Muscle Recovery
We’ve all heard the maxim “No pain, no gain,” and while it’s true that we do need to push ourselves at times—especially when working out—we don’t want to push so hard that we injure ourselves. One of the ways to help prevent injury is to allow time for recovery.
Have you ever noticed that, over time, it’s easier to lift increasing amounts of weight or it’s easier to go longer on the treadmill? That’s because our muscles have recovered and improved. All of our workouts—especially ones where we really push ourselves—stress our bodies. Our muscles get tired, and this causes microscopic damage to our muscle’s cells. Health.com explains: “Stressing your muscles—regardless of your go-to exercise method—creates microscopic tears (don’t freak out, it’s OK). Those tears make you sore at first but ultimately help make you stronger by increasing muscle mass.”
This is why we need to rest our muscles. When we allow this rest to happen, the muscles actually become healthier and stronger. If we push too hard, we run the risk of straining or tearing a muscle—or worse.
In addition to damaging our muscles, Everyday Health reports that “inadequate rest and recovery can contribute to poor immune function, neurological changes, hormonal disturbances, and depression.”
So rest time is vital. And it helps reenergize our bodies so that we can continue to improve our workout next time.
How do we rest?
Cleveland Clinic advises us to remember that what we do “in the hours and days after exercise” will determine how our bodies bounce back from the workout.
A truly effective workout routine will target different muscle groups on different days and will also incorporate time for recovery. When people hear rest time, they often picture someone sitting on a couch doing nothing active. And while that’s important to do sometimes, it’s not the kind of rest we’re referring to when we talk about rest that aids in recovery. It simply means we take it easy, do a lighter workout, and reduce the stress on our muscles.
So after that strenuous workout, take a day or two to do some light exercises and to work a different muscle group. Go on a bike ride. Go swimming. Take a walk. The point is to allow our muscles to recover from the strain we put them through.
Recovery aids
In addition to a light workout, we should also keep in mind some proactive things to do to take care of our bodies after a strenuous workout.
Stretching is crucial. When we stretch after a workout, we decrease the tension in our muscles, which makes us less prone to injuries. Taking five or ten minutes to stretch could save us from days of pain.
Protein after a workout is essential, as it helps rebuild muscles. The Cleveland Clinic recommends at least 20 grams. PI understands this and has a delicious protein bar and whey protein powders that are perfect for after workouts.
Hydrate! We may be used to drinking water during workouts, but we need more than we think. So take those extra sips because dehydration can lead to a whole host of physical symptoms, including fatigue, lethargy, muscle cramps, and headaches.
Along those same lines, don’t forget to replace those electrolytes. We lose a lot of them when we sweat. Find a good drink with electrolytes that doesn’t have a ton of added sugar.
Healthy foods are critical as well. Adding foods like spinach, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, green tea extract, and even oatmeal to our post-workout diet will help replenish the nutrients we’ve lost.
Finally, we should never discount the importance of a good night’s sleep in the recovery process. Our bodies heal when we sleep, but many of us forgo adequate sleep because we’re busy or we prioritize something else.
PI recovery products
According to an article about nutrition and muscle recovery published by the National Institutes of Health, “It is necessary to optimize the consumption of adequate amounts of energy, nutrients, and liquids, establishing the correct frequency and associated with the temporality of training and competition.”
At Performance Inspired, we understand the lifestyle and mentality of all kinds of athletes, and we’ve created natural products made with clean ingredients that everyone at any level can benefit from. So when you’re looking for a good product to help in recovery, look no further than PI’s products for nourishment and recovery.
Our Post-Workout BCAA helps in recovery and supports lean muscle growth. In addition to the BCAAs—which help fuel muscles after a workout—our formula contains 5g of L-glutamine, 500mg of taurine for metabolic support, and electrolytes. This is the perfect way to end a workout.
Because we know that protein is important, we have a few different kinds of whey protein powders—including plant-based protein—to meet your protein needs.
Our Joint Support Plus is the perfect supplement to help combat sore joints and to give you both increased mobility and comfort. Our product is made with glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM combined with turmeric and hyaluronic acid. Plus, we added Vitamin D3 and BioPerine for further mobility support.
Our Zinc Plus formula not only helps with recovery and tissue repair, but it helps with the regulation of cellular growth and strengthens immune systems.
Remember, if you’re beginning a new routine or intensifying your workout, do it slowly in order to avoid injury. And then allow yourself recovery time. It’s imperative to know and understand your body so that you can determine just how much to push yourself and how much rest you need. The goal is to increase strength, muscle, and stamina, but we cannot do that if we are sidelined with an injury. A little bit of care now will do our bodies a lot of good in the future.
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