydration.
2. Stretch
Include a stretching routine after your workout while your muscles are still warm. Stretching after exercise is very important. Stretching will prevent muscle soreness and also prevents sports injuries. Stretching after a workout improves muscle flexibility and may prevent tight sore muscles. So before you take off those workout clothes, take at least 5 minutes to give your body some stretching. My favorite device for stretching is a resistance band system. When I use resistance bands for recovery stretching, they help my muscles get a deeper stretch. I really like the bands for back stretching.
3. Eat a high-protein snack
Plan to eat a healthy snack or meal that contains at least 20 grams of protein within 45 minutes of completing your workout. Protein aids in muscle recovery and provides amino acids that help to repair and rebuild muscles.
A simple way to get the protein your body needs after exercise is with a protein shake. I like consuming a plant-based protein drink that is made with clean ingredients like pea protein. Pea protein does not cause any stomach discomfort and is easy to digest. Nuzest makes the best allergy-friendly, gluten-free, low-carb protein powder that mixes completely in water. The best part about Nuzest is the delicious creamy taste and it is available in many delicious flavors.
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4. Drink a Recovery Drink
After exercising your energy levels may be low and you may want to reach for a cup of coffee but I have a better solution. Give your body the energy and stamina it needs with the power of beets and red spinach. Beets and red spinach are loaded with nitrates to support healthy circulation which will aid in energy production. These red veggies will also help with inflammation and cognitive function.
Don't worry about having to eat vegetables after your workout as Resync makes a delicious passion fruit-flavored recovery drink that contains beets, red spinach, and Aronia berry. This yummy drink supplies your body with the nutrients it needs to properly recover after exercise and will help your body avoid muscle injuries and soreness.
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5. Enjoy a cool shower
Take a cool or cold shower to encourage healing, prevent inflammation, and ease muscular tension. A shower will also wash away the sweat and make you smell better.
6. Include Turmeric
Include a turmeric supplement in your exercise recovery plan. A daily turmeric supplement can reduce muscle soreness, and joint stiffness. Turmeric is good for body inflammation and can help reduce muscle soreness and injury. Look for a turmeric supplement with black pepper to help with better body absorption.
7. Relax with a cup of Coffee
Once you have showered and put on clean clothes, relax with a cup of coffee. Coffee is a healthy drink that is loaded with antioxidants. You put in the hard work of fitness and you deserve a treat. Don't blow all that hard work with a sugary coffee drink from the coffee shop. Instead, save money and calories by making your cup of coffee at home.
Sweeten your coffee with stevia and homemade plant-based milk. The Nutr nut milk machine makes all types of creamy plant-based milk. From almond milk to oat milk, this unique device will save you money and make fresh dairy-free milk that does not contain added junk like sugar and gums.
Make creamy plant-based milk in minutes without the mess with Nutr
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Still, have sore muscles?
8. Try a muscle gun
If you have tried all the above tips and still have muscle pain or tight muscles, then try a muscle gun. Muscle aches can happen for so many reasons. Things like being new to exercise, trying a new exercise, wearing old shoes or the wrong shoes, or performing intense exercise may make your muscles become sore.
A muscle gun or muscle trigger gun may help with tight sore muscles. A muscle gun gives your muscles a deep massage to relieve tight muscle pain. My teen who is on the track team loves using a muscle gun after an intense practice to loosen his tight sore muscles. The muscle massage gun helps loosen his muscles before a race so he can run his 5-minute miles.
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9. Relax in a hot tub
A hot tub may help with sore muscles and body aches. The heat and the massaging jets sure do feel good after an exercise session. If your gym has a hot tub, lucky you. If not a portable home hot tub is the answer. This inflatable hot tub is priced under $400!
10. Relax in an infrared sauna
An infrared sauna is another great option for exercise recovery. Relaxing in an infrared sauna has many benefits for exercise recovery. These types of saunas are good for pain relief and improved circulation. They are also good for detoxification. Newer gyms are starting to add infrared saunas as a nice gym benefit. If you have the space and the money, you can purchase a home infrared sauna.
So next time you exercise, take the time to practice these exercise recovery items. Your body will thank you.
10 comments:
Great advice. Drinking a lot of water and letting your body stay warm is such great advice after a hard workout. I started taking tumeric some time ago and I can tell it works well.
I need to keep this in mind when I work out. I always have water with me!
These are all wonderful ideas. I always take showers after a good workout. I also make sure to drink plenty of water.
I usually just drink water and shower after my runs!
This is a really great and very informative post! This will help us a lot when we do exercise!
Including turmeric and relaxing with coffee are a couple of steps I might have not thought of myself, I didn't realize either were so beneficial to post workout recovery!
These are great tips. I also make my own creamer for my coffee so it doesn't have all the junk in it.
Thank you for the reminder to stretch AFTER exercise. I keep forgetting to do this!
A cold or warm shower and a cup of coffee make miracles for me! I will give a try to other options!
Wow! These are all great stuff to recover our body after that amazing workout session! Love the muscle gun too it really helps a lot!
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