If you enjoy challenging workouts and don’t want to have to take a lot of time off in between sessions, you can try different ways to shorten your recovery time. The right recovery methods can help your muscles heal faster and reduce fatigue so that you’ll be ready sooner to take on your next workout. If you want to maximize your training, you can try these three simple methods for a faster recovery.
Apply Ice
Inflammation is one of the main factors that can slow recovery time, and applying ice to areas where inflamed muscles and joints are located can reduce flareups. The numbing effects of ice can also help reduce pain so that you’ll be able to start working out again with less discomfort.
You can apply an ice pack to sore and swollen areas, and you might be able to tolerate the cold better if your pack is wrapped well enough to reduce the intense cold feeling. If your cold tolerance is high, you can try filling a bathtub with ice cubes and taking an ice bath to target more areas of the body that are strained from exercise.
Get the Right Nutrition
The foods and beverages that you consume can greatly affect how well you recover after your workouts. Foods and beverages that are high in protein and antioxidants should be consumed regularly if you want to get back to your fitness routine faster. Some of the best foods and beverages for muscle recovery include:
- Sweet potatoes
- Fatty fish
- Melons
- Eggs
- Herbal tea
- Pomegranate juice
You can also incorporate certain dietary supplements into your nutrition plan if you want to speed up your recovery. Fortifeye Performance Nutrition post-workout shakes and similar supplement beverages contain high amounts of whey protein and other ingredients that are needed for optimal recovery.
Do Some Stretching
Stretching isn’t just good before exercising; it can also aid your muscles after they’ve been strained from working out. Stretching can prevent the muscles from stiffening too much and help reduce lactic acid buildups. You can also increase your blood flow to help the blood deliver more of the essential nutrients needed for muscle healing by doing the right stretches.
Many yoga poses are known to work well for muscle recovery. Reverse shoulder stretches, lower back stretches and hamstring stretches are other good post-workout stretches to perform.
You don’t always have to wait long until your next workout. By preparing the right way for your post-workout recovery, you’ll likely have a much easier time starting your next fitness session without a lengthy delay.