Is the muscle pain you get after you work out becoming too much to bear? There are many reasons for this including your age. One of the many unfortunate downsides of getting older is that you’re likely to feel more tired and sore after exercise than you used to.
That doesn’t mean you should stop exercising! You can still keep your body fit and healthy and not suffer afterward by learning a few muscle recovery tips. And most of the top recovery and muscle-building tips are simple and easy to fit into your existing fitness schedule.
Want to know how to get huge muscles (or keep the ones you have) without soreness? Keep reading to find out!
- Wear Compression Clothing
Do you like to wear loose-fitting sweats when you exercise? Feeling comfortable is vital when you work out. But your muscles aren’t getting some much-needed support with this type of athletic clothing.
Compression t-shirts and leggings can improve circulation and reduce inflammation. They can also reduce lactic acid build-up.
This is important for key body parts such as your back, carves, and knees. Depending on the type of workouts you do, you could also gain from wearing elbow and hand compression sleeves.
- Cool Down After Workouts
Building muscles is a health goal that demands many hours of dedicated exercise. You might think that warming up and cooling down your muscles takes precious time away from achieving this goal but that’s not true.
Cooling down your sore muscles increases blood flow and nutrients to your muscles which helps them repair. If you don’t cool down, you may need longer to recover from your muscle pain. The longer you need to recover, the less you can exercise which is the opposite of what you want!
One of the best muscle recovery tips is to always take five minutes to breathe and stretch your body after a workout. Hold the stretching positions for at least ten seconds at a time.
- Get Even Colder
Cooling down after workouts helps your body return to its resting temperature. But getting even colder after your workouts could be the best thing to ease your sore muscles.
Hydrotherapy involves plunging or immersing yourself into an ice bath or freezing cold water. Like compression clothes, it reduces inflammation and increases blood flow to your muscles.
If this technique sounds daunting, try warming up by sitting in a sauna before plunging your body into the ice. And if you would prefer to ease into hydrotherapy, start by taking a cold shower after you exercise first.
- Massage Your Muscles
This is one of the best muscle recovery tips because it also includes a little self-care. After your workouts, give your muscles a massage. You can use your fingers but you can also use foam rollers, tennis balls, or handheld massage tools.
If you’re not sure how to use any of the suggested equipment, watch YouTube videos for tutorials. Or you can ask a personal trainer for advice.
- Schedule Rest Days
Even God needed to rest one day out of the week when he created the universe. You should do the same with your workout routine by scheduling at least one rest day per week. Seven days of high-intensity workouts will put your muscles under too much strain and you may cause an injury.
- Get Quality Sleep
When you sleep, that’s when the magic happens in your body. Your body repairs any damaged cells, removes toxic waste, and restores energy. This is all vital for muscle recovery.
You already know you need seven to nine hours of sleep every night so your body can do its job. But for some people, getting this amount of sleep is easier said than done. Relax as much as possible in the hour before you want to sleep by avoiding technology, reading, dimming your lights, and meditating.
- Frequent Hydration
Is there anything that water isn’t good for? Increasing your water intake during and after exercise will replace all the moisture lost due to sweat and prevent dizziness.
But drinking water also increases mobility in your muscles and reduces the chances of muscle cramps. Plus, your muscles need water to transport key nutrients around your body.
- Fuel Your Muscles
What is the main macro you need to build big muscles? Protein, protein, and more protein! Eat a little protein before and after you exercise to ensure you keep your muscles in tip-top condition so they can thrive during exercise.
Foods like yogurt, protein shakes, and peanut butter on toast are great pre and post-workout snacks.
- Take Supplements
As you will notice from reading this list of muscle recovery tips, these are the biggest causes of muscle pain and soreness:
- Inflammation
- Bad circulation
- Lack of nutrients
- Lactic acid build-up
Lucky for you, there are supplements you can take to combat these problems such as anti-inflammatories and SARMS.
Always ask your doctor for medical advice before taking a new supplement. And do your own research like looking up the differences between SR9009 Vs. Cardarine.
- Learn When To Stop
Even ultra-marathon runner Forrest Gump knew when he needed to stop running. You should also learn to recognize when it’s time to stop working out.
High-intensity exercise sessions shouldn’t last for much longer than one hour. Cardio and low-intensity exercise sessions shouldn’t be longer than two hours if you are working out every day.
But if your body feels very weak or starts to hurt before the end of your workout then stop. No app or machine program knows your muscle capacity better than you do.
Use These Muscle Recovery Tips and Your Body Will Thank You
You can see that it doesn’t take much to reduce muscle soreness and pain in the days following your workouts. If you use even a few of these muscle recovery tips in your fitness routine, you should notice the difference.
Working out is one of the best things you can do for your body, but there are lots of other things you can do to stay healthy too. Browse the health section on our website for tons more tips!
