Working out is a wonderful way of improving your health and well-being. Suppose you want to start seeing more improvements. In that case, you should start splitting your fitness routines into three sections: pre-workout, the workout itself, and post-workout. The things you do in the pre-workout will improve the actual workout, and the post-workout builds on these improvements.
Unfortunately, you’re not going to learn about each section today! Perhaps that will come at a later date, but today’s focus is on the post-workout section. Primarily, what should you do after every workout?
Stretch
Make sure you stretch straight after your workouts to aid muscle recovery. When you work out, your muscles get tighter as they’re forced to contract. If you leave them in this position, you can cause all sorts of pain and stiffness – not to mention postural problems. Thus, you should stretch your muscles and hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds to return them to their normal length. For particularly tight muscles, you can increase the stretch beyond a minute to improve flexibility.
You can stretch at any point after the workout, but it’s most effective straight after. Your muscles are still warm, so it’s easier to stretch them. Stretching also prevents soreness the next day and aids muscle recovery, which is a big bonus! Check out this post-workout stretching routine for some guidance:
Refuel
Working out puts a lot of strain on your body. As a result, you use up a lot of energy, which can leave you feeling drained and tired. So, you must refuel your body to provide the energy required to help your muscles recover and get stronger. It’s good to bring a snack to the gym that you can eat straight away – this could be an oat bar or something else that’s good at giving an instant energy boost. If you look at sites like steelsupplements.com, you’ll see loads of different protein shakes or powders that can be ingested after workouts. These are good as you get a boost of muscle-building protein and feel replenished after working out.
Of course, you should also eat a meal after your workout. It doesn’t have to be eaten in the gym changing rooms, but make sure you refuel yourself soon after.
Drink water
Speaking of refueling, you should also replenish your water supplies. You’ll lose a lot of water when working out, mostly because of how much you sweat. Consequently, you need to drink enough water to replenish lost fluids and prevent dehydration. Water is also responsible for flushing out lactic acid and preventing soreness the next day!
A good tactic is to weigh yourself before and after workout out. Then, drink an ml of water for every gram of body weight you lose. This basically shows you how much water you lost throughout the workout!
Bonus: Shower
Here’s a bonus one for you that has no impact on your goals! If you can, shower straight after your workout. Besides ensuring you don’t smell, it can also stop you from getting breakouts on your face or back, which tends to happen because of all the dried sweat. If you work out at home, it’s obviously a lot easier to do this than if you work out in a gym and don’t have much time!
Start doing these things after your workouts to see improvements in your recovery time and goals. They’re easy to do, so begin adding them to your routine until they feel natural.