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We can get new cars, new houses, and new winter coats, but we get only one body. Put in too many miles on the treadmill and you start feeling like a vintage Mustang that needs new parts.
"The cumulative stress of working out takes a toll on you, and your body needs to recover," says Nicholas A. DiNubile, MD, author of Framework: Your 7-Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones, and Joints. He recommends using yoga to speed the recovery process. Asanas and deep breathing send oxygen to hard-to-reach places in your tendons, joints, and disks buried in your back. Plus, yoga poses fine-tune your agility and balance while working your entire body.
When you apply the yoga poses that follow, yoga becomes the perfect complement to machine-assisted workouts to give you a better gym workout. Before your high-intensity activity of choice, do the prep yoga poses to prime your muscles. Afterward, ease into another asana, the post yoga pose; you'll be able to capitalize on the pliability of your muscles to stretch and restore your whole body. Both the warm-up and the cool-down take 5 minutes or less. Now go get loose. (No time to hit the gym? Then you need the fast, supereffective workouts in our new Fit in 10 DVD!)
Your Machine: The Treadmill
While the surface of a treadmill is more forgiving than the rugged outdoors, it's not stress-free. "Treadmills encourage you to overstride," which can lock up your pelvic muscles, among other problems, says Douglas Wisoff, a physical therapist in Boulder, CO. These poses balance you out no matter where you put in your miles.
Prep Pose: Lying Big Toe
To release hip, lower-back, and hamstring tension before you walk or run, lie on your back, then bring your right leg up at a 90-degree angle. If you can't grab the big toe without taking your shoulders off the floor, place a strap or towel around your right foot. Make sure your left leg is grounded into the floor, then gently pull the raised right leg closer to the body.
If your back starts to round, keep the left knee bent with the sole of the foot on the floor. Internally rotate your leg slightly by rolling your right thigh inward to stretch your iliotibial band and the outside of your thigh. Again, make sure your left leg is grounded into the floor, then gently pull the right leg closer to your body. Concentrate on reaching the leg up as well as pulling it in toward your head and chest. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths. Repeat with the other leg.
Post Pose: Half Hero Variation
This is an intense quad and psoas stretch that will ward off thigh cramps. How intense? Sandra Safadirazieli, instructor at Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, CA, calls it "ouch-asana." So go easy; don't overdo it. Start on all fours facing away from a wall, with your feet touching it. Bend your left knee back to the base of the wall so that your shin is against the wall and your toes point to the ceiling. From here, begin to lift your torso and feel a stretch in your left quad.
To deepen it, take your right foot and step into a lunge, making sure your right knee is stacked over the ankle. "This will access your quad even more," Safadirazieli says. To deepen further, draw your tailbone toward the floor and place your hands on your front thigh or straighten your arms overhead. If you're tight, you can place your hands on blocks on either side of your front foot. Hold for 5 to 10 full breaths in each phase (if you do both the leg up the wall and the lunge), and then slowly draw your left leg back down before switching sides.
Your Machine: The Elliptical
Low impact and high cardio make the elliptical machine your body's favorite cross-trainer. But even this bone density–enhancing workout has pitfalls. Gripping the handrails, for example, can cause muscle tension throughout the body, especially the shoulders. And the elliptical running motion can yank on tight lower-back muscles. (Plus, you could be making things worse if you're doing any of these 10 Mistakes You're Making On The Elliptical.)
The first pose here creates greater range of motion in the hip joints, which reduces that pull. The second releases fascia and muscle tissue, so you don't take tension home with you.
Prep Pose: Reclined Twist Variation
This variation will stretch your gluteal muscles and your spine, releasing compression and tightness. Lying on your back, cross your right thigh over your left—"like you're sitting on a cocktail stool," Safadirazieli says—and let your knees roll to the right side of your body. Bend your arms at the elbows, forearms parallel to one another. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths before crossing the other leg over and repeating on the other side.
Post Pose: Steady Cross-Legged Stretch
Sit cross-legged and breathe in and out three times. Place your hands on the floor in front of you and lift your hips. Then drop them back several inches behind where they just were, creating a larger diamond between groin, knees, and ankles and flattening out the front of the pelvis. On the inhale walk your hands out in front of you only as far as you can go without rounding your back. The spine should be absolutely straight as you begin to feel a warmth zip down your back in the lowest reaches of the seat and tail.
After a few comfortable breaths, try walking your hands out farther to stretch your shoulders and upper back, staying for several breaths. Walk yourself back and then switch sides by placing the opposite ankle in front. This is guaranteed to open up your hips, lower back, and shoulders. Your legs are also freer in the joints, and on the elliptical that all means low-back relief.
Your Machine: Weights
Whether your flavor is machine-assisted or dumbbells, lifting weights builds muscle but often neglects some important, less showy areas. Yoga, on the other hand, lengthens and tones muscles in a symmetrical way. Lift and yoga-cize your muscles, and you have comprehensive coverage.
Prep Pose: Dolphin
Before weight lifting you want to get muscles ready to generate explosive spurts of power by increasing blood flow. This posture gets all the leg muscles firing and "brings circulation into your shoulder girdle," according to Barbara Ruzansky, director of West Hartford Yoga in Connecticut. Sit up on your knees, and bring elbows to the floor, directly under shoulders. To gauge the correct distance, wrap your hands around the opposite biceps, then bring hands down so forearms and hands are firmly on the floor. Bring arms forward so forearms are now parallel to the sides of the mat, hands pointing straight ahead. Take a few breaths.
On the exhale straighten your legs so your body is suspended in the air, anchored only by toes and forearms. Push down through the forearms, lift the rib cage from shoulders, and press your sit bones back, heels toward floor. Keep your head off the floor as you hold for 5 breaths before coming down. Repeat for as many reps as you do in a weight lifting session.
Post Pose: Cow's Head
This will open your hips and shoulders. Sit and cross one leg over the other, heels close to buttocks. Stretch your left arm out to the side. Arch your chest forward, then lower your arm, wrapping your left hand up behind and between your shoulder blades, fingers pointing up, palm facing out. Raise your right arm straight overhead, then bend your elbow so your right fingers come to your left fingers. Clasp your palms together if you can. Draw your right elbow up toward the ceiling and your left shoulder blade downward. Slightly tuck your chin but keep your chest lifted and your spine, neck, and head as straight as possible. Hold for 5 to 7 breaths before switching sides.
Your Machine: The Bike
Our prep pose will release your upper back, shoulders, and neck to prepare for a ride, says Rudy Peirce, a yoga teacher and trainer at the Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA. Another imperative for cyclists, says Bruce Mitchell, a Denver yoga instructor who teaches at Mindful Cycling's camps, is "to offset rounding of the lower back, which leads to pain and tightness from head to toe."
The Camel, our post pose here, will strengthen your back while improving your posture to counter that riding position. It will also bring down your heart rate and give your legs their stability back so you can walk, not wobble, out of the spin studio.
Prep Pose: Standing Yoga Mudra
Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. Interlace your hands down behind your back. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale begin to fold forward from your hips, bringing your hands and arms up and as far forward as you comfortably can. At first your knees can be bent, but as the body loosens, your legs can straighten and your hands may press farther forward. Shake your head a few times back and forth to make sure you are completely releasing any tension. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths or longer. To release, inhale as you lift the torso and lower the hands behind your back. Exhale and release the hands.
Post Pose: Camel
Kneel so your torso is perpendicular to the floor. Bring your hands to your sacrum, fingers pointed down. Your little fingers should be as close together as possible. "The key here is to keep your quads and hips pushed forward," Mitchell says. Drop your head back. In the beginner version, just continue to reach your quads and hips forward. When that is comfortable, try dropping your hands back down to your heels. If you can't quite reach them, go up on the balls of your feet. Hold for 5 to 15 breaths.
The universal truth is that we all want to get the most out of our workouts. If we've made the effort to drag ourselves to a gym/yoga studio/spin class and managed to survive, you can bet that we want to make sure we've done everything we can, and that we want to avoid pre and post-workout mistakes to get the best results. We all know how important it is to eat before exercising, wear the appropriate clothing and hydrate to the point of excess, but it turns out there are certain post-workout behaviors that are important, too.
After an intense gym session, all you probably want to do (at least, all I ever want to do) is leave immediately, grab a chipotle burrito and melt into your couch for the remainder of the evening with a bottle of wine and your Netflix queue. Unfortunately, there are a few things you need to get done so that your workout was worth all of the effort you put into it before that dream can become a reality.
Here are some post workout mistakes we're all guilty of making, probably without realizing it (including me, who happens to be writing this wearing the same outfit I wore to a bootcamp class at 6 a.m.) and how to fix them.
If you’re anything like me, as soon as you hit the X-mile mark (whatever goal you’ve set for yourself on a given day) on the treadmill, all you want is to hop off and be done. But in order to make the most of your workout, it’s uber-important to take those five extra minutes to cool down. Cooling down reduces your heart rate, stabilizes your blood circulation and reduces muscle soreness.
There’s always that awkward moment at the end of a workout class when people start to sneak out before the stretching starts, and it turns out they are making the biggest workout mistake of all. Stretching after a workout, it turns out, is actually just as important as the workout itself. It helps reduce aching in your muscles and increases flexibility, which will make your next gym session quite a bit easier.
After a tough workout, you're bound to be starving. Your metabolism is revved up for two full hours after a workout, so make sure you eat something within this time frame. Wait at least 15 minutes so your body can cool down, but then treat your body to a refuel your after it’s lost so many calories.
There are certain things you should absolutely never eat after a workout, all of which are filled with either sugar or salt. Choose something that has both protein and carbs (peanut butter toast is a great option) to fill yourself up the right way.
Water is so, so important for your body before, during and after your workout. It also happens to be good for your skin and body (we all need to just accept that it’s the miracle liquid and stop talking about it) so you’re really doing yourself a favor by drinking it often. You need to stay hydrated in order to replace the liquids your body lost through sweat, and water is the best way to do it. Sports drinks are OK too, but unnecessary unless you’re, say, running a marathon or competing in an iron man (which I certainly I am not). Skip out on energy drinks (though coffee, weirdly, is another recommended post-workout drink) and make sure you drink at least 34 ounces of whatever you decide to hydrate with (water water water!!).
Sweat breeds bacteria (lovely, isn’t it?) which can clog your pores and cause breakouts. Touching your sweaty face is a major no-no because it spreads the bacteria around, and can transfer new oil and bacteria to your skin from your hands (Germ party in your pores! Holla!). Wash your face immediately after exercising to get rid of the dirt and keep your skin safe.
After all, how will you know what a strong gym-goddess you’re turning into if you don’t keep track of your workouts? It’s important to make note of how you’re doing (how many miles you’re running, how much you’re lifting, how your body is changing) so that you can continuously set new, effective exercise goals.
And I don’t just mean for the sake of the people who have to be around you all day. Wearing your workout clothes for too long after you leave the gym can cause rashes and bacterial infections, including yeast and staff infections (yikes!). If you really don’t have time to change, make sure your exercise attire is made out of synthetic fabrics that have been designed to keep you cool and dry.
This should be an obvious one (because let’s be honest, if you’re working out as hard as you should be you probably stink afterward) but showering after you exercise is an absolute must. Leaving sweaty bacteria on your skin can cause breakouts (hello, bacne.) and cause gross infections. Leave yourself enough time at the gym to rinse off (with soap, please), or at the very least rub yourself down with some baby wipes.
Instagram star, personal trainer and Women's Health's January cover star - Kayla Itsines has given us an AAA look at her ultimate stretch warm down.
Working hard is all well and good, but without proper recovery your muscles won't be able to achieve their full potential in their next session and your healthy lifestyle will start to make you feel worse.
Kayla explains: "Aim to hold each stretch for approximately 30 seconds each, ensuring you are stretching both sides of your body for the same amount of time. Make sure you breathe through each stretch and try not to bounce whilst holding stretch position."
1. CALVES AND HAMSTRING
1. While seated on a yoga mat, extend both legs out in front of you.
2. Lift up and turn out your left leg so that your foot is resting against the inside of your right leg, as shown.
3. Reach for your right foot with your right hand (or the action of), ensuring that you are bending from the hip. If you can reach your toe, gently pull it back towards you.
*Tip* To increase the stretch, attempt to lower your torso to your right leg, once again ensuring that you are bending from the hips.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 on your left side.
2. ABDUCTORS
1. While seated on a yoga mat, extend both legs out in front of you.
2. Move both legs outwards as wide as they can go.
3. Sit up tall before reaching forwards with both hands.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds. Tip: Try and walk your hands out a little bit further each time you breathe out to gradually increase the stretch.
3. HIP FLEXORS
1. Begin in a kneeling position on a yoga mat.
2. Release your right leg and take one large step forwards so that you are in a lunge position as shown. Ensure that your front knee is not further forward than your toe. If it is, then you will need to take a bigger step forward.
3. Keeping your torso upright, push your hips forwards so that you feel a stretch along the front of your back leg.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
5. Repeat Steps 1-4 with your left leg forward.
4. QUADS
1. Plant both feet on the floor shoulder width apart.
2. Bend your left knee to bring your foot back directly behind you so that you can hold it with both hands. You should feel a stretch in your left quad (front of your leg).
3. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds. Tip: If you're struggling to balance, focus on a spot directly ahead of you or extend your right arm.
4. Repeat Steps 1-3 with your right leg.
5. GLUTES
1. Plant both feet on the floor shoulder width apart.
2. Release your right leg and turn it out so that your ankle is resting just above your left knee.
3. Bend your left knee so that you are in single leg squat and gently push down on your left knee using your right elbow.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds. Tip: If you are struggling to balance, try to focus on a spot directly in front of you.
5. Repeat Steps 1-4 with your left leg.
6. ABS
1. Start by lying flat on your stomach on a yoga mat.
2. Bring your arms in and place your hands flat on the floor on either side of your chest. 3. Slowly extend your arms to bring your chest off of the floor. Ensure that your keep your shoulders down.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
7. LATS (SIDES)
1. Plant both feet on the floor slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
2. Stand tall and extend your right arm directly above your head.
3. From this position, reach your hand over to your right side in order to lengthen the left side of the body as shown.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 on your right side.
8. TRICEP
1. Plant both feet on the floor shoulder width apart with arms by your sides.
2. Release your left arm and place your hand between your shoulder blades behind your head.
3. Gently push down your left elbow with your right hand as shown.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 with your right arm.
9. CHEST
1. Plant both feet on the floor shoulder width apart with arms by your sides.
2. Reposition your hands behind your body and interlock your fingers.
3. Gently pull your hands away from your body. This should cause your shoulders to retract and open up your chest.
4. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
For more, go to Womenshealthmag.co.uk/kayla. Read the full Kayla Itsines interview and get her exclusive 14-day New Year kickstart plan in the Jan/Feb 2016 issue of Women's Health – on sale Thursday 10 Dec.
You might be such a faithful gym-goer that even the cleaning staff knows you by name; but no matter how many sets and reps you log, if your workout isn't giving you the results you want, poor form could be to blame. "Your body is engineered to move in precise ways," explains exercise physiologist Michele Olson, PhD, creator of the DVD Perfect Legs, Glutes and Abs. "The wrong alignment—or even the wrong exercise altogether—doesn't just stunt sculpting; it can also stress the body, leading to injuries that derail your progress."
Read on for 9 common workout blunders that Olson considers the sweaty equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard—and how to fix 'em.
The mistake: Arching backward so your ribs pop up and jut out strains the back and puts you at risk for shoulder injury.
The fix: Keep your ribs down and knees slightly bent as you press the dumbbells up toward the ceiling.
More from Prevention: Toned Arms In 10 Minutes!
The mistake: Taking baby steps when you lunge causes too much sheer stress on the front knee, putting you at risk for tendon strains and, over time, arthritis.
The fix: Take a big enough step so that your front heel is about 2 feet in front of your back knee as it bends toward the floor. If, as you lower, you find you haven’t given yourself enough space, scoot the front foot forward.
The mistake: Thinking you can crunch your way to flat abs is flat-out wrong, says Olson, whose research has found that Pilates-style exercises that focus more on using the core muscles to stabilize are more effective at working the abs than spine-bending crunches. Plus, too much crunching can damage the back, she says.
The fix: There's no need to ban crunches altogether, but be sure to mix in core-stabilizing exercises like the Pilates hundred or yoga's boat pose. And when you do crunch, skip the gym class-style foot anchor, which allows your hips (rather than your abs) to take over and can pull your pelvis out of alignment, injuring your back.
The mistake: Bending over and letting your entire body weight dangle straight down while reaching for your toes in order to stretch your hamstrings (the back of your thighs) puts about 600 pounds of pressure on the spine for a 140-pound woman. That's because when your entire body weight hangs straight down in line with gravity, and the gravitational pull is zeroed in on the back, crushing the shock-absorbing discs in your spine. While you may move in and out of this position in yoga class, holding a stretch like this for 30 to 60 seconds leaves your spinal discs vulnerable to rupture, says Olson.
The fix: Sit down and take a load off while you reach for your toes. The exact same stretch done from a seated position is much safer.
The mistake: Flapping your arms too high as you lift your dumbbells to the side "causes your upper arm bone to bang into the cartilage-filled space in the shoulder," says Olson. Translation: Ouch!
The fix: Here's your chance to cheat without penalty: Lifting just to the bust line is as effective as lifting all the way to shoulder level.
The mistake: Sticking your chin out can be a pain in the neck (and upper shoulders) in any exercise, but looking up while doing bent-over dumbbell rows can strain your neck.
The fix: Focus your eyes on a spot about a yard in front of your toes to keep your chin down while doing bent-over dumbbell rows.
The mistake: Inching your hips skyward as you hold a plank position is quite simply cheating the exercise. The result: less-effective ab toning from this uber-effective move.
The fix: Focus on keeping your body in a straight line from your head to your hips to your heels (grabbing a friend to serve as drill sergeant can help keep you honest). Keep in mind that it's better to hold perfect form for 20 seconds than it is to do a full minute with incorrect form.
The mistake: Positioning your hands wider than your shoulders when you do push-ups puts strain on the front of the shoulders.
The fix: Get into push-up position with your wrists directly below your shoulders for a move that tones both your triceps and your chest without shoulder strain. (Check out this video on the proper way to do a push-up.)
The mistake: Whether or not you were a hurdler in high school, getting into a stretch position like one on the floor with your knee bent inward and the sole of your foot turned outward compresses the knee, leaving it vulnerable to injury.
The fix: For a safer stretch that compresses the knee less, rotate your bent knee outward instead so your sole presses into the inner thigh of the extended leg like a number 4. Then reach for your toes to feel the stretch.
More from Prevention: Get Long, Lean Muscles With This Yoga Workout
If you dance for your talent, then flexibility is key to many dance steps you’ll need in your talent to wow the judges like Savvy Sheilds did during her talent at Miss America 2017. But, having flexibility isn’t just for dancers. Everyone can benefit from being more mobile and less stiff in every phase of competition.
When you’re modeling a gown or swimsuit, your body is the most important asset you have. Having stiff muscles and joints could prevent you from moving fluidly across the stage. If you’re a dancer, it’s even more crucial that you continue to work on your flexibility as your train for your next pageant. This routine uses the splits, so you’ll feel right at home! (Read: How Yoga Can Improve Your Pageant Walk)
According to LiveStrong.com, flexibility is a vital element of physical fitness that everyone should work on. It’s something that you can benefit from now as a pageant competitor and later on in life as your body starts to age. Stretching is also a great way for you to wind down after your workout and relax your tired muscles.
If you’re ready to start increasing your flexibility, then add these eight relaxing yoga moves into your post workout routine at least three times a week. You’ll start to notice a huge improvement the more you do these stretches.
If you can’t fully sit in the splits, just keep your weight in your hands until you feel comfortable with more weight on your hands.
Winning the crown is going to take a lot more than just going to the gym. You’ll need to commit to a healthy lifestyle and spend lots of time preparing your body. Talk to one of our Personal Trainers about how they can help you reach your goals.
You went to depth on every squat rep and pushed your reverse lunges to failure. Your quads are beat and your hamstrings burn. Your workout was tough, but it didn't build an ounce of muscle.
The opportunity for muscle growth begins the moment you stop lifting, and that growth can't happen without proper recovery protocol. Muscles don't grow in the gym; they grow after. When you lift heavy, muscles suffer microtears and are actually broken down via a process called catabolism. Immediately after you lift, your body begins repairs, but it needs your help.
If you want to get the most from each and every workout, you need to prioritize post-workout recovery. Heed these eight tips to maximize recovery, stay on top of your game, and ensure maximum gains.
"No pain, no gain!" has probably been spat in your face as you struggled to rack a one-rep max bench press. Pushing beyond your limits is a good thing, you tell yourself, but just how far should you push? BPI Sports co-founder James Grage believes in egging the muscle on just enough to create that needed stimulus for muscle growth, but not in completely destroying it to the point where your muscle hurts for days.
"The focus shouldn't be on how fast you recover, but instead on how productive your recovery is," says James. If you constantly obliterate your body to complete and utter exhaustion with every workout, this damage accumulates over time and your body will revert its energy to repairing the downstream effects of the damage rather than building new muscle.
According to James, the trick is to "work out hard enough to push yourself past your comfort zones—trying to do more than you did the workout before, for example. Just don't destroy yourself entirely." By following this sage advice, you'll make solid and steady progress rather than taking one step forward and two steps back.
By now, most people understand that the foods they eat after their workout and throughout the day factor into the quality of their recovery. The foods you eat before a workout can also play an important role in pre-empting the tissue-rebuilding process once the workout is over.
Digestion is a lengthy process; proteins and carbs that you ingest prior to the workout will still be circulating in the body afterward. For this reason, choose your foods wisely. Make sure you get high-quality, lean protein along with some complex carbohydrates, especially if you plan on an intense workout. I recommend consuming your meals roughly two hours prior to your workout to avoid digestive issues or cramps.
In addition to eating near your workouts, there have been substantial reported benefits of taking BCAAs before and during a workout, as well. James recommends using BEST BCAAs, which have been designed to encourage efficient absorption by the muscle cells. Grage takes one serving during his workout and then another serving right before bed.
Stretching probably doesn't sound sexy (or even necessary) when all you want is size, but it might be the most underrated player in muscle growth. By not having the necessary flexibility and muscle pliability, you might short yourself on muscular gains in many compound lifts. For example, if your ankles are too tight, you can't go deep enough in a squat to reap maximum benefits.
Barbara Bolotte, IFBB pro, stresses, "Make sure you allot at least 20 minutes after a workout to cool down and stretch. If you don't plan for it, you are more likely to skip it."
Stretching is a great way to relieve muscular tension and potentially downplay the soreness you experience later. "Prolonged stretching with moderate exercise and diet control will reduce cholesterol and significantly reverse hardening of the arteries," notes Barbara. Knowing these things, more people should be taking stretching more seriously!
Go ahead and giggle at the burly types chugging their post-workout shake. While you chortle 'til you choke, they're feeding their muscles the necessary fuel to grow and improve. Post-workout protein is vital, especially if you haven't eaten anything for hours. Aim for 20-50 grams of protein after each workout depending on your bodyweight. Most women will do fine with 20 grams, while men should aim for the upper range.
Whey protein is the most popular protein supplements, and for good reason: It's convenient, easy to mix, and it offers a rapid absorption rate that's perfect after a tough training session. Don't merely go for taste or cost. Invest in quality whey isolate to see a difference.
One trick that James Grage uses to optimize his recovery is to drink about 30 grams of whey protein followed by 32 ounces of Gatorade 15 minutes later. "You need immediate, fast-acting carbohydrates during your post-workout window to replenish glycogen levels, restore energy, and bump up insulin levels," he explains. "Insulin can be extremely anabolic at the right time, helping the restoration of muscle proteins by inhibiting protein breakdown and stimulating protein synthesis."
If you want to follow James' post-workout ritual, just be sure to purchase the regular Gatorade and not the lower calorie version.
While we're on the subject of post-workout nutrition, you should consider including a source of potassium in your post-workout cocktail. Your potassium reserves will inevitably be sapped from an intense workout session. Potassium, among other nutrients like sodium and calcium, is a key mineral which plays a role in muscular energy. Bananas or potatoes are good potassium sources. Bananas go with nearly everything, but mashed potatoes in your first meal following the workout are also winners.
Catching quality Zs seems like a no-brainer, but it's still all to common to hear how many people get less than six hours of sleep.
"Sleep is not just for relaxing. This is the necessary downtime that your body needs to restore itself. This is what it's for," explains James. Barbara also notes that sacrificing hours of sleep over a long period of time can even make you mentally weaker and negatively impact your drive in training sessions.
At least seven hours is the ideal target to hit, although many people, including athletes, may need up to nine hours. Find ways to make changes in your day that will allow you to get to bed earlier. For example, set a time limit on TV time or commit to a "technology blackout," during which you don't touch any sort of technology, after a certain time like 9 p.m.
Rest days give your muscles a hard-earned break from a self-induced beating at the gym. If you feel up to it, some light movement like walking to the store, an easy bike ride, throwing a Frisbee around, or even doing mobility drills could confer recovery-promoting effects as well. This is known as "active" recovery.
"Bodyweight exercises or light cardio after a heavy strength training session will help relieve soreness by stimulating blood flow and improving circulation to the muscles," says Barbara. If you experience muscular tightness, she also points out that foam rolling can be an excellent way to combat this.
Acute stress—like the kind you create from exercise—is a good thing. Chronic stress from other sources like work deadlines and inadequate sleep can significantly influence how you feel on a day-to-day basis as well as how quickly you recover. Too much stress can drastically protract your recovery time between workouts.
When intense workouts are thrown into the volatile combination of high chronic stress and an already overworked body, you are asking your body to eventually break down in the form of lackluster results or, worse, severe injury. Any form of stress in your life is going to take a toll on your overall well-being and your body's capacity to take on anything further.
Take steps to reduce your stress level to ensure you can bounce back faster. Do something you really enjoy, make yourself laugh, and surround yourself with people you love.
As you now hopefully know, recovery is a crucial component of any fitness-related goal. Whether you want to get stronger, faster, or better, you'll need to weave each of these tips into your daily recovery plan to ensure that you get the results you want out of your hard work! Do you have any secret recovery tips you swear by? I'd love to hear them in the comments below!
