A hard workout doesn't make you stronger immediately.
Training provides the stimulus. Your body then needs time and resources to adapt to that training.
Whether you're lifting weights, running, playing sports or simply trying to become more active, good recovery can help you consistently train without feeling like every workout wipes you out for the next three days.
Here are seven things worth focusing on.
1. Get Enough Sleep
If you're trying to improve recovery, start with sleep.
Sleep plays an important role in physical recovery, performance and overall health.
Most adults should generally aim for at least seven hours of sleep per night, although individual needs vary.
Before buying expensive recovery gadgets or supplements, make sure you're consistently getting adequate sleep.
2. Eat Enough Protein
Protein provides amino acids your body uses to repair and build muscle tissue.
If you regularly strength train or participate in sports, getting adequate protein throughout the day is generally more important than racing to drink a protein shake within minutes of finishing your workout.
Good sources include:
- Meat and poultry
- Fish
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Beans and lentils
- Soy foods
- Protein shakes when convenient
You don't need a complicated post-workout supplement routine to recover effectively.
3. Don't Forget Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates help replenish glycogen used during exercise.
They're particularly important when you're performing longer or more intense training sessions or exercising frequently.
Foods such as rice, potatoes, oats, fruit, pasta and bread can all contribute to replenishing energy stores.
Your overall diet matters more than finding the supposedly perfect “post-workout food.”
4. Rehydrate Based on How Much You Sweat
There's no universal amount of water everyone needs after exercise.
Your needs depend on factors such as:
- Workout duration
- Exercise intensity
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Body size
- How heavily you sweat
After particularly long or sweaty workouts, fluids containing electrolytes may also be useful.
For most normal workouts, simply drinking according to thirst and replacing the fluids you've lost is a reasonable approach.
5. Keep Moving
Being sore doesn't necessarily mean you need to spend the entire next day on the couch.
Easy activity can often feel good after a difficult workout.
That might include:
- Walking
- Easy cycling
- Light mobility work
- Easy swimming
- A lighter training session
This is often called active recovery.
It may help you feel less stiff or sore, but you don't need a special active-recovery routine for your muscles to heal.
6. Foam Rolling Is Optional
Foam rolling can temporarily reduce feelings of soreness and may improve short-term range of motion.
If you enjoy it, use it.
If you hate it, you aren't missing an essential component of recovery.
The same principle applies to many popular recovery tools.
Massage guns, compression devices, cold plunges and other recovery strategies may have specific uses, but they shouldn't distract from the fundamentals:
sleep, nutrition, appropriate training and time.
Massage therapy may also be useful when muscle soreness or tension is making it uncomfortable to move, but it isn't required after every workout.
7. Manage Your Training Load
Sometimes the problem isn't that you're recovering poorly.
You're simply doing too much, too soon.
A sudden increase in:
- Running mileage
- Training frequency
- Weight
- Sets and repetitions
- Sports practices
- Workout intensity
can leave your body struggling to keep up.
Training should challenge you.
But you also need enough time to adapt to that challenge.
Gradually increasing your workload is usually more sustainable than repeatedly training extremely hard and then needing several days to recover.
Is Post-Workout Soreness Normal?
Some soreness after an unfamiliar or difficult workout can be completely normal.
Delayed-onset muscle soreness—often called DOMS—typically develops after exercise and can be particularly noticeable when you perform a new activity or significantly increase your training.
Soreness doesn't necessarily mean you had a better workout.
And being sore doesn't automatically mean you're injured.
When Is It More Than Normal Muscle Soreness?
Pay more attention when pain:
- Is sharp or severe
- Occurred suddenly during exercise
- Continues getting worse
- Causes significant swelling
- Produces substantial weakness
- Prevents you from bearing weight
- Is accompanied by numbness or tingling
- Doesn't begin improving as expected
Those symptoms may deserve an evaluation rather than simply trying another recovery technique.
What if Pain Keeps Interfering With Your Workouts?
If the same area repeatedly hurts whenever you exercise, figuring out why is more useful than continually resting until it temporarily feels better.
Depending on the problem, treatment might include rehabilitation and movement, activity modification, chiropractic care or massage therapy.
The goal isn't just to make you feel better for a day.
It's to help you rebuild enough capacity to return to the activities you enjoy.
Exercise & Injury Care in Maple Grove, MN
At Northwood Chiropractic & Wellness, we work with active adults who want to keep exercising despite back pain, neck pain and other musculoskeletal problems.
We'll evaluate what's bothering you and determine whether conservative treatment is appropriate.
Start Feeling Better for Just $19
Your first visit includes a consultation, comprehensive exam, X-rays if needed, and your first chiropractic adjustment when clinically appropriate.
Dr. Greg Beenken
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