Post Exercise Recovery

Last week I gave you all the unfortunate news that some pain is an integral part of getting great results from exercise. But, because I believe in fair and balanced blogging I feel I should also let you in on all the trade secrets on how to reduce the severity of post-exercise soreness. And hey I may have a slight ulterior motive – it’ll have you back training quicker!

1) The blessed H2O – drinking lots of the clear stuff and then peeing out is the best and most effective detox you can ever have. The metabolites and other nasties that linger in your muscles after a workout are what cause some of your pain and discomfort. Drinking and then peeing will rid you of these nasties.
2) Post exercise light activity – going for a light jog, a walk or a swim the day after a big session or event gets your muscles working again. The pumping of your muscles acts like a pump to help flush your muscles of the aforementioned nasties.
3) Post training nutrition – a balanced meal or snack that is carbohydrate rich and that also contains protein is essential in the first 30-45 minutes after a workout. This will replace your vitamins and nutrients and allow your body to get stuck into rebuilding your muscles and aiding recovery.
4) Rest – this means adequate sleep but more importantly not re-stressing the muscles before they have adequately recovered. Always leave 48hours between like strength workouts to allow maximal muscle recovery. If you re-stress an un-recovered muscle you’ll hamper your progress.

What doesn’t work in post-exercise recovery
1) Alcohol – causes eventual dehydration and build up of pain causing nasties.
2) Pills and potions that claim to help – say this mantra with me “there’s always a better natural way”.
3) Poor nutrition – you’ve forced your body to undergo stress so there’s no use stressing it again by eating food of minimal nutritional value. If you train hard yet eat badly you better get used to looking and feeling like you do now because you won’t be improving any time soon.