After an intense workout, your muscles will need rest and recovery. While there are many ways to help with your recovery, eating healthy foods and getting good sleep are fundamental. The cornerstone of post-workout nutrition is a careful combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fluids. Additionally, you may require some supplements to hasten the recovery process.
Below are some ways to speed up your recovery after a workout.
1. Ensure to Get Enough Sleep
Having enough sleep is touted as one of the most valuable ways to recover. Proper sleep will allow your body to get rest and repair damage to your muscles. Besides, hormones like testosterone increase during sleep, enabling you to perform better the following day.
Furthermore, it would be best to be consistent in your rest patterns. You should set aside one or two days of rest every week. Apart from allowing muscle repair, proper rest will also leave you feeling rejuvenated. Generally, you should have at least 8 hours of sleep each night. If you engage in more intense workouts, you might need more time for rest and sleep.
2. Eating Healthy Food
Workouts make your muscle fibers get damaged due to tearing. Therefore, you will need to consume enough proteins post-workout. Proteins provide your body with raw materials needed for muscle repair. Eating enough proteins after a workout will also ensure optimum muscle growth.
In addition, you need carbohydrates to refuel your body after a workout. Often, carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for your muscles. So, you will need to eat enough carbohydrates to restore lost energy. Lastly, ensure you eat an overall balanced diet to avoid nutrient deficiencies that could prejudice muscle recovery.
3. Stay Well Hydrated
Water is vital to your body and has many benefits in the body. Staying hydrated following intense exercise is crucial for your recovery. Water is important in transporting nutrients and oxygen to your body cells. It is also involved in body temperature regulation besides normalizing blood pressure.
Consequently, without proper hydration, you may not reap the full benefits of your workout. Dehydration will generally impair the ability of muscle repair. You will likely become dehydrated if you exercise in hot-humid conditions and don't drink enough water. You should drink at least 16 ounces of fluid for each pound lost during a workout.
4. Take Supplements
Recovery after a workout can be hastened by including supplements in your diet. The two supplements that I absolutely recommend that you take especially when weight training are creatine and an isolate whey protein powder. Together these two supplements make a huge difference in your overall results and recovery.
For instance, creatine is effective in the development of muscular strength. It is also known to minimize damage and inflammation. As a result, your muscles will quickly recover from a strenuous workout.
Protein powder helps to add extra protein to what you get from your diet. Protein powders contain normally a whole spectrum of essential amino acids and branch chain amino acids.
Moreover, workouts trigger the formation of free radical molecules that cause oxidative stress and inflammation. An antioxidant supplement such as Acai berries can clear such molecules. Thus, it helps to reduce stress and inflammation after a workout. While supplements cannot substitute healthy food and good sleep, they may benefit your recovery.
5. Massage
Massage is vital in decreasing delayed onset muscle soreness after your workout. Subsequently, there will be a boost in blood flow, thereby speeding up your recovery. Again, the increased blood circulation will lessen exhaustion after a workout.
While the impact of massage on your recovery may be small, it has a meaningful outcome of improving your flexibility. Whether you're a professional athlete or bodybuilder, a massage can help relieve your muscle soreness.
Concluding Remarks
The time required for muscle recovery will depend on your fitness levels. For a light exercise, your muscles might recover within a day. However, if your workout is intense, you may need up to three days. Failure to allow full recovery of muscles may put you at risk of getting injuries.
