Recover Faster, Perform Better with Good Habits

The faster your muscle recovers, the faster your body can focus on growing more. Most people assume that the only way to have good muscle mass is to hit the gym every day and use heavy weights, what is not the case. Aside from stimulating muscle growth by increasing the weight you carry; you can gain muscle also by helping your body recover faster.

Nutrition After Workout

Eating within thirty minutes after strenuous exercise kick starts the body’s repairing mechanism. Drinking a protein drink is convenient, but if you are aiming for proper food, try peanut butter. Peanut butter contains carbohydrates to stop the body from breaking down muscles for energy and protein to start the repairing process. Alternatively, protein bars provide a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to help maximise burn while reducing muscle loss. Depending on how much you are exercising, you may require a pre and post- workout meal, simply to make sure that the body has enough energy to burn before, during and after a workout.

Aside from food, water is also an important part of muscle recovery. Plain water is good enough usually; but for particularly sweaty workouts, some studies recommend water with electrolytes. Studies have shown that we need to replace the salt that we lost through sweat for prolonged exercises. Without water, it is hard for the body to transport important building blocks to the muscles to start the repair process. Schedule them in your daily routine. Keep track of your food and water, so you can find the sweet spot for faster muscle recovery.

Get Some Rest

While it is tempting to exercise every day, give your body a day or two to rest and rejuvenate. Always listen to your body. If you are feeling some muscle soreness or tiredness, a rest will do more good than hitting the gym again. You can create your weekly exercise routine, focusing on different muscle groups. This way, you can exercise every day while giving those guns a little rest. Alternatively, try active recovery by doing light exercises to stimulate blood flow but not stress the muscles out too much. If it is hard to skip because you have a routine going on, avoid the muscle group that is tired and sore and try a natural muscle recovery remedy to help alleviate sore and stiff muscles, your body will thank you for it.

The body can focus more energy on muscle recovery and regeneration while you sleep, which is why athletes are encouraged not to stay up late when they are training. If you are trying to bulk up, a good 8 to 10 hours of rest is recommended. It will help faster muscle recovery, particularly if you eat some protein before bed, all the energy can be directed to repairing and growing muscles. Many research proves that rest is an essential part of training to maximise the body’s potential.

Pre and Post-Workout Habits

Good habits before and after a good workout session will help your body recover faster. Most exercise routines start with some breathing exercise go get some oxygen to the body for a reason. The muscle requires oxygen to generate energy, and it will generate lactic acid when there is not enough. Lactic acid can damage muscle, which is why you feel sore later. Proper breathing will help the body take in a good level of oxygen to reduce muscle damage, while will avoid having to repair it later.

Some people prefer a good stretch to cool down the muscle as well as improving their flexibility, others cool down gradually using cool down routines. The post-workout routine will help trigger the brain to start the repair process, as the body is ending a gruelling exercise session. Foam rolling will help muscles relax after a gruelling workout, but you can massage your muscles before or after to relax the tense muscles. The aim is to reduce muscle damage for faster recovery later.

Conclusion

A good workout routine will have essential habits that promote faster muscle recovery. No one likes to walk around with sore muscles for days, which is why these tips help you become the best version you aim to be. The tips are easy to follow, and you can see the difference if you are consistent. How fast you grow your muscles depends on how fast your body can repair the existing ones, hence it makes sense to make sure that you recover fast.