Sore muscles? Here's how to recover quickly after a tough workout

Did you know that your muscles do not grow during training, but rather in the recovery period? It is therefore hugely important to ensure that your muscles recover optimally. This blog explains important steps to best recover your muscles and remedy muscle soreness. 

Plan your workouts well

It is important to have two to three training-free days every week, or at least days when you don't train super heavy. The harder the training, the more muscle soreness and the more recovery time you need. In addition, it is useful to plan the intensity per workout; that way you avoid overtraining. A good and effective training schedule varies from person to person. You can try out for yourself what you like best or hire a personal trainer to help you.

Don't skip the warm-up

It is important to warm up your muscles properly before performing strenuous exercises. Some people skip the warm-up, but we still recommend taking that extra 15 minutes to prepare your muscles. If you don't, there is a chance that your muscles will tear or you will get injuries. The recovery from these can take quite some time and you are not waiting for that. To start, you can do ten minutes of cardio, such as rope jumping or running. If you plan to do strength training, we recommend performing a few exercises with your own bodyweight next. Think lunges and squats if it's leg day. Are you going to train your upper body? Then it's better to do exercises like push-ups and crunches. By doing such exercises first, your muscles will get used to the movements.

Don't forget to cool down

The cool-down is as important as the warm-up. After a heavy workout, it is important to slowly reduce the intensity of your exercises. With a cool-down, your circulation and nervous system come to rest and loosen up your muscles. This stimulates the recovery of your muscles. So take some time to run quietly for ten minutes or do another cardio exercise.

Treat yourself to a protein shake

One nutrient that helps you reduce muscle soreness is protein (or protein). By drinking a protein shake after your workout, you immediately have a good dose of protein. Protein actually acts as building blocks for your muscles. Every time you exercise, you damage your muscles a little. The protein is then there to 'repair' your muscles. In our webshop, there are several protein powders found in various flavours in shakes and contain more than enough protein. Note, however, that you will not get your entire protein intake from one protein shake. Therefore, in your normal diet, you will also have to pay attention to how many grams of protein you eat so that you get enough protein. Read all about protein in our other blog! 

Sleep your sore muscles away

A good night's sleep should not be underestimated when it comes to recovering your muscles. Especially after a hard workout, it is important to sleep in time so that you are rested. When you sleep, your body releases a growth hormone that stimulates muscle growth and muscle recovery. The moment you sleep too little, your body also produces much less of the growth hormone and your muscle mass may even decrease. Therefore, try to get eight hours of sleep every night to fix your muscle pain fast. Read all about it building muscles here!

Chill out!

While exercising, you tense up a lot, don't forget to relax too! When you are stressed, your body produces the stress hormone cortisol. Too much of this hormone, stimulates the breakdown of muscle tissue and slows down the recovery of muscle pain. To avoid this, you will sometimes need to take time to really relax. Enjoy an afternoon in the sauna or read that one book you never take the time to read and... Chill out!