4 Processes to Help with Recovery

man strength training coach and woman exercisingIf you have recently gotten into working out and self-improvement but aren’t seeing the results you may have wished for; there could be an easy fix. If you go to the gym four to seven times a week, you have to give your body time to recover. Below is a list of easy recovery methods to make sure your body is firing on all cylinders.

Ice Bath

Taking an ice bath is one of the best recovery methods out there. Ice baths help take away short term pain and soreness from recent workouts, but it also helps prevent future injuries by speeding up the muscle recovery process.

That being said, ice baths are not for everyone. If you have a pre-existing heart condition, you could be at serious health risk if you take ice baths. The cold from the bath lowers your core temperature, slowing blood flow to your heart. For people with heart disease or other medical conditions, this could be very dangerous.


Eat Post Workout Food

It is very easy to forget to fuel your body, especially if your workout goal is to lose weight, but you have to remember that it is similar to putting gas in your car when you eat food. You can’t drive a vehicle without any fuel, but you also can’t drive that vehicle without the right fuel.

You need to develop an eating schedule around your workout schedule, and your nutrition needs to consist of the right foods for your workout goals. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, stay away from carbohydrates, and if you are trying to gain weight, you need to be eating the right protein for muscle growth.

Stretch

There are two different types of stretches, and when you think of stretching, you are most likely thinking about static stretching. Static stretches are stationary stretches that isolate specific muscle groups to help with muscle recovery. Static stretching is crucial to the recovery process, and you need to be doing static stretches every day after a workout.

That being said, you also need to consider dynamic stretching. Everyone says the best form of recovery is prevention, and when you are doing static stretches, think about it as a warm-up. You can’t just jump right into a big workout, you have to get your body used to the stress it is about to face, and you can do this through dynamic stretches.

Pace Yourself

It is extremely bad for your body to have intense workouts the everyday day of the week, so you should have at least one to two days a week dedicated strictly to recovery. A good way to balance your schedule is to have three days of intense workouts or lifts and follow them up with light days and recovery.


You should use the static stretches after your light days and focus on the areas of your body that are still sore from the intense workout the day before. Then, for your day designated strictly for recovery, you can take an ice bath and relax to help your body recover.

There are several interesting recovery methods, and there is a different recovery process for every individual out there. For example, you can do an ice plunge, which is different from an ice bath in the sense that you would be completely submerged, but having an outline of what you should be doing for recovery can help you build a process of your own.

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