How athletes recover. Methods for muscle recovery after strength training

Every repetition was difficult! Your muscles were burning from the resulting load and tension! The workout was incredibly hard and intense, but it didn't help build an ounce of muscle tissue!

The opportunity for muscle growth begins when you finish strength training, and this growth cannot occur without a proper recovery “protocol.” Muscles don't grow in the gym - they grow after. When you lift heavy weights, your muscles suffer microtrauma and undergo a process called catabolism. Immediately after stopping physical activity, your body begins to repair itself, but it needs help.

If you want to get the most out of your efforts in the gym, then you need to focus on post-workout recovery. Follow these 8 principles to achieve your desired results - stay on top.

Push the boundaries of what's possible

"No pain, no growth!" is one of the most popular phrases in the gym. Pushing your limits is good practice, but how far can you go? There must be a measure that provides the necessary stimulus for muscle growth, rather than trying to reach a point where the muscle is completely destroyed, resulting in soreness for many days.

The emphasis should not be on the speed of recovery, but on its quality and productivity. If you constantly push yourself to the point of exhaustion every workout, this damage accumulates over time and the body spends more energy trying to repair these effects, leaving less energy for building muscle. Train hard enough to push yourself outside of your "comfort zone" - try to do more than the previous day. By following this principle, you will see lasting and constant progress, rather than taking one step forward and two steps back.

Take Pre-Workout Nutrition Seriously

What you do directly affects the quality and time of recovery. Since absorption is a long process, nutrition before going to the “rocking chair” also plays an important role. The proteins and carbohydrates that you ate before the start of the training will circulate in the body for some time. Therefore, choose your products wisely. Make sure you get high-quality protein from lean meats, and complex carbohydrates if you plan to exercise intensely. Eat food 2 hours before training to avoid digestive problems.

During strength training, it would be a good idea to take BCAA, which will be actively absorbed by muscle cells. And don't forget about a portion before bed.

Don't skip stretching

Stretching doesn't seem all that meaningful when size is the main goal. But it may be the most underrated player in muscle growth. Without the necessary flexibility and muscle plasticity, you limit yourself in many basic exercises. For example, if your ankles are too tight, you won't be able to squat deep enough to get the most benefit from barbell squats.

Stretching is a great way to reduce muscle tension and soreness during recovery. Take at least 15 minutes after your workout to cool down and stretch.

Protein after workout

“Feed your muscles!” Give them fuel to grow and improve. A portion of protein after physical activity is vital. Aim for 20-50 grams of protein after each workout, depending on your weight. For women, 20 grams will be enough, but for men it is better to strive for a higher value.

Whey protein is the most popular protein supplement, and for good reason: it's convenient, easy to mix, and has a fast absorption rate, perfect for taking after a tough workout.

To speed up and optimize your recovery processes, along with fast carbohydrates. These can be foods with a high glycemic index, such as fruits or juices (preferably in large quantities to get 60-100 grams of carbohydrates). They will boost insulin and replenish glycogen and energy levels. Insulin is a powerful anabolic factor that helps restore muscle proteins.

Eat foods rich in potassium

Potassium-fortified foods should be included in your post-workout shake. At the end of intense training, potassium reserves in the body will be depleted. Potassium, along with other nutrients such as sodium and calcium, is a key mineral that plays an important role in muscle energy.

Bananas and potatoes are good sources of potassium. The former go with almost anything, and mashed potatoes in your first post-workout meal are also a good idea.

Quality sleep

Sleep is not just for rest. This is the forced "down time" the body needs to recover. By sacrificing hours of sleep over a long period of time, you make yourself mentally weaker and have a negative impact on the training process. You need to sleep at least 7 hours, and athletes get all 9. Find ways to help make changes to your daily routine - go to bed early.

Active recovery after training

Rest days give your muscles a break. But some light activity, such as swimming or cycling, will stimulate the recovery process and speed it up. This method is known as "active recovery." Also, light cardio after strength training will help relieve pain by stimulating blood circulation and improving circulation to the muscles.

Reducing stress

Physiological stress from exercise is a good thing. Chronic stress from other sources, such as deadlines at work or stress, can significantly impact how you feel on a daily basis, as well as how quickly you recover.

The combination of chronic stress and heavy physical activity in the gym negatively affects the overall well-being and capabilities of your body. Take steps to reduce your stress levels so you can bounce back faster. Do something that you really enjoy or makes you laugh.

Now you know that recovery is an integral component in achieving any goal in the gym. If you want to get stronger, faster and fitter, you must integrate each of these tips into your daily recovery plan to get directly proportional results from your strenuous workouts!

I am sure that almost everyone who has ever played sports has had muscle pain. These are the consequences of active physical activity, which causes microtrauma to muscle tissue - hence the pain, and this is normal. What should you do toquickly restore musclesand how to recover after training?

There are many ways to restore clogged muscles so that the next day they do not remind you of themselves too much in pain. Today I would like to introduce 5 simple ways to recover muscles after training. I hope they help you reduce muscle pain and allow your muscles to grow more efficiently.

How to effectively recover after training - 5 ways

It has already become a tradition to start with water. Without water, most processes on earth are impossible, including muscle recovery. So, about drinking.

1. Water and sports drinks

Since the human body is 85% water, it is logical that its regular replenishment requires special attention. Unfortunately, few people realize this, and those who do not attach importance to water are surprised at the emergence of various ailments, including obesity. The body is trying to tell you about a lack of fluid, but not everyone understands these signals. Okay, I got a little carried away. Let's get back to muscle recovery.

Muscles are also made of water, which you need to drink in sufficient quantities. For a training person, this is approximately 2 – 2.5 liters per day. But for real recovery you will need special liquid sports supplements. There are a large number of sports nutrition products on sale now, so be careful when choosing them. Pay special attention to the amount of sugar contained. Don't overdo it with dosages. Tim your consumption of sports drinks as needed (usually before and after training), rather than every day.

2. Proteins and sports nutrition

The time it takes for muscles to recover after exercise depends on many factors. The main one is proteins. Proteins are the building material for muscles, so it is very important that your diet consists of 30% protein foods.

One effective way to get enough protein is through sports nutrition. Typically, a meal consisting of whey protein or amino acids is taken before and after training. But you can make your own schedule. It is necessary to understand that after exercise, muscles require protein just like a person in need of water walking through the desert.

3. Stretching

Stretching the muscles significantly helps and reduces the recovery time of muscle fibers. Stretching can be done before and after exercise. Even during exercise, do not forget to stretch your muscles. This prevents possible damage to tissues and ligaments. Stretching can be used as a warm-up before training and as a cool-down after.

4. Ice bath or cold shower

You may have already heard about the concept of an ice bath. This method really relieves inflammation and muscle pain. How it works?

The fact is that ice and cold water accelerate the blood. And the blood actively flowing through the vessels expels lactic acid that has accumulated after an intense workout. In this case, lactic acid acts as a waste product and depresses the muscles, so it is very important to get rid of it effectively. By the way, the amount of lactic acid can also be reduced using a bath or sauna.

Unfortunately, finding 5 bags of ice is not always possible, but taking a five-minute cold shower is quite possible. It is worth noting that this method is not suitable for everyone. You may not feel very comfortable taking an ice bath or cold shower. And due to health reasons, you may not be ready for this kind of procedure. Keep this in mind.

5. Rest

Rest for quick muscle recovery is as important as water or a cold shower. By the concept of rest, I include quality sleep (8 hours) and time sufficient to restore each muscle group (at least 2 days). It’s no wonder that training sessions are divided into several days a week. One day chest, another day legs, etc. This is the only way you can effectively restore, strengthen and increase muscles.

By following at least three methods, and there are actually more than five, you can minimize pain and speed up recovery time.

Proper physical activity is the key to faster recovery of almost all muscles after training. Although behavior during a break from classes is no less important. You cannot neglect it completely, otherwise the result will only be chronic fatigue and stress for the body. Find out more about how to recover muscles after a workout below.

Muscle recovery after training

The workout itself is stressful for the muscles. During the exercise, they get micro-tears and sprains. Their body begins to gradually heal. In general, muscle recovery after training occurs in four stages:

1. Fast. Continues for half an hour after training. During this period, the heart rate will be restored. The levels of stress hormones such as insulin, adrenaline, and cortisol become normal. The reserves of fast “energy drinks” used up during training - ATP, creatine phosphate, glycogen - are also replenished.
2. Slow, or compensation. Reparation of damaged cells and tissues begins. Here protein is synthesized with amino acids and enzymes. It is very important that these nutrients come from outside, so at this stage they consume carbohydrate foods and use sports nutrition to restore strength.
3. Supercompensation, or super-recovery. It occurs 2-3 days after the last workout and lasts about 5 days. In many ways, it is similar to the previous phase, but here the muscle fibers thicken in order to be able to withstand the volume of load the next time. During this period there should be the next workout, because after it the body returns to its original state.
4. Delayed recovery after training. If there is no new load, then all the previous work was done in vain. The muscles will return to their pre-training level of development, which is typical for their usual lifestyle without the gym.

Muscle recovery time after training

There is a direct relationship linking the speed of muscle recovery with their size. The supercompensation period may vary. For example, biceps recover in 48 hours. The chest muscles require 3 days, and the back or legs – as much as 5 days. The calculation of the terms of super compensation is individual. It is impossible to give an exact answer to the question of how long muscles recover after training. If they hurt, it means the recovery stage has not yet ended. The indicator here is an increase in working weight. If there is no progress, rest is extended by 1-2 days.

Nutrition for Muscle Recovery

One of the important criteria for successful muscle recovery is a balanced diet. It can be represented simply by a well-composed daily diet, although in bodybuilding they often additionally use professional sports nutrition. Products for muscle recovery should be predominantly protein, and of animal origin. Carbohydrates are also important at this time - without them, you will feel much worse after training.

Water is also needed. It reduces the load on the heart and the muscles themselves. In addition, it reduces temperature, which is important for recovery. Green tea enriched with antioxidants is very useful in this case. You need to consume the following products:

• fruits, vegetables, berries;
• fats from whole sources, such as nuts or avocados, fish, vegetable or flaxseed oils;
• Potassium-enriched foods - potatoes, bananas.

Ointment for muscle recovery

Very often, many athletes use ointment to restore muscles. Its effect is to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and reduce swelling. There are ointments with a warming or, conversely, cooling effect. Among the most effective are the following:

• Apizartron;
• Viprosal;
• Sanitas balm;
• Heparin ointment;
• Heparoid;
• Ethkamon;
• Nicoflex.

Muscle recovery drugs

There are different drugs for muscle recovery. Three main groups can be distinguished:

1. Plastic. They help speed up protein synthesis and cell rehabilitation, and prevent overtraining. These include the drugs Carnitine, Lipocerebrin, Cobamamide, Potassium Orotate.
2. Adaptogens and general tonics. Promotes resistance to sudden physical stress, increases performance.
3. Energy. Accelerates the replenishment of spent resources. These are Methionine, Glutamic acid, Panangin, Asparkam.

How to understand that muscles have recovered

Only sensations help to accurately understand that the muscles have recovered. The pain may not be felt on the first day, but often becomes severe on the second. At this time, the body is just gathering strength. The next day, the discomfort decreases again, but is still felt when tense. When it practically ceases to be felt, the recovery is almost complete.

Restoring breathing after physical activity

The permissible heart rate is 75 beats per minute a couple of hours after exercise. How can you reduce it immediately after training or when resting between exercises? It is recommended to inhale and exhale slowly in a position with your hands resting on your knees. This reduces the heart rate by 22 beats. There is another option for restoring breathing after physical activity. You need to straighten up, put your hands behind your head and breathe calmly. This method of how to quickly recover after training is less effective than the first. Although it will also be easier to catch your breath.

Recovery of the central nervous system after training

If energy, muscles and hormonal levels have already returned to normal, then recovery of the central nervous system after training may take much longer. Symptoms of her exhaustion are loss of strength and mood, lack of progress and reluctance to go to the gym. To avoid this, it is necessary to give the body rest for 1-1.5 weeks every 1.5-2 months. It is recommended to sometimes change the principles of training.

Recuperation after training

The main factor for full recovery after training is rest. In this case, most athletes only need 1-2 days without physical activity. At this time, it is important to eat a nutritious diet, drink the required amount of water, and maintain a sleep schedule. To make the process of replenishing strength easier and faster, it is important to finish the workout correctly. You can't do this abruptly. The training should end with a cool-down, i.e. loads in the form of stretching the upper and lower body or light cardio.

How to recover after a workout

The focus of recovery should be less on speed and more on productivity. Constant lack of rest can cause overtraining. This is a condition when the load injures the body much more than it can recover. The lack of desire to exercise already indicates that you do not have time to rest. Many activities help you recover after a workout - a contrast shower, a sauna or hot bath, nutrition, including sports supplements, quality sleep, walks in the fresh air, massage and even listening to your favorite music.

Hot bath after workout

A sauna or hot bath after a workout can serve as gentle cardio or just an active form of relaxation. They increase blood circulation, lightly load the cardiovascular system, and everything else, on the contrary, relaxes. It is recommended to add about a glass of sea salt to the bath. It relieves muscle pain and helps eliminate all toxins from the body. You only need to take a bath for 20-30 minutes.

Sports nutrition for recovery

Don’t forget about sports nutrition for post-workout recovery. It is designed to specifically supply the body with amino acids. After the lesson you must take:

• BCAA – 3-5 g to suppress the destruction of muscle tissue;
• glutamine – 3-4 g for energy production and activation of growth hormone synthesis;
• creatine – 2-3 g for complete restoration of spent creatine phosphate;
• whey protein – about 20 g for women and 30 g for men to accelerate and optimize recovery processes.

Sleep after workout

Evidence of replenishment of strength is also a sound, healthy sleep after training. Fatigue can be expressed in weakness during the day, especially in the first half. At night, sleep remains restless. To recover, you need to sleep 7-8, or even better, 9 hours a day. It is important to maintain the same time of waking up and going to bed, for example, getting up at 7 am and going to bed at 10 pm. Sleeping immediately after training is not recommended. The body needs to be given time to “cool down”.

Vitamins for post-workout recovery

Vitamin preparations occupy a special place in replenishing strength after intensive training. Without them, rehabilitation worsens and the risk of disease increases. Complexes such as Vitrum, Oligovit, Complivit and Undevit are designed to help in this situation. Vitamins for post-workout recovery can be anything, but they must contain:

Recovery after intense training

Hello, visitors to the site do4a.net!

Experienced athletes know that muscles and their performance increase during rest. To gain muscle mass, I believe recovery should be a priority over building the training process. In this article I want to make my TOP 10 restorers. So let's get down to business.

10th place Restoration of the nervous system

In addition to muscle recovery, the athlete also needs to restore his nervous system. Frequent heavy training, be it constant work to failure or lifting extreme weights, puts a lot of stress on our nervous system. Such an overload can lead to general discomfort, headaches, lethargy, drowsiness, irritability, as well as more serious consequences such as a decrease or increase in blood pressure, arrhythmia, an increase in the concentration of lactic acid, and impaired respiratory processes. I think it’s a no-brainer that all this has a negative impact on the athlete’s results.

I think the best solution to the problem is adequate rest. You shouldn’t push your body to such a critical state. Here it is worth considering the fact that everyone has different body capabilities. Therefore, you need to listen to your condition, and if something is not right, it is better to skip the workout.

9th place Water treatments

Water procedures such as contrast showers and ice baths stand out. A contrast shower will harden your body, increase blood flow, which will lead to a faster removal of breakdown products from the muscles. Experts advise taking a contrast shower according to the following scheme: 30 seconds hot water, 30 seconds cold water. Repeat this cycle several times. I think this is one of the most accessible means of recovery. I hope each of you has a shower and hot water at home. An ice bath is definitely a less pleasant method, but this method of muscle recovery after training also exists. A cold bath reduces muscle pain, inflammation and tension (water temperature approximately 12-15° C). In cold water, blood vessels better cleanse the body of “waste” after exercise and healing processes are significantly improved. Some people say that it really works, others call it complete nonsense, but each body reacts differently, so try it and choose what suits you.

8th place Bath and sauna

Exposure to high temperatures improves blood supply to the muscles, which allows metabolic end products such as lactic acid to be eliminated more quickly. The result is the cessation of discomfort in the muscles, a feeling of relaxation and rest. If you regularly give your muscles such a workout in the sauna, you can reduce the period of fatigue. According to research, after a steam room, strength measured on a dynamometer and bicycle ergometer increases.

Bath procedures also have a very beneficial effect on joints, increasing their mobility. The elasticity of connective tissue also increases. The bathhouse is very important in the matter of prevention and rehabilitation after injuries in athletes. Bruises and sprains are best and fastest treated in a steam room.

7th place Massage

This is a wonderful universal restorative remedy, one of the best, and quickly restores both muscle tone after training and relieves emotional stress after a nervous and emotionally stressful day at work. Massage is beneficial for both muscles and skin, and the general emotional state. So, tense up your phytony so that it crushes something for you.

6th place Pressure chamber

A pressure chamber is, of course, an expensive pleasure, but extremely useful. Due to the increased pressure in the chamber, the body is saturated with oxygen, which in turn leads to accelerated recovery, renewal of red blood cells, renewal of mitochondria in cells, improves endurance, and increases the amount of ATP in the muscles. In short, if there is an opportunity, you need to use it.

5th place Stretching

Stretching is extremely beneficial. This is confirmed by many scientific experiments. In addition to the fact that stretching accelerates the removal of waste products from the muscle, it also affects the elasticity of the muscle, which leads to a faster process of hypertrophy due to greater stretching during work. It is recommended to stretch the working muscle group after training it.

4th place Active recovery

Active recovery usually means a workout with a duration and a load of 30-50% of the usual - if you work out for an hour, then 20-30 minutes are needed, if you squat with 80 kg, then 25-40 kg are acceptable for such a workout. I think most people are familiar with the concept of “Load Periodization”. Light training allows you to restore and maintain the energy potential of the muscle while muscle cells are being restored. By increasing blood flow, light training on recovery days helps remove accumulated toxins from your muscles more quickly. In addition, using light weights is a good opportunity to work on your technique.

Another benefit of active recovery is providing muscles with nutrients for growth. Relatively speaking, performing exercises with a large number of repetitions will awaken “hunger” in the muscles, and they will ask the body for additional nutrition.

So if you have the opportunity to do a light workout or just take a walk on your rest day, don’t waste this opportunity!

3rd place Pharmacology

Did you think I'd put it in first place? But no... By pharmacology I will include AAS, growth hormone, peptides, insulin and all kinds of pharmaceutical pharmaceutical support, such as riboxin and potassium orotate. Who else but the guys from Daughter know how artificial hormones affect muscles and their performance. It's no secret that pharmacological drugs work wonders - they speed up metabolism, protein synthesis and much, much more. Proper use of them will allow you to achieve the desired volumes and strength indicators in a much shorter time than without their use. But I only put pharmacology in 3rd place and here’s why...

2nd place Dream

Without sleep, nowhere. During sleep, most body systems are restored. It is not for nothing that it is called one of the best medicines for all diseases. Even if you gobble up all the methane on the planet, if you don’t sleep, you won’t grow! It is recommended to sleep at least 8 hours. It will also be great if you take an extra hour's nap during the day. So after reading this article, go to bed.

1 place Nutrition

I think it's okay to not get enough sleep. But you can’t undereat! You can sacrifice a couple of hours of sleep due to the increased calorie content. Also, pharmacological drugs simply will not bring you any benefit if you are not eating right, be it gaining muscle mass or losing fat reserves.

This is where I will end my story. If you have any objections or additions, write in the comments. Anabolism everyone!