And that could hurt depending on the intensity of your workout, how many muscle groups you exercised, and how seriously you take your recovery i.

eating enough food and getting ample sleep. Studies have shown that your muscles can grow regardless of whether you feel pain in the areas you worked out or not. Not to mention that extreme soreness can be a sign that something is wrong with your body.

Rhabdo, also known as Rhabdomyolysis, is a condition in which the breakdown of muscle tissue which is what happens during exercise releases a damaging protein into the bloodstream, which can result in severe kidney damage.

Takeaways If you have a car, odds are you probably make sure it has enough fuel, has all the necessary fluids, and has the right tire pressure. We should be taking the same precautions with our body, especially if we train it on a regular basis. One important thing to keep in mind is many of the claims we covered here, and others, have studies that initially back them up but then start to show flaws the closer you look at them.

Also, many studies are funded by people with conflict of interests those people are supposed to disclose their affiliation in the publications , so keep an eye out for those. Most importantly, just listen to your body. It will let you know when it needs a stretch, a nap, or even a run.

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Patient Portal Make a Payment Top Nav. The Science Of Post-Workout Recovery: Busting Myths And Spilling Facts. Sleep hours a day: Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has said he once trained every day for nearly five years. Sleep is the time when your body recharges to give you the energy you need not only to workout, but get through your day to do everything you need.

The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends most adults eat 0. So a pound man would have to eat at least But I also know that going to the gym or any other type of strenuous activity is only going to make my injury worse, and instead of being out of action for a week I may miss a month or even more.

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This is a simple and fast way to help your muscles recover. For best results, do active or dynamic stretches before exercise such as high knees, arm circles, walking lunges and static stretches holding a stretch for seconds after exercise.

Easy, gentle movement such as a brisk walk or a bike ride improves circulation, which helps promote nutrient and waste product transport throughout the body. In theory, this helps the muscles repair and refuel faster.

Massage feels good and improves circulation while allowing you to fully relax. Using a massage gun can be an effective way to relieve sore muscles.

You can also try self-massage and foam roller exercises for easing tight muscles and avoid the heavy sports massage price tag. Another option for avoiding the price and inconvenience of a professional massage is to spend a few minutes on one of these best roll-up acupressure mats.

Some athletes swear by ice baths, ice massage, or contrast water therapy alternating hot and cold showers to recover faster, reduce muscle soreness, and prevent injury. While taking your post-exercise shower, alternate 2 minutes of hot water with 30 seconds of cold water.

Repeat four times with a minute of moderate temperatures between each hot-cold spray. If you happen to have a spa with hot and cold tubs available, you can take a plunge in each for the same time. While you sleep, amazing things are taking place in your body.

Optimal sleep is essential for anyone who exercises regularly. During sleep, your body produces Growth Hormone GH which is largely responsible for tissue growth and repair. Adding a mental practice to your workout routine can be a huge benefit for any athlete.

Spending time practicing mental rehearsal or following a mindfulness meditation program can help process a calm, clear attitude and reduce anxiety and reactivity.

Getting familiar with how your mind works, how thoughts can bounce around, and how you don't need to attach to any of them, is a wonderful way for an athlete to recover both mentally and physically. Additionally, practicing positive self-talk can help change the ongoing dialogue in your head.

Consider using both types of mental practice during your recovery days. One simple way to recovery faster is by designing a smart workout routine in the first place. Excessive exercise , heavy training at every session, or a lack of rest days will limit your fitness gains from exercise and undermine your recovery efforts.

According to the American Council on Exercise ACE , the type of exercise you do determines how long your recovery period should be. Here are some general guidelines for post-training recovery, according to ACE:. Remember, avoid working the same muscle group for example, doing heavy squats two days in a row.

On your rest days, do light exercise such as walking or cycling at a slower pace. The most important thing you can do to recovery quickly is to listen to your body. If you are feeling tired, sore, or notice decreased performance you may need more recovery time or a break from training altogether.

If you are feeling strong the day after a hard workout, you don't have to force yourself to go slow. Dupuy O, Douzi W, Theurot D, Bosquet L, Dugué B. An evidence-based approach for choosing post-exercise recovery techniques to reduce markers of muscle damage, soreness, fatigue, and inflammation: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Front Physiol. Shirreffs SM, Armstrong LE, Cheuvront SN. Fluid and electrolyte needs for preparation and recovery from training and competition.

J Sports Sci. McDermott BP, Anderson SA, Armstrong LE, Casa DJ, Cheuvront SN, Cooper L, Kenney WL et al. Journal of Athletic Training. Burke LM, Kiens B, Ivy JL.

Carbohydrates and fat for training and recovery. Aragon AA, Schoenfeld BJ. Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. Various mobility tactics help to bring nutrient rich blood to muscles that need recovery.

Ensuring your muscles are clear of adhesions and improving your range of motion will increase your muscle strength and function. These little micro naps help to aid in recovery.

Small naps are good for your heart, blood pressure , stress levels and even weight management. While we sleep our bodies repair.

Faster repair means getting back to the gym faster. A properly balanced diet is extremely important to your goals. Whether you want to lose body fat or gain muscle ,.

it wont happen with training alone. Consuming a well-balanced diet will help give your body the nutrients it needs to recover from training.

If your diet is lacking even one macronutrient it will hinder your recovery ability. Try to keep your carbs, protein, and fats all balanced. Avoid diets that are extreme, you will find yourself smaller and weaker. If you think you can train hard and heavy for weeks at a time, you are mistaken.

In order to make good strength and muscular gains its important to take a one week deload period of your training. Whether that means taking off for a full week or what I recommend is having a week where you use 60 to 65 percent of your normal workouts.

These lighter workouts will allow you recover and the coolest part they will allow you to rebound and come back stronger. Muscle soreness occurs from lactic acid build up in a muscle. Drinking adequate amounts of water will help to flush out toxins from your muscles.

Our bodies need water to function; a one percent dehydration will result in a 10 percent reduction in strength. Proper hydration also helps to keep our joints lubricated.

Vitamin C, D, E and ALA are all important for the recovery process. These vitamins help to prevent damage done by free radicals and help strengthen up your immune system. After a workout free radical levels are higher in our muscle cells. These vitamins help to break these free radicals apart.

Create new and massively sculpted set of pipes now with these easy to use armday hacks. Is all calf training the same, no matter the sport? Not quite, says trai expert Tasha Whelan. These PTs explain how to maintain healthy hammies. Close Ad ×. I want content for: Both Men Women.

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Menzies, P. Blood lactate clearance during active recovery after an intense running bout depends on the intensity of the active recovery. Journal of Sports Science, 28 9 , — Miyamoto, N. Effect of pressure intensity of graduated elastic compression stocking on muscle fatigue following calf-raise exercise.

Journal of Electromyographical Kinesiology, 21 2 , — NASM National Association of Sports Medicine. McGill, E. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training 5th ed. Burlington, MA: Jones and Barlett Learning. Effect of elastic compression on venous hemodynamics in postphlebitic limbs.

Journal of the American Medical Association, 25 , — Pocari, J. Exercise Physiology. Philadelphia: F. Schaser, K.

Prolonged superficial local cryotherapy attenuates microcirculatory impairment, regional inflammation, and muscle necrosis after closed soft tissue injury in rats. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 35 1 , 93— Shin, M.

Effects of Massage on Muscular Strength and Proprioception After Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29 8 , — Wiltshire, E. Fabio Comana, M. An international presenter at multiple health and fitness events, he is also a spokesperson featured in multiple media outlets and an accomplished chapter and book author.

org Fitness CPT Nutrition CES Sports Performance Workout Plans Wellness. American Fitness Magazine Recovery Exploring the Science of Recovery. Recovery is a huge part of the following NASM courses: NASM Health and Wellness Coach Certification CPT Personal Trainer Course Corrective Exercise Specialization Sports Nutrition Coach Stretching and Flexibility Coach Specialty.

Understanding Recovery We eat, sleep, train, repeat—constantly striving to get bigger, stronger, faster or slimmer—but is there a point where too much becomes harmful? Homeostasis is a state of balance within the body that occurs when the variables in a system e.

In this article, we will focus on stress related to exercise, which includes physiological e. Other common types of stress are environmental e. Types of Recovery Though recovery is a critical phase of the exercise-adaptation cycle, it is among the least understood and most under-researched components of training.

Monitoring Recovery Usually, an evening of restful sleep coupled with good nutrition and hydration will restore homeostasis and full recovery Pocari et al.

Active Recovery Two studies highlight the value of active recovery, which typically uses movements ranging from spurts of anaerobic activity to very light-intensity activity e. Read more: Active Recovery - Rest Days, Workouts, and Exercise Examples Massage Advocates of massage say it decreases muscle soreness, pain and stress, improves circulation and lymphatic flow, and creates an enhanced perception of recovery.

Compression Delivered via clothing or through inflatable devices e. Cryotherapy Cryotherapy temporarily reduces muscle temperature, stimulating vasoconstriction and reducing inflammation and pain.

Hydrotherapy The cardiovascular system responds to hydrotherapy water immersion by changing heart rate, peripheral blood flow and resistance to flow. Sleep The fields of health and medicine recognize the importance of sleep upon overall health and wellness.

Sleep and recovery depend on two vital data points: Basal sleep, which is the amount the body needs every night to recover Sleep debt, which accumulates if we do not get our basal sleep every night If sleep debt piles up, rising stress and cortisol accumulation in the body will impair recovery and threaten our health.

From RICE to CAM It is interesting to note a small paradigm shift in the suggested protocols following injury and exercise, with some practitioners moving away from the traditional RICE practice rest, ice, compress, elevate and toward CAM compression, activity, massage.

At end of one normal breath exhalation , start a stopwatch. Sit quietly until the need to take another normal breath occurs. This cannot be a deeper breath or gasp.

Stop stopwatch. The point at which another normal breath is needed should occur at approximately 40 seconds, though many people tend to overbreathe, resulting in a score of only 15—25 seconds. Monitoring Heart Rate Monitoring Resting Heart Rate RHR can be done simply by having the client take his pulse manually or by using a wrist device or heart rate monitor.

The Future of Recovery Technology to measure and encourage recovery is under development. Sapolsky, R. New York: Holt Paperbacks.

Seyle, H. The Stress of Life New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. The Author. Fabio Comana Fabio Comana, M. Related Posts. American Fitness Magazine Recovery Different Recovery Methods to Recharge. What works for some might not work for others.

However, that is the beauty of the human body: no two are the same. Working out is something that every individual needs to tailor to their liking or else it will not be effective, including post-workout recovery. Continue reading to find out which post-workout recovery tips are myths and which are facts.

Recovery is often one of the most overlooked yet most vital parts of the fitness experience. For this piece, we did a deep dive into some of the scientific studies done on recovery, and spoke to sports doctor Mike Masi, a physical therapist, certified sports nutritionist, and Garage Gym Reviews expert panelist to get his take on some of these myths.

Medical Disclaimer : All information in this piece is for informational purposes only. You should not use it to replace any professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment of health issues.

Any questions about your health should be directed toward a physician or licensed healthcare professional. And if you want to stretch after a workout, then by all means go ahead.

People claim that post-workout stretching can help loosen tight muscles, prevent injuries, and increase blood flow to aid in the delivery of nutrients to the areas you worked out.

And there are even studies that back all that up, but they often only look at a small group of people three dozen at the most , according to a meta-analysis of such studies. That analysis was done in , and a separate one published in had the same conclusion: post-exercise stretching had minimal impacts on muscle recovery.

At best, stretching reduced muscle soreness by points on a point scale—aka, peanuts in the grand scheme of things. Myth: You Should Do Active Recovery Workouts On Rest Days Fact: Rest Days Should Be Used For, Wait For It, Resting.

It could be a brisk walk, yoga, or swimming. People who preach this usually say being a couch potato on your rest day will set back your progress. Science, though, is just not on their side. Foam rollers, on the other hand, have been around for decades and have been trusted by physical therapists everywhere.

One study specifically looked at Hypervolt, one of the best massage guns in our opinion, and recommended it for athletes who want to have better range of motion without losing muscle performance.

Similarly, foam rolling has consistently been linked to improved range of motion by multiple studies. So really, it comes down to preference at the end of the day.

These days, they can measure your exercising heart rate, the amount of oxygen in your blood, how well you sleep, how tired your body is, and much more. Leber explains. RELATED: A Complete Guide to At-Home Workouts. RELATED: Weird Things Running Does to Your Body.

Rest and recovery are important parts of every workout plan. Kelsey Wells , a trainer with the workout app Sweat and creator of the PWR weight-training programs, shares her favorite tips for letting your muscles recoup.

The best post-workout recovery means using a variety of strategies to help your muscles heal. Here are some of those strategies:. Everyone has unique workout recovery needs. Factors such as current fitness level as well as exercise history, workout frequency, duration, intensity, and type all impact the amount and type of rest that a person needs.

Non-fitness-related stressors — such as poor sleep, relationship troubles, and working overtime — can affect how much rest and what type of recovery a person may need from a given workout, too.

RELATED: The Work-Life Balance Conversation We Need to Be Having. However, some fitter individuals may need more recovery because they are regularly exercising at a higher intensity. The schedule of the average gym-goer who exercises four or five days per week — combining a mix of high-intensity workouts, cross-training routines, and active recovery days — and takes the remaining two or three days off allows for proper recovery, according to Rivadeneyra.

Related: How Much Exercise You Need to Meet Your Health and Fitness Goals. Fitter individuals may be able to use this strategy alternating between high-intensity workouts, varied activity, and active recovery six or seven days per week without taking any day completely off.

Listen to your body and remember that your ideal workout recovery strategy will ebb and flow over weeks, months, and years. With additional reporting by Nicol Natale and Jessica Migala. Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy.

We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

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