The right recovery plan can go a long way in the post-training process for any athlete. Recovery is about activities that promote muscle repair and adaptation to enable more excellent performance without injury. And this is where timing comes in.
It would help if you had recovery time to take the muscle to its full growth potential once it has been trained. The longer the recovery time, the higher the muscle growth response.
Why do you need to recover after a workout?
The primary reason why a muscle grows is to adapt the muscle in response to training. For you to train harder, the muscle needs time to heal and recover to perform at its pre-training capacity. As we increase the intensity, the training load increases – increasing your risk of injury and strain on the muscles.
Recovery time is, therefore, essential to avoid injury. It would help if you never pushed the muscle beyond your limit, or you risk yourself suffering from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, your body’s natural response to muscle damage.
By the way, another great benefit of recovery is that it enables you to feel more energized.
What is Overtraining?
Overtraining occurs when you train too much, too soon, or in a way that does not allow for adequate rest and recovery time. If you push yourself to compete or train more than your body can handle at any given time, you will most likely be doing yourself great harm. It’s always best to build up a slow pace and ramp it up slowly so as not to overdo it. You can work out too much and end up overtraining yourself.
How to recover effectively
1. Eat an overall balanced diet-It is essential to maintain a balanced diet for your body to heal and repair itself after a hard training session. Eating balanced meals can help to support protein synthesis, muscle growth, and glycogen storage. It will help repair the muscle tissue and refuel your body faster with essential nutrients. Keeping your calorie intake at a minimum will also help strengthen your muscles and prevent you from overtraining.
2. Warm up and cool down- If you intend to go all out or run a long distance, warm up your muscles and joints before running. A good warm-up will not only prepare your body for the run but also help prevent injury and ensure that you can run at a faster pace than usual.
3. Hot shower after a workout and cold shower in the morning- This is the most effective form of recovery I have ever tried. A hot shower after training will loosen up your muscles and help you relax them. It also helps flush out any lactic acid build-up in your muscles, preventing muscle soreness.
How to recover professional athletes
1. Creatine monohydrate, Beta-alanine, and a proper diet are very important in the post-training process. These supplements have been shown to increase performance while also promoting muscle growth. They work so well because they help boost your body’s stores of ATP via the natural process of phosphogenesis. In other words, these amino acids like creatine supplements are naturally synthesized by your body and can be stored in the muscle tissue and used during physical exercise.
2. Protein- Muscle tissue is composed of amino acids. To repair the muscle tissue and build it up, you need to eat a lot of protein. You should take between 20-30 grams of protein per meal. You can also eat enough carbohydrates and fats to boost your body’s repair process.
3. HGH injections for men – HGH is a trendy supplement among professional athletes because of its ability to increase muscle mass. HGH stands for human growth hormone, and it is produced in the pituitary gland by a structure known as the somatotropin, which produces the hormone-insulin-like growth factor.
GABA, L-ornithine, and L-arginine are all amino acids one can take with HGH for an added effect. These amino acids help increase muscle mass by increasing protein synthesis and decreasing protein breakdown in the body. Combining these three amino acids alone can increase gains in muscle mass by 10-15%.
What should you avoid?
1. Alcohol- Alcohol depresses the central nervous system and drastically reduces the production of anabolic hormones such as testosterone and HGH. It will reduce muscle growth, so you mustn’t drink at night to prevent this from happening.
2. Tobacco- Tobacco contains nicotine which is a stimulant drug. When you smoke, the nicotine will irritate the mucous membranes of your respiratory system, causing breathing to become more difficult than usual. When this happens, the oxygen that is being delivered to your muscle tissues will also be reduced by a significant amount. The recovery process will worsen, and training adaptation will not occur as quickly as expected.
3. Not getting enough sleep- Lack of sleep can cause distractions to the immune system, making it easier for you to contract a cold or the flu. It will also make the recovery process take much longer than expected. I recommend getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night to speed up your recovery time.
Recovery is a significant factor in the process of muscle building. If you are not recovering, you are not growing. Recovery does not only refer to rest; it also refers to having a healthy diet, using a pain patch for sports injuries and taking supplements that can boost your energy and immune system. If you are working out the right way and doing it consistently, your body should recover in about a day. The faster you recover, the faster you can start to grow.
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