The Importance of Muscle Recovery

Black man showing off his muscles

 

The processes in our body are not always intuitive. For example, the motto “A lot helps a lot” only applies to a limited extent in sports. Because: In order to increase your performance in endurance or strength training, you should plan specific recovery phases, including the use of steroids such as the ones available at online steroids Canada.

In this article, you’ll learn all about muscle regeneration – why recovery phases are so important for muscle growth, which factors negatively affect recovery time, and what you eat best after exercise to avoid muscle soreness. On top of that, we give you 7 practical tips on how to stimulate muscle regeneration to the maximum.

WHY IS RECOVERY SO IMPORTANT FOR MUSCLES?

Sport is without question good for our health. Nevertheless, it initially represents a burden on our body. For example, intensive strength training leads to fine cracks in the microstructures of the muscles. Tendons, ligaments and joints are also strained, the energy stores are emptied directly after training.

MUSCLE RECOVERY, WHAT IS IT ANYWAY?

During the regeneration period, the muscles recover from these smallest injuries – muscle growth occurs, with which the body adapts to the new load. On the one hand, this means that with poor regeneration, both the performance level decreases and the risk of injury increases; in this case one speaks of overtraining. On the other hand, with the right timing, you can increase your performance level and reduce the recovery time.

WHICH FACTORS INFLUENCE THE REGENERATION TIME?

The regeneration required after sports varies from person to person and depends on various factors. Among other things, the following factors can have a negative effect on the regeneration time:

  • Poor sleep
  • Lack of nutrients
  • Illness
  • Stress

HOW MUCH RECOVERY TIME DO MUSCLES NEED?

How much time you should give your body in each case and whether training breaks are useful from time to time also depends on your training experience and training intensity. In addition, different muscle groups need different recovery times After a moderate workout, a regeneration time of at least 48 hours per part of the body is recommended. Helpful here are the so-called split trainings, in which, for example, you train your upper and lower body on different days. If you do not give your body enough regeneration time, this can be noticeable by certain warning signals: These include no appetite, fatigue, fatigue and a weakened immune system. In this case, it is best to talk to a trainer or doctor and give yourself a break before serious injuries or illnesses occur!

NUTRITION AND MUSCLE REGENERATION: WHAT TO EAT FOR SORE MUSCLES?

In order to promote regeneration after exercise, nutrition plays a central role. Immediately after training, you should drink enough fluids. If you don’t like pure water, you can use isotonic drinks or similar drinks for rehydration, for example. The emptied glycogen stores also want to be replenished immediately after training. Both are advantageous for a quick recovery after intensive exertion.

For long-term muscle recovery, in turn, foods rich in antioxidants and proteins are important. In addition to the protein from fresh foods such as tuna, lentils, eggs, poultry or cottage cheese, you can use delicious protein shakes.

 

ALSO READ: How Obesity Impacts Rehabilitation Among the Elderly

 

7 TIPS FOR MAXIMUM MUSCLE RECOVERY

In addition to passive regeneration, i.e. the body’s own ability to recover, there is fortunately also active regeneration. That is, we can shorten the resting phase by supporting the body in its work.

1. Warm Up, Cool Down and Stretch

Always start your workout with a small warm-up to prepare the muscles, tendons and joints for the upcoming load. This also reduces the risk of injury during training. The same applies to the time after exercise: at the end of the workout, reduce the load to normalize the cardiovascular system. This way you avoid hyperacidity of the muscles. Even a short stretching afterwards can shorten the regeneration time and prevent muscle soreness.

2. Sleep well

You can’t stress it often enough: Good sleep is immensely important! For the immune system, for psychological well-being and also for muscle regeneration. While we sleep, our body “repairs” the muscles and processes all the training stimuli. A regulated rhythm with 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night would be optimal

3. Eat right

Also important for regeneration – as well as for general health – is a balanced diet. Be sure to provide your body with all the necessary micronutrients and vitamins, as well as drink enough. Very important for the muscles: proteins! What you should pay attention to in the mass phase with regard to nutrition, you will learn in this blog post.

4. Heat and cold

If the blood circulation is stimulated, the degradation products in the muscles can be better removed, so that the regeneration time is shortened. Make use of this effect: Good possibilities are alternating showers or Kneipp cures, but also the regular visit to the sauna.

5. Massages

Gentle massages are also an option to stimulate blood circulation. However, you should be careful with pain and severely strained muscles. If you exert too much pressure here, this could lead to further injuries in the worst case.

6. Regeneration training

Even on non-training days, you should integrate exercise into your everyday life. Relaxed endurance sports such as cycling, swimming or jogging have a positive effect on regeneration and also keep motivation high. From time to time it is also advisable to take a so-called deload training. Here, the training intensity is reduced for a certain period of time – either by less weights or a reduced number of repetitions. After that, the load can be increased again.

7. Reduce stress

As already mentioned, stress – be it private or at work – also has a negative effect on the regeneration time. To counteract this effect, for example, relaxation exercises, meditation, yoga or massages help.

Conclusion

As you can see, muscle growth doesn’t depend solely on training. The time in between is at least as important. With sufficient recovery periods, you not only reduce your risk of injury, but also increase your performance level in the long term. A few simple tricks help to get the most out of muscle recovery. What are you waiting for?

 

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