Picture this: It’s the holiday season and the sun is setting earlier in the day, so it feels later than it actually is. You’re tired after a long day of work and you want to head straight for some comfort food, but feel like you should swing by the gym for a quick workout before that lobster mac and cheese so you won’t feel as bad about eating it. You figure if you skip the warmup and just jump right into some cardio, you can be out of there in 30 minutes. This gives you just enough time to get home for your food delivery so you can “Netflix and Chill” for the rest of the night. You feel good about getting your workout in, but then pass out on the couch and wake up with intense muscle soreness and fatigue. It’s so rough in fact, that it’s hard to get out of bed the next morning and complete everyday normal tasks like getting dressed or brushing your hair. You might even be so sore, you’re less motivated to get back to the gym again. Sound familiar?
Even though the holidays are here, and comfort foods are taking over, it’s important to keep up with exercise routines–not only for your physical health but also for the way it relaxes your brain and releases “happy” chemicals. When you hit the gym, you may leave feeling accomplished and restored yet tired. Most workouts will inevitably leave you with that burning feeling in your muscles that comes with post-workout muscle recovery. Let’s talk about how to avoid feeling worse after a workout and the importance of workout recovery!
What people don’t tell you about workout recovery
Everyone talks about the importance of exercise, but not about the recovery process. Workout recovery is just as vital as the workout itself. When people don’t properly recover from a workout or training session it can lead to fatigue, a decline in performance, and even potential injury. According to NFSports, muscle soreness is pretty common and brought on by physical exertion that inflames the muscle tissue. Lactic acid builds up in muscles during and following physical exertion and exercise. Although lactic acid build up is partly to blame, it’s not the main culprit of muscle soreness and fatigue. Some of the most common mistakes made during workout recovery that lead to soreness are waiting too long to refuel, slacking off on hydrating, and passing on the cooldown. In the moment, it may not feel like a stretch before and after your workout are all that impactful, but a solid warm-up and cool down with good hydration throughout can maximize post-workout recovery!
Tips for proper workout recovery
When looking to hone in on the importance of workout recovery we found that staying properly hydrated during and after a workout, finding a practical cooldown routine, and getting adequate sleep are vital to proper workout recovery.
- Drinking water is the best way to rehydrate and cool our bodies from the inside out. Sports experts suggest that rehydration is very important to restore your electrolyte balance which is lost (from sweat loss) during intense workouts and competition. Water flushes toxins out of the body, transports nutrients into the cells, helps regulate body temperature and pH balance, and it helps with muscle soreness and tension.
- Believe it or not, your sleep pattern can be just as important to your fitness routine as the work you put in at the gym. It’s pretty crazy how complex sleep is, given that we don’t even notice as we progress through the phases of sleep with multiple stages in between. The different phases of sleep provide various effects on our bodies, and certain phases of sleep are crucial components of muscle recovery. During sleep our bodies are able to slow down, and blood flow to muscles increases which provides nutrients and hormones our bodies need to facilitate repair and recovery.
- You may have heard of REM and Non-REM cycles. REM, or rapid eye movement, is the part of sleep where we experience vivid dreams. During Non-REM sleep, our bodies build bone and muscle, repair and regenerate tissues, and even strengthen the immune system. Non-REM sleep causes the release of growth hormones, which not only repair muscle tissue but also facilitate new muscle growth. Adequate Non-REM sleep is an essential part of muscle recovery. In order to get proper Non-REM sleep, we must get proper REM sleep, since REM sleep is the first phase of the sleep cycle. All this to say, that high quality sleep is important to reset, recover and rebuild, so be sure to get your zzzz’s!
- Our last tip is all about the cooldown. Cooling down after a workout is more than a slow walk to the locker room or sitting in front of the fan in an air-conditioned car. A cooldown can consist of a brisk 10-minute walk around the gym, stretching, or even mindfulness exercises that relax your body and bring your heart rate back to normal. According to Ace Fitness, it takes time for the accumulation of lactic acid to be ‘buffered’ out, so 10 minutes of light exercise along with stretching is a great way to begin clearing the lactic acid from the body. It also helps to ensure that your body will be ready for its next physical test. Help yourself with an effective cooldown… your muscles will thank you later.
How Hello Hydration can help you on your road to recovery
Not only is our mission to educate the community on ways to stay hydrated and feel restored, but to also offer services that can help!
- Our Rapid Recovery IV Bomb: This drip is made of one liter of IV fluids, plus vitamins, and minerals and it includes a FastVitaminIV, so you’ll leave feeling like a winner! It’s a proprietary blend developed by Dr. Craig Koniver which is loaded with 19 vitamins, minerals, and amino acids and it’s a total rush!
- FastVitamin Push: This IV push is meant to be infused quickly (that’s why it’s called a push) and it’s loaded with 19 vitamins, minerals and amino acids. You’ll feel the rush as it works its way through your body and even for a few days after. It’s a great option for athletes, health gurus, and anyone looking to optimize performance or improve health and wellness.
- The Beast Maker: Looking to build your inner beast and power up into a stronger version of yourself? Whether pre-workouts are your thing, or you’re more about post-workout recovery, this drip may be just what you need to improve performance.
Since we’ve already talked about the importance of workout recovery, why not check off hydration and recovery with supplements in one shot with one of our drips. Along with hydrating IV drips, we also supply boosters that help with anti-inflammatory, mood-boosting, and standard hydration necessities. Book with us for your next post-workout recovery! When you book with a group of 6 or more, receive your service (any of Hello Hydration’s IV Drips) for free through the holidays!
You know what they say…work hard, recover harder!
References
https://www.goodyearhealth.com/resources/blog/importance-of-hydration-on-recovery/
https://nfsports.com/blogs/supplements/muscle-recovery
https://nfsports.com/blogs/supplements/muscle-recovery
https://www.hss.edu/article_overtraining.asp#:~:text=Overtraining%20syndrome%20occ
urs%20when%20an,declining%20performance%20and%20potential%20injury.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/12148-sleep-basics