Try These 9 Strategies to Improve Recovery Following Workouts
If you train with any kind of intensity, you know what follows – extreme soreness. DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) is real, and when it creeps in to pay you a visit, you’ll look for just about anything to provide some relief. How well you recover from intense workouts will determine the severity and length of your muscle soreness. The more effectively you are able to improve recovery, the faster you can get rid of muscle soreness and get back into the gym to do it all over again. (Side note: It does seem a little odd that we enjoy this process, no?)
With all of that being said, this article will lay out nine strategies you can consider implementing in order to improve recovery. You may decide to use one or many – it’s entirely up to you.
1. Use a Massage Gun or Foam Roller
A massage gun or foam roller are considered two amazing self-massage tools that you can utilize following grueling workouts. For some, a massage gun may be out of the budget, but for under $20, you can get yourself a foam roller and keep it at home.
Both of these tools can improve recovery and do it incredibly well. The goal with both is to not only help increase blood flow to the area applied but to also work out any tightness or knots that you may have in the muscle itself. The goal is to decrease muscle tension and reduce inflammation while flooding the muscle with oxygenated blood and nutrients.
2. Get a Professional Massage
There are few things in life as enjoyable as a professional massage. A good massage can help remove toxins from the muscle, flush them out, increase blood flow, and break up any tightness you may be experiencing.
Related Article: What is Lactic Acid Training and Can It Help Improve Results?
While most people don’t have the means of getting one following every workout, every once in a while, as a treat, can do the trick nicely. That said, circling back to #1, those two tools can help work the muscles post-workout and improve recovery almost as well as scheduling a professional massage – and you have the ability to do it in the privacy of your own home and whenever you want.
3. Get More Sleep
The first thing you should focus on is getting a minimum of seven hours of sleep each night. If you are below that number, make it a priority to rearrange your schedule to allow for that recommended number. That said, getting some extra sleep (more than usual) can definitely help improve recovery.
Sleep allows your body to produce growth hormone (GH), which is directly responsible for helping repair and build lean muscle tissue. Despite what many people assume, your muscles aren’t growing in the gym. It’s proper rest and recovery outside of the gym that helps support hypertrophy and rebuilding torn-down muscle fibers.
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