I love to watch everyone give it their all in class but seeing people too sore to do anything for a few days isn’t what we are aiming to do here. We want our athletes to be able to go as hard as they can in class and still recover to do what they love afterwards and even the next day. How is this possible? Focusing on our recovery in and outside of the gym.
I’ve put together a list of some simple and quick recovery techniques that will help you recover faster and get you back to performing at your best without using up all your free time.
- Take time to stretch – Do this after class or before bed. Stretching improves blood flow to muscles and is key to expelling soreness.
- Post workout soft foam roll – Get ahead of muscle knots, tightness, and stiffness by foam rolling post workout. Not only will this help you recover faster, but also improve flexibility.
- Take a hot shower or bath – This will release tension in your muscles as well as increasing blood flow. You can also take a contrast shower by alternating between hot and cold water. A great contrast shower routine is 3 rounds of 3 minutes hot + 1 minute cold.
- Nutrition – We talk about this a lot in class, but one of the easiest ways to stay on top of your recovery is to properly fuel your body. Try to restore glycogen levels within 30 minutes post workout with protein and carbs, and ensure you are eating enough throughout the day. If you have questions about how much you should be eating, it’s a great opportunity for you to talk to our nutrition coach.
- Sleep – This may be the most important recovery method. We should be sleeping at least 8 hours a night. While we sleep our body recovers incredibly fast by releasing human growth hormone and other anabolic agents. For more tips on how to get a better night’s sleep check out our other blog articles under sleep.
So, in short, fuel your body correctly, sleep as much as possible (who doesn’t love sleep?), and heat/roll/stretch your muscles post workout to recover and stay on top of your performance. Use these recovery techniques to help you stay ahead of the competition and propel your fitness to the next level.
See you in class,
KB