The 4 things you should be doing!
How you end a workout will determine how you start the next.
Recovery is a vital step to any workout regime. Let’s not confuse a de-load or taper down week with recovery. Not everyone needs a de-load or taper down week, but everyone needs the proper recovery steps to maximize their workouts.
How you treat your post-workout recovery will determine your energy, motivation, and performance for your next workout.
1) Hydrate!
Drink. Drink. Drink. Eat your water with cucumbers, grapes, and oranges.
How much water you need depends on how much you lost during the workout. This depends on conditions like temperature, humidity, indoors or outdoors, and starting the workout dehydrated. I love the drench of a hot yoga session or a HIIT workout because the sweat feels so gratifying. Just remember sweat is not always a good indication of a fluid loss. You lose hydration with just breathing out. Drink before, during, and after for best results. Your next workout depends on it. Dehydration can affect performance, motivation, and energy.
2) A recovery shake will do a body good!
A balanced meal of 2:1 carbs protein ratio works for many. Replenish to increase protein synthesis and restore glycogen stores. Your workout is not complete until you have consumed your recovery calories.
3)Get plenty of sleep!
Get forty winks mid-afternoon if you can squeeze it into your schedule. Call it a nap, siesta or a riposo. “A small study conducted by the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory followed a group of athletes over a three-week period. They did nothing different but increase their sleep and saw marked improvements in performance, including faster sprint times, longer endurance, lower heart rate, and an overall better workout” (Mahr, “How Sleep Affects Your Workout”). What if you can’t sleep? See tip #4.
4) Meditate daily with yoga.
Incorporating some yoga and mind bodywork is complementary to any regimented workout routine. It is good for the natural flexibility of the mind and body.
“Tight muscles that keep joints out of their natural and functional positions create accelerated wear and tear by inducing faulty movement patterns and joint motion” (Barlow et al., 2002; Borstad, 2006; Clark et al., 2008; Gross et al., 1993).
The right kind of yoga is perfect to help release all the fight or flight hormones racing around in your body, and quiet your monkey mind. Try our yoga class for sleep here.
Watch for this blog next month: Who needs recovery or a taper down