Cool down? Who has time!
However, fitness doesn’t end when you finish your workout routine. There are still a few steps to good health. Here are some tips on what to do during your post-workout routine.
What you do after your workout is an important part of yielding results, such as muscle gain and weight loss, while reducing muscle soreness. A post-workout routine also helps to maintain optimum energy levels as you restore your vitality, making it easier to stick to your fitness plan.
This article explores the steps to take after a workout to maximize your results. Read on to learn how you can design an effective plan to start the recovery process after you exercise.
General tips to follow
1. Get hydrated
Rehydration is essential, especially if you’ve exercised intensely or broken a sweat. Replenishing your fluid levels improves muscle flexibility, builds strength, and prevents muscle soreness.
Drink at least 16 ounces of water or healthy drinks, such as coconut water, green or black tea, and chocolate milk. Or you can choose a low-sugar sports drink. These drinks contain electrolytes, such as potassium and sodium, that can prevent and relieve muscle cramping.
Avoid overly sugary, caffeinated, and alcoholic drinks, which may cause dehydration.
2. Eat a healthy snack
Plan to eat a healthy snack or meal within 45 minutes of completing your workout. This will help replenish muscle energy stores and start the recovery process. Eat foods that contain carbohydrates and protein.
Carbs help to restore glycogen levels so you can recharge your energy levels. Protein aids in muscle recovery and provides amino acids that help to repair and rebuild muscles.
3. Do light exercise on rest days
While your muscles need time to recover after an intense workout, you can still do light exercise on recovery days, such as walking, swimming, or yoga. Engaging in active recovery may help to prevent lactic acid buildup, remove toxins, and boost circulation. Varying your workouts can also help you target different muscle groups and use your muscles in different ways.
How you eat and what you do in the hours following exercise may dramatically impact whether your body continues to burn more calories, repair, and build muscle in all the places you want it (ahem, booty)—or if you simply plateau and don’t see any results. We spoke with Barry’s Bootcamp trainer Kate Lemere, celebrity trainer Ridge Davis, and nutritionist Lee Holmes to find out exactly which supplements to take, diet tweaks you should follow, and activities worth trying out post-workout to maximize results. Keep scrolling to see what nine actions are the best thing to do after a workout.
We’ve talked a lot about things you shouldn’t do before a workout and during your training, but people tend to slip up the most when the workout’s over. Let’s be honest, we’ve all justified some bad habits post workout, because we feel like we’ve “earned” it. You should definitely feel pretty good about yourself after a hard training session, unfortunately it doesn’t mean you’ve earned the right to inhale a plate of fried chicken and down a six-pack of beer.
Health is a habit that extends far beyond the gym, so don’t negate all the hard work, sweat, and tears you put into pumping iron by commiting these sins.
Here are the eight post-training missteps that you should avoid at all costs.
In reality, most workouts leave me taxed with a red face, dripping sweat, and in a hurry — to put it mildly. I maybe bend down to touch my toes and call it a wrap on my “cool-down stretches,” before jumping into a cold shower and leave for the day with an empty stomach and wet hair. Not exactly the poster child for what to do after a workout.
The perfect post-gym routine is easier said than done, but if you’re left wondering what to do after a workout or what to do first if you have limited time, there’s help. First, know that the first 30 minutes or so after a workout are usually just as important as the workout itself. How you recover, refuel, and reenergize for life and all the future things you’ll ask of your body deserve a top spot on your list of priorities.
Here are the top three things to do immediately(ish) after your workout. So, if you do nothing else, do this.