REST and recovery are critical components for any athlete’s training. As an athlete, you are only as good as your ability to recover, so to maximize your training, it’s important to take care of your body. No matter what your activity level is – whether you play a sport, work an active job, or enjoy daily exercise – you will break your body down over time. Rest is critical, but it isn’t always enough to get your body ready to perform again.
We fiercely believe — whether you’re a professional athlete, an age-group competitor or those wanting to feel good and energetic at any and every age — that you achieve potential performance through recovery. Contrary to what you might expect, recovery is not something that only begins when your workout ends. Muscle recovery is a 24/7 process. The effort you put into preparing your body before a workout can dramatically improve the way you feel after. By creating and maintaining healthy pre-exercise preparation habits, we can not only set ourselves up for success in the game or in the gym, but also in the hours and days that follow.
Nobody wants to be stuck with the soreness, stiffness, and fatigue that often arise after a workout. Although it’s possible to relieve some of these symptoms and help our body recover after exercise, the process of recovery truly starts with pre-workout preparation. When we activate our muscles and maintain adequate hydration before a workout, our bodies are better prepared for the physical exertion that ensues.
Here are a few of our favorite proven ways to accelerate your recovery after exercise and get your body back to performing at its peak as quickly and efficiently as possible.
01 REST
Our bodies can take care of itself if you allow it time to do so — sleep allows our bodies that time for natural regeneration. Getting quality sleep and rest for your body is one of the most effective methods of recovery after a hard workout because it allows the repair and recovery process to happen naturally.
02 REPLENISH LOST FLUIDS
We lose a lot of fluid and natural minerals when we exercise, so it’s essential to replenish them. This starts by drinking the most hydrating thing you can — water. Sufficient water consumption supports every bodily function, and our muscles are 75 percent water, so for them to recover quickly and easily, they must be hydrated. Adding electrolytes to water amplifies hydration by replenishing the minerals your body loses when you sweat.
03 EAT RECOVERY FOODS
Just like you need to replenish your body with water and electrolytes, you need to refuel your body with healthy, recovery foods. After depleting your body’s energy, you need to refuel if you expect your body to recover in time for the next challenge. This means having a protein shake and eating high-protein, anti-inflammatory food within an hour after your workout.
04 MUSCLE PLIABILITY
The missing leg of many recovery processes starts before you even workout. Even if you’re not sore, pre-workout pliability helps your muscles stay long and soft while you’re moving, lessening the soreness and tightness from lactic acid buildup you’ll have after your workout or game. Then, post-workout pliability, will stimulate your lymphatic system helping clear out waste in your body, healing your body faster, so you bounce back into your sport more quickly.
There is no all-in-one way to recover. Remember that recovery is multifaceted, so it takes a holistic approach to get your body back to 100 percent. Our TB12 Recovery Guide offers a fundamental approach toward restoring natural pliability with pre- and post-workout disciplines. It shows you the basics in maintaining pliability with active recovery, nutrition, hydration and more. Click here to check it out!
