No matter if you’re an experienced athlete or just a beginner at working out, the truth is that exercising on a daily basis has a lot of health benefits that mustn’t be overlooked.
However, higher levels of physical activity come with a higher risk of getting injured while working out, which is, truth be told, completely normal.
Be sure to keep on reading if you want to learn something more about the recovery process and how to speed it up like a true athlete. Just check out our five useful tips and make it happen!
Eating Right Is The Key To Success…
Everyone knows that eating healthy and well-balanced meals is the key to success when it comes to becoming stronger and healthier.
However, you should also know that nutrition is an extremely important factor when speaking of faster recovery, as a properly-designed nutrition plan can speed up the healing process and help you feel much better in a shorter period of time.
You may already know that intense workouts damage the muscle tissue and break it down, which is exactly why meals rich in protein are essential in your diet.
These will repair your muscles and strengthen the connective tissue, which will instantly contribute to a significant improvement.
Besides protein, you should also eat foods rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, antioxidants, and vitamins like A, B, C, and D which work together to support tissue regeneration and protein synthesis.
… As Well As A Nice, Relaxing Massage After A Workout
The majority of athletes firmly believe in the power of a good, relaxing massage, and the reasons for that are more than good.
First of all, massages prepare athletes for intense exercises by relaxing their muscles, which also helps with speeding up the process of recovery.
Besides that, massages are known to decrease swelling, reduce pain, promote health, and enhance waste product removal too, which are good enough reasons to get a professional massage when you feel really exhausted after a gym session.
Of course, these are beneficial for your mental health as well, simply because they’ll let you relax and unwind to the max.
Make Sure You Sleep Enough On A Daily Basis
Remember the last time when you had a long, sleepless night? How did you feel the morning after? Cranky? Grumpy? Anxious?
Well, that’s because a good night’s sleep plays an essential role in keeping you fit and healthy, as it regulates your immune system, connective tissue repair, energy production, and muscle mass.
And do you know why that is? Well, it’s because your body secretes hormones vital for all these functions while you’re sleeping, which is exactly what you should do – especially after a workout.
At least eight hours of quality sleep a night is more than fine, particularly if you’re coming back from an injury, as anything less than that can contribute to a myriad of health complications you definitely want to avoid.
Wear Quality Compression Clothing During A Workout
If you’ve ever heard of compression clothing, you certainly know that such garments are highly beneficial for both experienced athletes and novices at working out.
This is because such clothes are designed to improve your performance in the first place, by allowing you to move with ease and protecting your muscles at the same time.
Besides that, these are highly likely to reduce the risk of injury and speed up the process of recovery, too, which is exactly what you need during a workout.
The fact that these can help your muscles recover while you’re still exercising at the gym is quite groundbreaking, which is why a lot of athletes are opting for such clothes nowadays.
So, if you’re up for that, too, be sure to get durable compression shorts and match them with a pair of compression socks and sleeves. This is one of the best ways to stay safe and sound while exercising, so give it a try and you won’t regret it!
Hot/Cold Immersion Can Be Quite Effective
We reckon that you’ve probably already seen or heard of hot/cold immersion, and you know what? It really is working, which is exactly why it found its place on our list.
Alternating between hot and cold baths can help reduce bruising and edema by causing vasodilation and vasoconstriction. This is a great way to temporarily change your blood flow, which is extremely beneficial as it speeds up your process of recovery.
Speaking of the immersion ratio of hot to cold baths, it should probably be 3:1 for the duration of 20 minutes.
The more developed methods of this process include the sauna and steam room, ice water immersion, and contrast showering or exposure, where hot and cold are alternated. Be sure to give this method a shot and you’ll instantly see its amazing benefits.
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to speed up the process of recovery and help your muscles repair in a much shorter period of time. If that’s what you were looking for, just be sure to stick to our guidelines and you’ll be thrilled with the results!
You can find much more information on living a holistic lifestyle in these free magazines and on our YouTube channel.
Scarlet is a passionate writer and regular contributor at ripped.me interested in fashion, lifestyle, and health. She loves traveling, you could say that she is a real travel addict, especially when she has a chance to visit some exotic destinations. She would tell you that inspiration can be found in the most unexpected places.
