Hitting the gym regularly is great for anyone’s health. We all need to burn some calories, gain strength, and reap the good effects: the energy boost, good mood, better health, and the list goes on.
But along with regular gym visits comes something else: muscle soreness and body fatigue. The effects of a workout are inevitable regardless if you’ve just started or if you’re doing it regularly. But there are some post-workout routines you can do to help soothe your muscles.
Get Enough Night’s Sleep
Just as much as you set a schedule for your workout routine, you should also set a sleeping schedule that would allow you to get six to eight hours of night’s sleep.
This is because when we sleep, our body releases growth hormones that help with muscle recovery. Taking time for exercise is just as important as having ample hours of sleep because a significant part of exercise recovery takes place during sleep.
Take a Soothing Cold Bath
Cold showers are not always a good idea, like when you have to do it early on a really cold morning. This is why the shower heater is our friend. But when done post-workout, a cold bath gives added benefits. Cold showers help promote blood circulation in our body’s deep tissues.
The result: nutrients and oxygen reach the muscles faster, allowing for quicker muscle recovery. Cold showers also prevent inflammation and allow your muscles to relax and self-repair after a high-intensity activity.
A quick reminder, though, for post-workout baths, you must begin with a lukewarm shower for a few minutes to avoid shocking the body with the sudden temperature change. Slowly lower the temperature and end your shower using cold water.
Try CBD
Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is a safe-to-use natural supplement that provides various benefits to anyone’s health and wellness. CBD is one of the many compounds produced by cannabis and hemp plants, but only contains less than 0.3% THC and doesn’t produce the high that’s associated with marijuana use.
CBD carries anti-inflammatory properties that can help relieve muscle soreness, as well as body pains and injuries, like ACL, and assists with calming nerves to help your muscles recover. It also promotes relaxation after body fatiguing activities at the gym.
During a post-workout bath, you can infuse a CBD bath bomb into the tub. You can also try CBD topicals, such as our Mahalo Muscle Relief, to help soothe aching muscles and joints. Meanwhile, for a good night’s sleep, there’s Sleep CBD Oil, which brings together ginseng, chamomile, and melatonin. Another option is melatonin-infused Sleep CBD Gummies.
Grab a Hearty Meal
When you work out, your body consumes the proteins and glycogen — or the stored fuel — in your body. And your body needs to restore these to help with post-workout recovery. Eating the right amount of protein and carbohydrates within a few hours after your workout session will help your body rebuild your muscle proteins and glycogen much faster. It’s also important to keep yourself hydrated after a workout to replenish lost electrolytes in your body.
Cool Down
During a workout, your heart rate shoots up, which is triggered by the quick body movements or weightlifting you do during an exercise. A strict rule when you do any type of workout, it is essential to take a cool down immediately afterward.
Following a workout, your heart needs to slow down, and this has to happen gradually — through a cooldown — to avoid dizziness and muscle cramps. Take a quick five-to-10 minute stretch to help achieve this gradual slowing down of your heart rate. And by doing so, you're allowing your body to reach the relaxation phase you deserve after a strenuous heart-pumping activity at the gym.
