It may not sound logical, but what you do post-exercise is as important as the work you put in during a session itself.
Recovery, reflection and eating the right things will help you quickly feel the benefits of physical activity and allow you to progress quickly.
Take onboard these three quick tips and notice the difference!
DON’T FORGET TO WARM DOWN
The tendency for most of us is to come to a complete stop after exercise, but this doesn’t give your body an opportunity to warm down.
The benefits of post-exercise recovery, which include light jogging, stretching and hydration, will help your heart rate return to a normal level and reduce the lactate acid in your blood stream.
Warming down will also help alleviate muscle soreness and keep you fresh for activity the next day.
DON’T PIG OUT AFTER A SESSION
There’s a misconception out there that doing exercise gives you the right to eat whatever you want after it. Avid fatty foods, sugary drinks and snacks like chocolate – all of which contain high calories.
You don’t want to pile back on the calories you’ve just burned off!
Instead, get some protein onboard and slow-release carbohydrates to aid the regrowth of muscle tissue and recovery.
DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF
We all want to see progress! Of course we do.
But it can take time to build fitness levels and work towards your targets – it’s a process that generally doesn’t happen overnight.
Setbacks and dips can happen but don’t fret if they do.
Try and keep upbeat, have a training plan in place and record your results – that way you can keep motivated and move in the right direction.