3 Essentials During The First 20-30 Minutes Following A Strenuous Workout
The recovery period after a strenuous workout is almost as important as the workout itself. What you do during the first 20-30 minutes after a strenuous workout will have enormous effects on how your muscles recover. There are several important things your body needs at any time but particularly after working out: hydration, nutrition, and oxygen. Here are several ideas to incorporate in your post-workout routine.
Hydration
You likely already know that hydration is important before, during, and after working out. Your body will tell you that it needs hydration by giving you the feeling of thirst. However, feeling thirsty is a sign that your body is already at least a bit dehydrated, so don't wait until you feel thirsty to hydrate.
While water is perfectly fine post-workout, your body also needs to replace nutrients it lost while sweating, particularly sodium and potassium which are electrolytes. Therefore, sports drinks with added electrolytes are more helpful after a strenuous workout.
Nutrition
Eating is the primary way we fuel your body for intense workouts and for daily life. Of course, everyone knows that eating the right foods with key nutrients helps give your body energy while working out. But did you know that eating the proper nutrients post-workout helps increase muscle growth and restore glycogen, which is what helps you store carbohydrates?
This is important so that your body doesn't use protein as the source of energy while your muscles heal and grow. Carbohydrates also enable the metabolism of fat. After your workouts, eat a small meal that has protein and carbohydrates, such as chicken for protein and pasta for carbohydrates.
Oxygen
Oxygen is crucial to life. During and after a workout, you may feel like you are "sucking wind." There's a reason for this, and it's called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or afterburn. Basically, afterburn is your body's natural way to attempt to recover the depleted oxygen levels found throughout your body after a workout, which includes to aid in the increased metabolism that occurs from the increase in body temperature you experience during a workout.
Oxygen is also important in helping your liver turn lactic acid into carbohydrates, which helps your body to use fats instead of proteins. Fortunately, you can help your body in this recovery of depleted oxygen levels by using pure, canned oxygen. You can find pure canned oxygen for sale from suppliers online or in sporting goods stores.