3 Simple Ways to Speed Up Muscle Recovery After Workout

November 25, 2019

By reading this article you will get the following:

The Importance of Muscle Recovery
3 Simple Ways to Speed Up Muscle Recovery
Recommendations for Applying These Principles

1. Nutrition

Diet and nutrition are single most important components of physical wellness.

As someone who puts excess stress on your body through exercising, it is important to focus on getting your body adequate nutrients. A good way to do this is to calculate your caloric intake.

Count Your Calories - The average person should consumer 2,000 calories a day. The average athlete needs 3,000-5,000 calories per day, depending on the activities performed. Find out where you fit and create a plan that works for you. There are plenty of apps that can assist you. One that we recommend is MyFitnessPal and can be downloaded on the App Store or Google Play.

Post Workout Meal - Make sure you are getting a quality meal with a large portion of protein within 30 minutes of the time you are done exercising. The sooner the better. If you can eat immediately, then do it.

Protein Shakes - Sometimes it is difficult to have a meal ready with you after the gym. This is when drinking a protein shake can be an excellent alternative. Drinking a protein shake immediately after your workout can help speed up muscle recovery and facilitate muscle growth. A 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein is ideal.

Smoothies - When you sweat a lot, you are losing your body's natural minerals and sugars. Therefore, it is important to replenish your natural minerals and sugars after a tough workout. One great way to do this is to drink a smoothie. A quick and delicious smoothie recipe can be found here Recipe: Mixed Berry Smoothie.

Mixed Berry Smoothie Recipe Kingsfield Fitness

2. Hydrate

Hydrate - Imagine the difference when you look behind the counter in a butcher shop. You see a beautiful piece of tenderloin. Right next to it you see a dried up piece of beef jerky. The tenderloin is healthy and supple, while the jerky is shriveled and dried out. That beef jerky is what dehydrated muscles look like.

Dehydrated muscle

Dehydration is a chronic problem, and its more common than people realize. Most athletes don’t realize that they’re sweating out anywhere between eight to ten cups of water a day. That needs to be replenished. Coffee, tea, alcohol, and soda are all dehydrating.

3. Get Better Sleep.

The importance of sleep

Don’t underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep when it comes to active recovery for your muscles. When you are putting excess stress on your body, your muscles need time to recover back to their natural, lengthened state.

As an athlete, sleep is particularly important for muscle recovery. When exercising heavily, muscles tend to get tight. A proper rest results in muscles being restored to their natural lengthened state. Athletes over the age of 18 should aim for a minimum of 8 hours of sleep. For optimal recovery, you should aim for 9-10 hours of sleep to fully recover and be able to perform at a high level on days where your body is put under more heavy stress.