The problem of recovery after a workout affects absolutely everyone to one degree or another. The most important techniques that help you recover faster for the next workout are on the surface. But they are neglected by running enthusiasts.
Warming up is an essential part of the training
A light jog or even a step at the end of the planned distance will not only help smoothly lower the heart rate and redistribute blood flow, but also flush out metabolic waste products. By doing so, subsequent muscle soreness is reduced. It is enough to walk for 5-10 minutes or to walk a kilometer at the lightest pace.
The more varied and time-consuming the hiccups are, the greater role they will play in your recovery. In short, the worst thing you can do is run home and immediately fall into bed.
Change your clothes on time
Regardless of the time of year, clothes wet with sweat work like a radiator. That’s great, but the fact is that it slows blood circulation in the muscles, which helps them recover. In the wind, a wet T-shirt instantly cools the entire body.
Stretching and self-massage after running
After you’ve done your warm-up and changed into dry clothes, the best thing you can do is stretch and massage at least the muscles that did the bulk of the work. Do you like yoga? Great, this is the one.
For self-massage, there are all kinds of gadgets.
Food and Drinking
Without proper nutrition and hydration, recovery can take a very long time. Of course, it has to be in line with your athletic level. Carbohydrates, protein, water – this eternal trinity can be present in different forms: shakes, bars or just a full meal.
You should eat as soon as possible after training, but you shouldn’t pay too much attention to the so-called “protein-carbohydrate windows” either. These concepts are full of myths and misconceptions about chemical and biological processes in the athlete’s body.
Reduce the stress on hot days
Heat puts a much higher strain on the cardiovascular system. It’s not always obvious, but you will be much more tired and take longer to recover. This is, of course, more true for beginner runners who don’t have a good idea of their true fitness and training heart rate ranges.
Isotoniches
Replenishment of electrolytes lost through sweat becomes an urgent issue during prolonged impact training. Especially in the heat. Of course, you still have to get to this level when the question of isotonic drinks becomes relevant.
However, the recovery process in advanced runners, whose training kilocalorie consumption is measured in thousands, is quite problematic. At this time, the basic salts and minerals in the body become clearly insufficient.
Reduce the pace and the distance
In fact, if the recovery is too long, your muscles are still sore, and you don’t even want to do a warm-up, it’s likely that you are simply overestimating yourself by setting a too long mileage and a high running pace.
How many rest days do you have?
Let’s leave experienced runners and triathletes alone. They have long had an individual training plan for the year ahead that includes competitions. If you take less advanced athletes, you shouldn’t go out to train more often than every other day. That’s pretty much the best option. Once a week can also be a double day off.
But, on the other hand, a day off and a couch are not synonymous. Of course, there are few people who can lie on the couch the rest of the time in between workouts, but nevertheless, let us clarify that we are talking about active recreation, not passive recreation.
By the way, sitting around the office is even worse for health and recovery than lying on the couch. Keep this in mind and dilute this “life” with something more adequate and joyful for the body. Or change your job to courier. That’s a joke, of course. But in every joke…
Most importantly
Good mood and sound sleep are the most important conditions for the adaptation of the body and the actual healing. If you do all of the above, but it takes a very long time to recover, it means that you did not take these two factors into account.
