Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions remain my own. You can learn more about our editorial policies here.
It is hard to stay motivated with our training when we have a difficult time recovering from workouts. This is why we put together some helpful, easy tips to assist speed up recovery from your workout routine.
Do you find yourself feeling lethargic and sluggish after a tough workout? Difficult to get motivated following a day of hard day of training? If so, you’re not alone. Training is an intense process that can leave us feeling run-down, but it’s important to know when you need to work on your recovery.
Here are five effective ways to speed up recovery after working out:
Foam Rolling:
In the wise words of limp bizkit “keep on rolling baby!” This is something I have also incorporated myself into my workouts over the last few months and have certainly noticed a positive difference.
Some of those annoying aches and pains that can come after exercise occur when muscles and fascia (connective tissue that runs throughout the body) become “knotted.” Rolling your muscles out on a foam roller can help remove those knots and even prevent muscle imbalances from forming — saving yourself a trip to the physio.
Get more sleep (6 – 8 hours):
If you find you feel frustrated with lack of results and lack of energy when training in the gym, take a serious look at your sleeping habits.
If you are getting minimal sleep at night you can’t expect your body to have a sufficient amount of time to recover after a workout, or for you to have enough energy to perform well in the gym the following day. Sleep is also one of our top tips in our Tips to Get 6 Pack Abs
Proven research suggests that sleep deprivation can have a negative effect on performance and recovery. Sleep effects all of the body’s systems, including your brain, immune system etc. Getting sleep is essential for your own mental health and all round well-being, let alone your gym gains! This is a quick and easy way to speed up recovery from training.
Avoid drinking too much:
Sorry, I know this is going to be an unpopular subject for most, but unfortunately alcohol is a killer when it comes to those glorious gains!
Alcohol interferes with protein synthesis, essentially making muscle repair after a workout much less efficient. Keep drinking to a minimum.
Recovery days help speed up recovery from training
If you are the other extreme like myself and find it hard to have a day off as you feel guilty, try and discipline yourself to do so. Active recovery days can be useful such as going for a gentle walk, doing some stretching or even yoga. This way you don’t feel as guilty due to the fact you are still doing some form of activity, however it’s not very strenuous and it gives your muscles chance to heal. Also, consider switching to a 3 Day A Week Full-body Workout Routine to allow yourself time to recover between workouts.
Drink water:
As simple as it sounds it’s something so many of us forget about, especially when we are busy! It is so important to keep drinking throughout the day, not just before or during a workout. I find just having a bottle of water on me no matter where I’m heading solves this problem easily.
Another error people make with this, is they will wait until they are thirsty. This is not advised, constantly being hydrated is the key here. Simply drinking some good old H20 can reduce the risk of tears, ruptures and believe it or not, dehydration… I also find it helps increase my overall workout performance as well.
To summarise, as you can see none of these points are exactly rocket science, but these few simple tips can really go a long way to increase your performance in the gym, as well as the results you gain when you’re outside the gym.
