Post Workout Tips
If you’re not thinking about recovery, you could be missing out on a huge reason of why you are not seeing results from your workouts.
The 30-60 minute window following a hard workout is instrumental when it comes to maintaining health, preventing injury, and improving your gains. From lifting weights to doing crossfit to intense aerobic workouts – these all result in a lot of wear and tear on your muscles and joints, and going about your day as soon as you stop working out isn’t the smartest approach.
It’s important to remember how training works to build muscle. When you lift heavy weights repeatedly, your muscle tissue stretch and tear. It’s during the healing process, as your muscles rebuild and repair, that you actually make gains in size. This is how new muscle tissue is formed, and paying a little attention to the recovery process can go a long way.
Today I’m reviewing my best post workout recovery tips, to help you get the most out of this critical phase. When taken seriously, recovery strategies like these can boost your gains by up to 30%!
5 of My Best Post Workout Recovery Tips
1. Get Serious about Stretching
Stretching is the first thing you need to get right in order to improve your recovery. I’m not just talking about a couple stretches as you’re walking out of the gym either. I mean a real, dedicated post workout stretch period. In general, aim for at least 10 minutes of flexibility training after every workout. Focus on the muscles you worked out that day, and you’ll not only prevent injury and strain, you’ll also see bigger gains.
2. Re-Hydrate
Hydration is important at every stage of your workout, but it’s especially important to replenish your water supply after heavy exercise. Water alone will do it, and while I’m not a big fan of the sugary sports drinks, going with a natural source of electrolytes like this VPX Coco Fit Coconut Water can certainly do the trick.
3. Protein Up
The first 30-60 minutes following a workout is also a good time for protein. This will help supply your muscles with exactly what they need to rebuild. You can approach this one of 2 ways – either grab yourself a healthy, high-protein meal, or have a protein shake using a high quality protein supplement. One of the best options for post workout recovery is a time-released protein like Combat Powder.
Alternatively, a healthy, high protein bar like these delicious Oh Yeah! Bars will satisfy all your needs.
4. Think Amino Acids
Amino acids are essentially what comprise proteins, and the more variety you get in your diet, the better your muscle building results. The post workout recovery period is one of the best times to take an amino acid supplement. Amino acids are safe, effective, and scientifically proven supplements for aiding in the muscle recovery process. Branched chain amino acids, or BCAAs, are my go-to choice. Check out Dymatize BCAA Complex and start seeing some serious results!
5. Get Some Good Sleep
Although it doesn’t immediately follow the workout, sleep is actually a critical factor in post workout recovery. A lot of repairing and rebuilding occurs while you’re sleeping, and without adequate sleep, you’ll find your results lagging. So make sure you’re getting a solid 7-8 hours every night!
What about Pre Recovery?
In addition to post workout recovery, you should also be thinking about the pre workout phase and what you can do to better prepare for your workouts! Check out my article on Morning Pre Workout Meals here.
Have any questions or feedback about these post workout recovery tips? Please leave a comment below…
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Thank you for visiting! Weight Loss and Training is a health blog which features all the best weight loss tips that I have learned over my 20 years of training. My background includes a degree in Kinesiology from the world renown Simon Fraser University, certification in nutritional sciences from UBC, and Personal Trainer Specialist certification from Can Fit Pro.