Do you experience muscle soreness after workout? Yes, almost everyone does! Soreness typically occurs when you expose your body to a particular stress you are not used to like a new exercise or a sport. Soreness is associated with microtrauma which makes your muscles adapt to training. Soreness is worse when you are engaged in eccentric training (lowering or weights or running downhill). This is said to cause more microtrauma than other training styles.
Have you ever faced a situation when you are facing stiffness or soreness for a longer period of time which can keep you away from workout for days? Although training is super important, you also need to give your body breathing space or rest (in order words) due to the oxidative stress & muscle damage that occurs. This rest period allows your muscles to recover & shape in a new improved version of yourself. Recovery is not only about eating right, there are a multitude of factors that make sure your workout performance is at your peak every single day. Recovery period or rate also depends upon your genetic makeup. The genetic report which you shall get from us will tell your recovery response after a high intense & long period workout. This section provides insights on how quickly your body can recover between the training sessions. Those with quick recovery require 24 hours between hard workout sessions. These folks can utmost go for 4 hard sessions as week. While those with medium recovery require 48 hours between hard sessions with 3 hard workout sessions per week. On the other end of spectrum are those who require 72 hours between hard sessions & can utmost do 2 hard sessions as week. However, with lower intensity you can train for more number of days than mentioned herein above. Acute inflammation is important for healing, however chronic or excessive inflammation can result in prolonged periods of soreness, stiffness & swelling. This can also lead to fall in range of motion & even result in chronic diseases.
The following post training strategy when adopted, can help you reduce incidence of chronic inflammation.
- Cool down & relax: With the heart rate shooting up when you workout, you need to immediately get all those nutrients, rehydrate & prepare for relaxation post workout. Active cool down is said to improve recovery of lactate in blood but not in muscle tissue. It partially prevents immune system depressions & helps faster recovery of cardiovascular & respiratory systems.
- Stretching: When choosing to stretch, focus on dynamic stretching (stretching in regular flow of movement) rather than static stretching (stretching & holding for a long period of time). Dynamic stretching helps you to keep yourself flexible after a workout & strengthen your muscles so that they do not suffer from delayed onset of muscle soreness & fatigue.
- Short cardio post weight training: If you are lifting weights, a light cardio post workout can help you save hours of stiffness & soreness that can keep you out of action longer than you want to be. A little bit of walk on treadmill or steady flow of elliptical will help you to manage the after effects of workout
- Active Recovery: If you are into active fitness, your mantra should be “your rest days should not be your cheat days”. Rest is very vital when you are doing high intensity & hard sessions. Your body needs to adapt. However, when you are not training, doing a little bit of light body weight workout exercises such as push ups, planks, abs & short run outside is an excellent strategy to keep your body guessing.
Post training nutrition is equally important:
- Rehydration: An intense training session essentially means that your body’s fuel – both glycogen & water will be depleted & you will feel dehydrated. Water post workout is necessary since it helps you stay hydrated. Besides, you not only need water but sodium also in your bloodstream. An electrolyte based drink post workout helps supplement these losses.
- Drink chocolate milk: This is definitely going to support recovery post workout. Milk is going to give you an enormous amount of casein protein which is essential for recovery while you rest. The chocolate powder will give you that energy boost your body requires.
- Eat Protein: When it comes to building muscles, which normally takes place after your exercise while you recover, proteins such as Lean chicken breast, meat, fish or eggs after training will heal that muscle repair & damage. It will give your body the nutrients it requires to get going for the upcoming workout sessions.
- Omega-3: We have discussed omega-3 in our earlier blog. It is considered as an essential fatty acid since it is not produced by our body & is required for our body to properly function. We get Omega-3 from various food sources. Omega-3 is an unsaturated fat & provides our body with many health benefits. It has an anti-inflammatory effect & lowers fat in our blood. It helps reduce inflammation & promotes recovery post our workout.
- Vitamin-D – The fat soluble vitamin: Vitamin D helps to regulate our anti-inflammatory cells & promotes muscle growth. It is also important for bone health since it helps in absorption of calcium. Vitamin D food sources include oily fish, fortified breakfast cereals, milk and mushrooms. If you live in a climate that doesn’t usually offer a lot of sunlight, then you should include a vitamin D supplement in your diet.
- Antioxidants: These are found in various fruits & vegetables & play an important role in getting rid of free radicals from our body. Vitamin A, C & E & polyphenols are some great examples of antioxidants. Berries such as strawberries, blackberries, raspberries & blueberries contain great antioxidant compounds that can help reduce inflammation & help to promote recovery from exercise.
- Phytochemicals: These are chemicals produced by plants that have antioxidant & anti-inflammatory properties. Foods rich in phytochemicals include berries, green, red & orange vegetables, peanuts & whole grain products.
Our genetic makeup plays a major role in regulating inflammation. Variation within the genes such as IL-6, IL-6R, TNF & CRP can determine genetic predisposition to lower levels of inflammation after a high intense physical activity resulting in fast recovery. Some genotypes are associated with high levels of inflammation post workout & as such require longer recovery time between training days. Adopting a balance between correct strategies such as workout, rest, active recovery & nutrition can guide a correct way of maintaining your fitness & peak workout performance & reducing chances of injuries. Recovery is as important as your workout because it allows your body to adapt & gives your body the break it requires.
Discover your personal traits & learn about your specific genetic predisposition to post workout recovery times. By subscribing to our membership & personalised fitness programs, you will not only receive information about genetic response to various aspects of nutrition & fitness but also be coached by an international fitness coach who will cover both genetics powered nutrition & exercise aspects of the program that will help you maximise your fitness potential & improve your mental health. Sign up for our membership here.
