Tips on Recovery Before Your Next Workout
Recovery is an important factor in any exercise planning. Be sure to include recovery time in your week plans, so you’re not overtraining as your muscles will suffer and progress will be tampered.
Recovery doesn’t have to mean vegging in front of the TV, but it does mean taking it down a notch so your body is able to heal before your next workout. This time-out can help improve overall function and performance.
Warm up and cool down
Since you did PE in school you were told about the importance of warming up and cooling down. This still stands. Warming up gets the blood flowing to your muscles and joints so you don’t start running, jumping, dancing while still cold avoiding injury. The cool down helps bring down the heart rate and will help stretch out muscles ahead of your next gym visit or activity.
Stay hydrated
The body is predominantly made up of water, 60% in fact, so when you exercise you lose a lot of that water through sweating. In order to stay hydrated and aid recovery water is key and one of our top tips for recovery. Sports drinks can be quite sugary, so water is best, or if you’re a coconut water fan then it contains electrolytes galore. Electrolytes help keep the amount of water in your body functional.
Get lots of sleep
Everyone’s favourite tip for sure. Sleep. Sleeping and rest gives your body time to recover, recuperate and repair itself.
Eat the right food
A healthy diet will mean a happy body. Ensure your body gets all the right nourishment so you can recover quicker. Eating a well-balanced diet will mean your muscles are getting the nutrients they need to recover and to develop. Eating protein and carbohydrates can be what your body needs post workout to aid that recovery process.
Foam rolling sessions
It’s one of our top tips on recovery before your next workout - a simple foam rolling session. Foam rolling helps you unknot those knots in your muscle, those muscles that have been tight and niggling. Continued use of your foam roller can improve your muscle function. Win, win. If you haven’t used a foam roller before it’s a cinch. You can control the amount of pressure on the muscle with your body weight. Use it in the gym or at home.