By Coach Shawn
Muscles feeling sore?
Sore for a few days?
That’s your muscle tissues broken down from what you did in training.
Likely new adaptations made.
You can speed up your recovery over time and even decrease that level of soreness with a few easy steps.
They are not out of anyone’s scope, they are simply committing to the basics.
Here they are:
CONSISTENT QUALITY NUTRITION
Let’s make this one super simple.
Post workout option 1 – protein shake within 10 min of completing your workout and then a protein and carb meal 60-90 min from shake.
Post workout option 2 – no shake, eat a protein and carb meal within 30 min of completing training.
Protein should be a STAPLE at every meal somewhere in the ball park of 25-45+ grams per meal.
Balance whole foods, healthy fats (further from training) plenty of fruits and keep alcohol, processed foods, sugars and inflammatory foods to a minimum or out of your diet completely.
More good – less crap.
WATER
This one is so easy yet it’s so easy to overlook, miss and under hydrate.
Simply put we couldn’t survive without water. And we ALL take it for granted.
EASY Fixes here…
START your day with what I call the MORNING COCKTAIL. It is a game changer.
16oz of water + 1 fresh cut lemon+ plenty of sea salt and enjoy in a mason jar if you have one.
Drink water before, during and after training.
Always keep water nearby.
I personally don’t like hard rules of x number of ounces with water in a day and there is plenty of info out there on that but lean on letting your urine be a better guide.
Clear or light yellow and you’re doing good.
Dark yellow and you’re slipping and have room to improve.
Unless you haven’t built the discipline to stay hydrated regularly then you may benefit from giving the amount extra attention.
MOVEMENT
Sore legs.
Sore arms.
I don’t want to do anything.
Wrong approach.
This makes soreness take even longer to go away.
The best thing is to stay consistent with your gym routine.
If it’s a rest day, go for a walk.
If it’s too cold, perform 3-5 minutes of a warm up routine (movements your familiar with from class.)
Movement promotes blood flow, increases range of motion and will help decrease your soreness levels.
STRETCHING
Most folks won’t stretch outside of the 3-5 minutes we do at the end of every class.
But would benefit from ending their day with 8-15 minutes of holding static stretches for 1-2 minutes.
Easy to do if you’re winding down watching tv.
Even better would be to do some light movement in the am and not wait until you get to the gym.
Doesn’t have to be much, could be the 4-5 minutes you’re waiting for the coffee to brew.
We call that productive use of NET time. No extra time.
Make it happen and you’ll see the body instantly begins to feel better.
Bonus here is the more pliable your muscle tissues stay the better positions you’ll be able to get into.
SLEEP
The ultimate recovery tool is sleep.
7-8 hours is the sweet spot for most of us.
If you struggle with sleep look at your sleep hygiene.
QUESTION(S) –
What are the thoughts that are consuming you? Disempowering, disgruntled ones about your day?
That’s gotta be let go so you can de-stress and get R-E-S-T.
Are you on your phone?
If you assess the 1-2 hours up to sleep time are they helping or hindering productive, restful sleep?
Putting a protective focus around productive healthy sleep prep and actual sleep routines are crucial to a great night sleep and recovery.
Actual sleep is best done in a cool room, so lower temperatures, use a fan, and/or wear less clothing.
Dark as possible.
Aim for no cell phone while in bed.
Or you run the risk of waking yourself right up and it will take more time to fall back asleep.
Become a master of these 5 areas and watch your recovery improve dramatically and muscle soreness decrease radically!