6 Ways to Enhance Your Post-Workout Recovery

If you’re training hard in the gym, but not putting any thought or effort into recovery, you’re letting a lot of that iron-pumping go to waste. 

Of course, you’ll still reap the benefits of the aerobic activity and burned calories from your weightlifting session. But you’ll be missing out on your maximum potential to:

• Earn lean muscle mass
• Sharpening your exercise performance
• Reduce stress hormones

You even raise your risk of both injury and weight gain.

Does that sound like the kind of results you’re hoping to see from all the effort you’re putting in at the gym? No way. 

Planning and following through with recovery while you’re on a fitness journey is absolutely crucial. It’s arguably just as important as the exercise you do. So how can you make the most out of purposeful recovery? 

We’ve got 6 tips for you to help boost performance and physique.

1. Refuel with protein – but spread it out. It’s well-known that refueling your muscles with protein after a hard workout is crucial. What most people don’t take into consideration is that recovery is a longer process than just the 30 minutes immediately following a workout. So yes, drink that protein shake. Just consider enjoying half of it right after and then maintaining moderate levels of protein in your meals and snacks that follow. 
2. Let myotherapy help release the tension. Myotherapy is a term that literally translates to “muscle therapy.” The term is used to describe treatments and techniques that improve soft and connective tissue functioning. It can include stretching, massage, or acupressure, for example. Receiving a myotherapy session is a great way to reduce inflammation, increase flexibility, improve recovery, and even boost your performance the next time you step into the gym. 
3. Indulge in fruits and veggies. Ingesting lots of healthy vegetables and fruit is an easy way to arm your body with antioxidants to fight oxidative stress that comes along with a lot of exercise. While many people get the vitamins and minerals they need through supplements, this can actually lead to overconsumption and create adverse effects. Getting a full five servings of fruits and vegetables each day is an easier and safer way to give your muscles what they need. 
4. Treat sleep as your friend. While getting a good grind in at the gym is awesome, it shouldn’t take precedence over a good night’s sleep. If you’re waking up at the break of dawn to squeeze in a lifting session and neglecting your sleep, it will begin to show in your performance. A full 8 hours of sleep is the best recovery you can give your body. It allows your body to perform its protein synthesis to strengthen muscles and balance hormones. Finding it difficult to get all the necessary hours in at night? A daytime nap might be just the solution.
5. Turn to dairy as a bed-time snack. If you get hungry for a little something close to bedtime but don’t want to ruin your progress, turn to dairy like yogurt or a cheese stick. These items have casein protein, which digests slowly. This can help your body circulate amino acids and synthesise proteins all through the night. 
6. Stay hydrated. This is such common advice, but for good reason. Water is paramount for a good workout performance, but even more so for proper recovery. Without it, your body will struggle to replete its energy stores and mediate tissue breakdown. 

With proper recovery, you can continue to have intense workouts while growing muscle. Don’t neglect it, or you’ll miss out on a whole host of benefits.