The things you do after your training sessions are just as important as the workout itself

Exercise is essential to build and maintain a great level of physical and mental fitness. It helps to improve your cardiovascular efficiency and stimulates the growth of new muscle fibers.

The things you do after your training sessions can be just as important as the workout itself. Your recovery protocol helps to prevent injuries and muscle soreness after a tough session so that you can continue to exercise optimally.

If you’re not sure exactly what you should be doing in the post-workout period, we’ve got some top tips for you to follow. These tips will help you recover faster from exercise.

Stay Hydrated

Rehydrating your body after a sweaty session is essential to keep yourself healthy. As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to drink at least two liters of water a day but you’ll need more if you are exercising regularly.

Drinking lots of water after your session will prevent dehydration and promote faster recovery in your skeletal muscle fibers.

Eat A Mix Of Complex Carbohydrates and Healthy Protein

Complex carbohydrates are necessary after your workouts to replenish lost energy stores (glycogen) in your muscles and liver. Great sources of healthy carbohydrates include brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, buckwheat, oats, and sweet potato.

At the same, your body also needs plenty of protein in the post-workout period to help your body repair any damaged muscle tissue. Protein is especially important if you have been resistance training and you’re trying to gain new muscle mass and strength.

Ideal protein sources include protein shakes, poultry, tofu, lentils, beans, and chickpeas.

Practice Active Recovery

On your days off, you might want to sit on the couch all day and relax. While rest is necessary for full recovery after an exercise session, you should also do some light movement, such as gently walking, yoga, or stretching.

This is known as active recovery and it’s helpful to encourage blood flow around the body. The increase in blood flow can promote faster muscle recovery and reduced soreness.

Be careful not to overdo it on your days off. Stick to a gentle, low-impact movement that isn’t too strenuous on your muscles, tendons, and joints.

Foam Roll

When you’ve done a tough workout, your muscles are usually left feeling tight and your joints can feel stiff. Although there is limited research on foam rolling for enhancing the speed of recovery, it’s a great way to reduce muscle soreness and tension.

Foam rolling can also boost flexibility and mobility and is a great way to feel more relaxed while you’re recovering. You can incorporate foam rolling as part of your cool down or use it on your active recovery days.

It’s All About Your Health

We are passionate about keeping our community healthy and active. If you sense that something is keeping you from enjoying your workouts, do not hesitate to contact our office and get an appointment as soon as you can. We want to help you get free from pain so you can get back to enjoying the things you love.

It’s not just a problem that affects elderly people. It can actually affect adults and children of any age.

Usually, knee pain is the result of an injury, such as a torn cartilage or ligament. There is also a range of medical conditions that can cause pain in the knee joint, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout.

What is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome?

There is also a condition called patellofemoral pain syndrome (often shortened to PFPS), which is more common in regular runners or athletes. This condition causes serious pain in the knees due to repeated flexion and extension of the kneecap. It can lead to inflammation, swelling, and can often result in arthritis in the long term.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome doesn’t just affect people who regularly run. It can impact anybody who participates in regular sports that involve running, jumping, squatting, or even walking.

This is because the more that the knees are used (when you are running or jumping around), the more pressure that is placed through the bones and cartilage in the joint. Eventually, this can lead to misalignment of the joint itself, resulting in symptoms such as grinding, popping, and buckling at the knees.

What Should You Do When You Have Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome?

The question is how can you overcome knee pain and patellofemoral pain syndrome? The most commonly recommended and most helpful treatment for this condition is rest. You should ideally minimize any activities that will cause stress to go through your knee joint.

This can be tough if you love to exercise or if you usually play on a sports team. However, it’s essential that you rest the joint and allow it to recover and realign. You can work with a professional chiropractor or physical therapist to create a personalized rehabilitation program. They may prescribe a range of low-impact activties and stretches for you to complete during your recovery period.

Alongside lots of rest and recovery, you can also perform some myofascial release using a foam roller. Running the foam roller over your thighs, hamstrings, and calves can relieve tension in the area and may reduce tightness. Your healthcare professional may prescribe some therapeutic stretches to improve mobility and flexibility around the knee joints.