Having a great recovery plan after a workout is extremely important because it reduces the chances of injuries and soreness, and also helps increase muscle growth and blood flow!
Regardless of your workout routine, taking time throughout your day to ensure muscle recovery is important. Different workouts like running, doing mind and body strength training, or muscle building by weight lifting, are all great ways to build muscle and support great health, but to ensure the goals that you would like to achieve you have to stay hydrated, eat properly, rest, and stretch. Here are several tips to help you build your recovery plan.
Staying Hydrated
After an intense workout fill up your cute water bottle! You lose fluids through sweat; the best way to replace these fluids are through drinking 12-15 cups of water throughout the day. The lack of water can lead to muscle cramping and poor physical performance. If you are not able to drink 12-15 cups, try to challenge yourself each day to drink a little more than the day before!
Eating Properly
Eat! Eat! Eat! To ensure proper muscle recovery, take in at least 20 grams of protein within 30 minutes after a workout. Taking in protein after a workout will help repair and replace muscle. Some great post-workout snacks can be yogurt, smoothies, chocolate milk or protein shakes. Implementing different sources of protein in each meal will also lead to more energy throughout the day. Avoid skipping meals; skipping meals can lead to slower metabolism, low energy, and other nutritional deficiencies. Try to eat three nutritional balanced meals and one to three small snacks throughout the day. Meal prepping or planning your weekly meals can help you keep track of how much you are taking in.
Rest
Time to get some rest and relax! Getting 7-8 hours of good sleep each night helps your body recharge for the next day! If you are having troubles falling asleep or getting quality rest, try to avoid scrolling through your phone, watching TV, or playing games on a tablet thirty minutes before bed. To keep your body on a routine, try to set a consistent schedule of what time you wake up and go to bed. If you are a person that enjoys hitting the snooze button a couple times in the morning, challenge yourself to only hit it once and then wake up. Consistency is key!
Stretch
After each workout, make sure you stretch about ten minutes. Stretching helps reduce the muscle tension and cramping that can build up during a workout. Implementing a good stretch into your routine can help with improving your performance for your next workout. Some great stretches to include are the shoulder, overhead, chest, toe, and the quad stretch. Each stretch should target the areas that you worked during your routine.
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