How To Increase Recovery After Your Workout Sessions

If you’re just started up on a brand new workout program and are making sure that you give 110% each and every time that you’re in the gym, another factor that you need to be thinking about as you go through the program is your recovery ability.

How fast you recover between workout sessions is going to play a large role in determining the rate of progress you see because if you aren’t recovered when doing a workout, you’re actually just getting weaker, not stronger.

That said, there are a few things that you can do that will really enhance your level of recovery and get you faster results than you ever thought possible.  Let’s go over what you need to know.

Take A Hot Bath

The first way to boost your recovery after a hard session at the gym is to go in for a hot bath later on in the evening.  This will help to increase blood flow to the impacted muscles, delivering more nutrients along with oxygen.

Plus, it’ll also help to ease the stress from the day and put you in a more relaxed state before you go to bed – which is the prime time when recovery takes place.

If you really want to up the advantages you see from this strategy, also consider adding some Epsom salts to the bathwater.

Foam Roll

Second, another popular strategy right now to boost your level of recovery between workout sessions is to foam roll. This involves placing a piece of cylindrical foam underneath certain areas of the body and rolling over it, applying light pressure as you do.

The idea is that the pressure will slowly help to relax the muscle tissue, reducing any knots or tension that is present. If you often suffer from post-workout muscle soreness, this can be an excellent way to treat this issue.

Take Care Of Post-Workout Nutrition

Finally, the last must-do if you want to boost the success you get from your workout session and recover as fast as you possibly can is to make sure that you’re also looking after your post-workout nutrition.  What you eat immediately after the workout is going to play a key role in providing your body with the raw materials it needs to kick-start the rebuilding process, allowing you to heal the damaged muscle cells and make sure that they are growing back stronger than they were before.

You only have so long of a ‘window of opportunity’ after the workout is completed where the body is more receptive to taking up the nutrients you feed it, so you’ll want to make the most of that.

Try and eat within 20 minutes of completing the workout if you can.

So there you have the most important tips that you should remember as you go about your workout program and the time period afterward.  While putting in the effort at the gym is important, so is maximizing the recovery you experience immediately following.

If you’re just started up on a brand new workout program and are making sure that you give 110% each and every time that you’re in the gym, another factor that you need to be thinking about as you go

After you’ve finished putting together the brand new workout program that you’re going to be following to help you get leaner and build muscle mass, you need to think about what you’re going to be eating immediately following those workouts.

Post-workout nutrition is critical to success and those who miss out on it are going to take longer to recovery and are more likely to feel fatigued and sore the rest of the day.

Fortunately, post-workout nutrition doesn’t have to be something that’s tricky to figure out as long as you know a few of the key tips to have in place.

Let’s go over what you need to know about post-workout nutrition.

Get In A Fast Absorbing Source Of Protein

First, you’ll want to make sure that you’re providing the body with the amino acids that it’s going to need to start the repair and recovery process.  Amino acids are what muscle tissues are built from, so these are going to help to form the structural foundation for new muscle cells.

Since you want to get those amino acids to the muscles as fast as possible, you want to go with a protein source that’s going to absorb rapidly.

The best options are a whey isolate protein powder or egg whites.  Both of these will hit the muscles at top speeds.

Add Some Simple Carbs

Second, to that protein you want to add some simple carbs.  It’s okay – even preferable, to eat simple carbs at this point of the day because your goal is to spike insulin since that is what will drive the nutrients into the muscle cells more effectively.

The best simple carbs most people use are dextrose or maltodextrine as they can easily be mixed right in with your protein powder.

If you prefer a food-form of simple carbs, that’s fine as well and white bread, white bagels, or sugary cereal will all work great as well.

Balance Them Out With Complex Carbs

To those simple carbs, you’ll want to add in a few complex carbs. This will prevent a sharp blood glucose crash after the simple carbs are absorbed, which would leave you feeling shaky and light headed.

So that bowl of cereal, add some bran flakes.  Or have a bowl of oatmeal along with that slice of toast you’re eating with jelly.

Minimize Fat

Finally, the last thing to consider is that you’ll also want to minimize the amount of fat that you’re eating in this meal.  Fat is only going to slow down the process, making it take longer for you to recover and feel well again.

Try and keep this meal as fat free as possible and you’ll be easily able to repair and rebuild your muscles at top rates.

So there you have the most important points to know about post-workout nutrition. Make sure that you are missing out on eating well after your workout so that you can see the fastest recovery and results possible.