09 Nov Muscle Recovery Tricks of the Trade

Muscle recovery and rehabilitation between workouts is something a busy population finds hard to incorporate into their daily routine. Many are left asking, “What’s the big deal?” and “How can I find the time to incorporate more time and energy after my workout is over?”. 

Much of what goes into true muscle recovery is not as complicated or time-intensive as you may think. Several tricks simply involve specific dietary choices around workout time and a few essential exercises to eliminate muscle soreness and increase movement in key areas.

So here are a few tricks to employ throughout your day to keep the muscular impact of your workouts low while keeping the reward and benefits high:

1. Mix in using a foam roller or lacrosse ball into your post-workout stretches. Targeting sore areas with these items allows the release of muscle tension and can help in injury prevention during your next workout. This can help improve your range of motion and ensure that your movement patterns stay consistent throughout your workouts.
2. Oscillate between warm and cool shower temperatures after your workout. Switching between these two water temperatures during a post-workout shower can increase your blood flow and therefore pump more oxygen to your sore muscles. This could lead to quicker recovery times and leave you feeling refreshed between strenuous workout sessions.
3. Getting a massage has been found to have an impact on muscle soreness between workout sessions reliably. Although this may be difficult to achieve regularly, weaving in an occasional massage could yield significant benefits in how muscle soreness impacts daily life and how big a factor fatigue plays between workouts. Massages have also been shown to lower athletes’ pain levels and increase measurements of specific recovery-stimulating blood factors.
4. Wearing compression garments between workouts can lower swelling and fight the body’s natural responses that elicit soreness and fatigue post-exercise. This has also been shown to have an effect even after a sizable amount of time between workouts. 
5. Drink tart cherry or watermelon juice. Both of these juices have been shown to be rich in a concentrated set of compounds that promote muscle recovery and allow individuals to better overcome soreness.

Try one or a combination of these muscle recovery tools to see what reduces fatigue and soreness the most!

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