(Newswire.net — June 11, 2020) — Exercise can be pretty grueling on your body. Whether you’re getting back in shape or pushing a personal weightlifting record, the pain is real. But many people are unaware that they can save themselves from a world of soreness with post-workout recovery methods.
First thing’s first, what’s exercise recovery?
You know that tender stiffness you feel 24-72 hours after a strenuous workout or unaccustomed exercise? It’s called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and it’s caused by tiny tears in your muscle fibers known as “micro-trauma”.
Your body responds to this small-scale damage by increasing its inflammation response and muscles adapt quickly to prevent future fissures—which is how you get stronger. But that intense inflammation can make your muscles ache whenever they’re touched, stretched, or contracted. If you can barely bend over after working out, mustering up the motivation to return to the gym will feel nearly impossible.
So, when we talk about “recovery”, we’re referring to the methods used to minimize inflammation and accelerate tissue repair. (That intense burning sensation you experience while working out is a whole other thing caused by lactic acid building up in the bloodstream, but exercise recovery can alleviate the painful symptoms of cramping, too!)
These five tips will help quickly restore your body to feeling at its best, so you can get back at it and achieve your fitness goals—while wincing less in pain on the days that follow.
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Always Stretch at the End of Every Session
You busted it out, beading with sweat, and felt ready to starfish on the floor. Don’t. Too many athletes undervalue the importance of stretching at the end of their workout, even though they know it’s critical to their warm up routine.
Pre-workout stretches minimize the risk of injury by making your muscles more pliable and increasing their range of motion, but you also need to stretch after working out to remove excess lactic acid and help return your muscles to their original length.
A strenuous session can leave them all out of shape due to tense, repetitive contractions that cause next-day tightness. But stretching activated muscles as they cool down can rectify their shortened state before they settle in and get stiff or sore.
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Active Recovery is Equally Important
Whereas stretching is considered “passive” recovery, active recovery involves low-intensity exercise while wrapping up your workout and light activity on the following day. Yoga, swimming, and a gentle bike ride on a Peloton are all great examples.
Even though you might feel really sore and reluctant to move, active recovery improves blood circulation, thereby promoting nutrient and waste product transport throughout the body to repair and refuel muscles faster.
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Give Your Body a Boost
Just like pre-workout supplements that help you achieve peak athletic performance, there are also post-workout supplements you can take to maximize your recovery results. One of the best ways you can inhibit your body’s inflammatory response is with cannabidiol (CBD), a naturally occurring compound in cannabis plants that offers numerous health benefits.
There are so many ways you can ingest it, but there are also companies like Ignite CBD that offer topical sport creams you can apply directly onto sore muscles for fast-acting pain relief. Compared to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that have been known to cause stomach ulcers when taken too frequently, CBD offers an all-natural, safe way to keep pain at bay.
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Invest in a Foam Roller
Getting a massage can be wonderfully effective at relieving deep muscle tension, but they’re rather expensive and can add up fast. Rather than going to a masseuse all the time, buy a foam roller and give yourself deep tissue massages at home.
Foam rollers are one of the best pain relieving strategies (and one of the most affordable, too) because all you need to do is lay across it beneath a particular muscle group you want to target, relax your body, and roll back and forth to relieve the tension. A simple foam roller will cost less than $20 and can dramatically improve stiff muscles, but you can also upgrade to a vibrating fitness roller to improve circulation for more effective results.
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Amp Up Hydration and Nutrition
Finally, remember that hydration and nutrition are key to keeping your body fit and healthy, like a well-oiled machine. Use these tips to feel at your finest and you’ll be amazed by how much easier exercise becomes.