Learn your own healing strategies

 Learn your own healing strategies

Exercising, whether lifting, running, swimming, or just walking vigorously, is the process of applying physical stress to challenge the body's physiological functions, but the act of performing the exercise is only part of the process necessary to bring about changes in the body. . The important part comes after training on how the body adapts to the applied stimulation.

If you want to get the most out of your exercise program, you need a specific strategy for what you do after your workout to ensure that the stimulation has the desired effect. Exercising too often will not allow your body to rest and recover, replenish lost energy stores or rebuild new muscle tissue and can lead to overtraining. Exercising frequently will not produce enough stimulation to create lasting effects.

Just as an exercise program is specific to the individual, a recovery program must be tailored to meet the needs of your specific workouts. It's important to keep in mind that recovery isn't just about taking time to rest. After an intense training day with a low intensity workout can help your body recover faster after an intense workout. Both runners and weightlifters need to recover, but they each have different strategies and techniques depending on the exercises being performed. Here are some specific recovery strategies:

1. Hot and cold treatments

There's a reason many gyms have saunas and hot tubs: The heat from these relaxing environments can actually help promote tissue recovery after exercise. The heat from a sauna or hot tub increases blood circulation in the body, removing metabolic waste products such as hydrogen ions while transporting oxygen and other nutrients needed to help repair tissues worn down during training.

Another less comfortable but highly effective option is the use of cold treatments. Ice baths, ice packs, cooling vests or special chairs with pockets for ice packs are all different options available for applying cold therapy. One benefit of cold therapy is that it can help cool your core body temperature, which is essential when exercising in hot weather. The second benefit is that it can reduce inflammation and promote healing of tissues that were used during training. Applying ice to a sore muscle or joint draws more blood to the area, bringing nutrients and oxygen to promote healing.

Heat or cold, depending on your preference, can be used to aid recovery after intense exercise.

2. Post-workout nutrition

Recent research in the field of nutrient timing indicates that when nutrition is consumed in relation to exercise it may be more important than what is being consumed. After exercise, the body needs to replenish carbohydrates and repair tissues with protein. Having a snack or drink after exercise with a good ratio of carbs to protein can help meet both needs. Carbs replenish energy needs and increase insulin levels, helping to boost the use of protein after exercise for muscle repair. Good nutrition is especially important after high-intensity exercise, which can boost the release of muscle-building hormones: testosterone (T), human growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Feeding your body with the recommended nutrition within the recommended time frame will help your body use GH, T and IGF-1 effectively to repair and build new muscle tissue. Investigations show that consuming a soft drink or drink with a ratio of 3:4:1 carbs within 30 to 45 minutes after your workout can help you recover from the day's activity and help you prepare for your training the next day.

3. Softness and processing of fabrics

Many fitness enthusiasts understand the importance of starting a workout with dynamic flexibility exercises and cooling down with static stretching exercises. However, optimal recovery of the myofascial network goes beyond simple stretching and should include techniques to improve tissue stretch (the ability of separate layers of muscle tissue to glide over each other) using rollers, foam, sticks, or even massage by a professional therapist. The goal is to apply enough pressure to the muscle tissue to improve blood circulation and reduce the chance of inelastic collagen fibers growing at stress points that can limit tissue stretching. If you cut short your time at the gym often, it's a good idea to have the equipment at home so you can do the cloth at night while relaxing in front of the TV. Using a foam roller, massage stick, or even a tennis ball doesn't take long and can be a great way to relax and get ready for a good night's sleep.

4. Sleep

Your body produces most of the T, GH, and IGF-1 needed for tissue repair during deep REM sleep cycles. If you plan to do high-intensity exercise, it's important to sleep through the night to allow your endocrine system to play its part in the recovery process. If you spend time busy with work, travel, or family commitments, adjust your exercise program accordingly and engage in light to moderate exercise until you can return to your normal sleep patterns, which can withstand the stimuli of high-energy exercise. . If you usually like to exercise with heavy loads, you may not feel that the short-term decrease in intensity may not feel like you are actually exercising, but your body will appreciate the slightest physical stress. Excessive exercise without rest and recovery can lead to injury or illness, which can prevent you from going to the gym for extended periods of time.

5. Periodicity of your exercises

The process of planning high- and low-intensity phases of training is called interval and has been specifically developed to maximize the recovery process for athletes preparing for competition. The general idea is that the intensity of the training program should gradually increase over time and peak with the most difficult training two to three weeks before the start of the competition. This allows the body to rest before the start of a competitive season, when physical stress levels are at their peak. This form of PMS is called linear because the intensity develops gradually over weeks or months. If you've ever prepared for a long-distance race, you've likely followed a linear plank, which gradually adds a few miles per week, allowing your body to adjust to the work required to complete the longer races. Another form of the cycle, called non-linear, alternates between higher and lower intensity days in the same week. On a non-linear level, Monday could be a day of high-intensity strength training with free weights, Tuesdays a day of low-intensity aerobic training, Wednesdays a day of moderate-intensity bodyweight training, and Thursday and Friday, a day of intense anaerobic interval training . On Friday, the Saturday high-intensity break and Sunday the low-intensity aerobic training day. Both linear and non-linear programs include a few rest days every few weeks to allow the body to fully rest and recover from the stresses of the exercise program.

6. Compression clothes

Wearing compression garments before and after intense training is a relatively new form of recovery therapy that has been shown to be effective. Compressing tight clothing can improve blood circulation, helping to remove metabolic waste from muscles and promoting the flow of oxygenated blood to help repair and rebuild tissues.

There you have it, six different techniques that help the body recover from one workout and get ready for the next. The common theme is improving circulation to help remove waste from the muscles and bring in new oxygen and nutrients to support the building of new tissue.