Tips for Workout Recovery

Can your workout recovery strategy maximize and speed up your results? Hell yes. And often, when people don’t recover properly they can get injured and subsequently thrown off their fitness routine.  

So, first, let’s celebrate how exciting it is that you are training, showing your body love, and prioritizing your health! That could not be more awesome. To be effective with your workouts you also need to prioritize your recovery. 

Try to think of exercise as the architect and recovery as the builder. This is really where your body makes its gains in fitness and athletic ability as well as muscle and bone maintenance and metabolic afterburn. So, taking all the proper steps after your training can make a big difference. Check out my top tips below:

1. Be a rock n’ roller - The next time you have one of those “I’m gonna be sore for days" workouts, consider a quick massage right away post workout. Researchers put 11 young, healthy men through a strenuous workout immediately followed by 10 minutes of Swedish-style massage. To see the effects of massage on muscles, they took muscle biopsies of both legs before and after the workout. The brief massage affected two specific genes in the muscle cells. The first gene decreases inflammation caused by exercise. The second gene turned up production of mitochondria in the muscles. These are the powerhouse cells that use oxygen and the broken down products of food to generate energy needed by the cells. Now, if you don’t have the money for massages after every exercise session grab your foam roller. They usually have them at the gym, or you can buy one online for a variety of prices, some even as inexpensive as $10! This TriggerPoint roller is one of my faves. Roll out your muscles and effectively massage them to help speed your recovery and enhance your workout results.
2. Ginger -  Here’s another tip to help you manage post-workout soreness. Let’s say you’re planning to check out the Slim 60 workout plan in my app, and you want to be able to sit on the toilet or raise your hands above your head the next day, so pop some ginger before getting your sweat on and chew some afterward, too. Research indicates that two grams of ginger root can effectively decrease exercise-induced muscle soreness if taken before and several days after a heavy workout. You can get fresh ginger root or try Chimes Ginger Chews (available in many supermarkets as well as Amazon HERE).
3. Omega’s – Research has shown us definitively that Omega 3’s are a fantastic compliment to any fitness regimen. They not only help to promote a healthy heart and act as an excellent energy source, but they are also known to reduce inflammation. If you are considering supplementation I have become a huge fan of Krill oil because you don’t have to worry about mercury. Food sources for your Omega's includes wild salmon, sardines, walnuts, organic eggs, chia seeds, and pecans.
4. Calcium & Magnesium – Calcium and magnesium are wonder minerals of sorts when it comes to exercise in particular. Together they help boost proper hydration, reduce lactic acid, and act as a natural muscle relaxers. You can find these micronutrients in many foods from organic dairy, green leafy veggies, and almonds to name just a few. I also sometimes just pop the magnesium supplement, Calm, into my water bottle.
5. Avoid NSAIDs! –  For many years the prescription of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, Motrin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen) for all kind of sports injuries has been a staple of sports medicine. Current research, however, suggests that using NSAIDs to reduce the inflammation actually impairs healing in all different types of tissue, from muscles to tendons to bone and cartilage. So avoid these whenever possible in order to protect your kidneys and liver as well as maximizing the benefits of your post workout recovery.