Natural Post Workout Muscle Recovery
The Necessities to Your Workout Recovery |
 Another major building block that is necessary to help you achieve your goal(s) is Recovery. It is extremely important that you take advantage of the time between workouts to allow your body to properly recover. After all, when you are in the gym, you are stressing your body (muscles) both physically and mentally. Your body needs the time out of the gym to recover so that you are stronger for your next workout. This is another reason why Bright ‘N Fit recommends that you workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. With that schedule, your body has Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday to recover. The quicker your body recovers, the better your performance will be for your next workout.
In addition to getting the proper nutrition from the food that you eat, your workout recovery will improve by getting sufficient quality sleep on a consistent basis. Overall, sleep is very beneficial for your body. It can help lead to better results from your workouts as well as improved performance in the classroom.
You should aim to get at least 8-9 hours of quality sleep a night. You may be asking yourself, “How am I supposed to get a full 8 hours of sleep when there are disturbances in my dorm or apartment at night?” Bright ‘N Fit does not suggest that you take medications or pills to help you fall asleep. Instead, if you have trouble falling asleep or struggle to remain asleep throughout the entire night, follow these tips:
• Make your bed as comfortable as possible by having the appropriate blankets and comforters for the temperature in the room. Also, make sure your sheets and pillow case are clean.
• Make your room as dark as possible by shutting off all of your lights, turning off your computer, lap top, and/or cell phone, shutting the blinds, and blocking the light given off by your digital alarm clock.
• Make an effort to go to bed at around the same time every night by managing your time. Try to finish all of your school-work or activities earlier in the day and night, so you can get to bed at a reasonable hour.
• By working out during the day your body will be more tired at night.
• Listen to soft and relaxing background music that is just loud enough for you to barely hear.
• If reading makes you tired, read light material in your bed until you fall asleep.
• If watching television at night makes you tired, watch something on television until you fall asleep. Just remember to turn off the television right before you fall asleep.
• Create “white noise” by running a fan. The “white noise” flushes out any disturbing sounds, and relaxes you. If the temperature in your room is cold, just situate the fan so that it faces away from your bed. This is a great trick for muscle recovery.
• Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages close to the time that you plan on going to bed.
Kick Your Feet Up During Your Workout Recovery |
On your “off” days, it is important to relax your body. Do not even step foot in the gym. Remember, this is workout recovery we are talking about. If the weather is appropriate, go outside for a stroll or toss the Frisbee with a friend. If you have enough time between your classes, take a 30 minute nap. If you have even more time, browse the Bright ‘N Fit site, or watch your favorite movie. You can also take advantage of this time to get ahead with your school-work or spend time with your friends. The bottom line is you do not want to stress your body in any way.
Make sure you drink your 100% Whey Protein shake within 30 minutes following your workout. Right after your workout, your muscles are at a broken-down state from the tension that you placed on them by lifting weights. As a result, you should provide your muscles with a great source of protein so the recovery process begins as soon as possible. Your 100% Whey Protein shake accomplishes just this, as this quality source of protein is quickly digested by your system. Bright ‘N Fit recommends that you also eat a meal about an hour after your workout.
Hit the Showers During Your Workout Recovery |
After your next strenuous workout, try a cold and hot shower. First, stand in the shower with cold water for approximately 30 seconds. Then, run very warm water for approximately 2 minutes. Alternate this cycle for 3 more times, or a total of 4 times. The alternation between cold and very warm water gets the blood flowing throughout the muscles in your body, expediting the recovery process.
If you are sore from the previous day’s workout, do not worry, it is perfectly normal. It simply means that your muscles have been stressed more than they usually are. The soreness will diminish as your body gets accustomed to working out. Nevertheless, the best thing to do to get rid of soreness is to perform the exercise(s) with very little resistance that made your muscle groups sore. For example, if your chest and triceps are sore from bench pressing, you should perform a few sets (3 X 5) of push-ups on your “off” day. Or, if your legs are sore from squatting, you should perform a few sets (3 X 5) of body-weight squats on your “off” day. When you do a few sets of very low resistance and low intensity exercises, your sore muscles receive blood. Your blood helps repair the muscles.
If you have a heat pad, you can apply heat to the sore muscle group(s). The heat will get blood flowing to your sore muscle group(s) so that they can be repaired. This method has a similar effect to performing very low-resistance exercises, as described above.
Disclaimer: There are risks associated with any physical regime. When you use the information provided on this site you do so at your own risk, and Bright 'N Fit and its founders are not responsible for any losses or damages of any kind.
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