4 Ways to Speed Up Recovery
Working out puts a massive strain on your body. You run, lift, and bound your way around the gym each time you train. Your muscles have to work super hard to keep up. The moment you stop, though, your recovery should begin. Let’s take a look at some small ways to speed up recovery and feel stronger sooner.
4 Ways to Speed up Recovery
1. Drink a Cup of Coffee (and Eat Carbs!)
You already understand the importance of refueling after you’ve worked out. However, have you thought about giving yourself a caffeine boost? Surprisingly, this small nutritional hack could help.
Research from the American Physiological Society found that combining both carbs and caffeine after your workout may speed up recovery. The combo helps to boost your glycogen levels, which need replenishing directly after exercise.
Of course, as a word of caution, it’s important to remember not to drink too much coffee after you’ve had a training session. As you know, exercise boosts your heart rate, as does consuming caffeine. For that reason, you should always drink coffee in moderation.
2. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
How well do you sleep each night? When it comes to post-workout recovery, ensuring that you have a healthy and balanced lifestyle is a baseline requirement. So, if you’re not getting the rest that you so desperately need, you might want to change your ways.
Research into the area has found a direct link between getting sleep and proper muscular recovery after you’ve exercised. It’s time to make this aspect of your wellness a priority.
If you’re struggling to get some rest, you’re not alone. Australia is experiencing a fatigue epidemic. And, around a third of American adults report that they have some form of sleep-related problems, according to a review from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
You can improve this part of your lifestyle by creating a stable nighttime routine, avoiding caffeinated drinks late at night, and even trying some simple mindfulness techniques, too.
3. Take a Long, Hot Bath
Taking a hot bath could speed up recovery more than you realize. The reason behind this is straightforward. The warm sensation of the water will ease the pain of sore muscles and help them to relax quickly and easily.
If you feel as though you deserve a little extra luxury along the way (don’t we all!), why not add some bath salts into the mix? Doing so will ramp up your relaxation in no time.
Not only does this trick help to speed up recovery, but it may even boost your athletic performance. One study from the University of Bangor found that jumping into a 104°F bath after an exercise session could help to reduce both resting and active body temperature. What’s more, the same research found that this method also helped to improve time-trial performance in the period after your workout.
4. Use a Foam Roller to Limber Up
Stretching before your workout is essential, but you should also take care of your muscles directly after exercise. One way to speed up recovery is to use a foam roller to stretch out your muscles and get rid of any knots. Learning some of the basic techniques when it comes to foam rolling is simple enough. Go to YouTube and search for a quick tutorial video. There are many online, each of which focuses on a different muscle group.
There are many benefits to this particular post-workout regime. Research from the Loyola University Health System suggests that this technique can help to improve your overall flexibility.
As though that weren’t enough, the foam rollers also help to promote healthy circulation, which can only be a positive thing. Get started now and see the difference that using these tools makes to the way you feel after exercise.
What you do after you’ve exercised has a massive impact on your body. If you want to look after your physical health, you need to bear that in mind. These small lifestyle changes won’t take much effort on your part, but they could well help to speed up recovery. Ready to get started? Try adapting your post-workout routine today.