How to recover after a workout?

In sports, in the field of fitness and bodybuilding, there has long been a common belief that pain in muscle tissue after strength training or any other workout is an indicator of its quality. It is believed that this pain eloquently indicates that the muscles are growing, and your relief from day to day will begin to please you with its reflection in the mirror. Often, beginners in bodybuilding bring themselves to complete exhaustion, so that they are then unable to lift their leg after such a “quality” workout.



Haste and the desire to achieve impressive results as quickly as possible leads to the fact that, against the backdrop of ongoing soreness (muscle pain), athletes neglect recovery periods, believing that rest is unnecessary and work on building muscle mass requires continuous involvement in the process. Such a mistake can negate all titanic efforts, since sport and every workout is a certain stress for the body. And continuously ongoing stress and snowballing fatigue will sooner or later lead to a “rollback.” The solution to this problem is simple. Learn to use rest as part of the training process. Recovery is required for the body to withstand even greater stress.

So how do you recover after a workout? — any athlete should remember five simple actions and perform them upon completion of a strength training session: sleep, food, massage, stretching, contrast shower. Let's consider each of them in order of decreasing importance.

Dream.

The most important point in the restoration ceremony! Sleep should be enough and the standard amount is 7-8 hours. Everyone remembers from childhood that people grow in their dreams. This is a fair statement that also applies to athletes. Protein synthesis and the effect of hormones on muscles ensure their desired growth and strengthening. In addition, the brain and nervous system rest during sleep, which is especially important during intense preparation for competitions. You should sleep on a hard surface, giving the opportunity, among other things, to relax and rest the “foundation” of the body - the skeleton and joints.

Food.

Nutrition is certainly and obviously an important element, but it is especially important after a workout. It matters not only what to eat, but also when and under what conditions. After loading your body, your task is to provide it with the right building materials so that the body can build new strong and beautiful walls of the building of your body. This is bodybuilding! You need to eat within an hour after you put the dumbbells aside. And it must be proteins in combination with complex carbohydrates. Plus, of course, calories. Buckwheat, vegetables, chicken, fish, cottage cheese, etc. Special supplements recommended by your trainer are also welcome. You should eat in a quiet, comfortable environment.

Massage.

A professional massage therapist will help your body release toxins and unconscious tensions that undoubtedly hinder an athlete's recovery. The right massage will help your body deliver nutrients to the right place. In addition, massage makes the body more flexible and sensitive, which will help you avoid injury in the future. Of course, a full-fledged massage is hardly available every day. Therefore, from time to time it can be replaced with an ordinary bath with a broom.

Stretching.

Works the same as massage. Provides intense blood and lymph flow in the muscles. Accordingly, it ensures better gas exchange processes in body fluids and improves metabolism. An athlete must do stretching at the beginning of training, during and at its completion. To recover well, basic gymnastic exercises or simple yoga will do.

Cold and hot shower.

Cold water combats inflammation in overworked muscles. And the fewer such inflamed areas in the body, the less energy it needs to spend on recovery and this process will go faster. A cold shower works the same way as a compress. Alternate exposure to cold and hot water will serve to harden you and will act like a certain kind of massage (see above). A cold shower (not ice cold, but cold!) for ten minutes will be enough. According to sports medicine experts, the process of muscle recovery will accelerate by approximately half, and muscle pain the next day will, accordingly, be approximately halved. In this case, you should take a shower immediately after training.