Exercise is important. It’s always good to get your body moving and your heart pumping. Many people around the world exercise well, but there is one aspect of fitness that people don’t do great, recovery. We are told by the media to hustle and go as hard as you can, however, this should not always be the case. Recovery can be just as important as the exercise itself and is a part of fitness that many overlook. Here are three reasons why recovery is extremely important after exercise.
- Reduces injuries
Getting injuries from exercise is something that professionals and amateurs both experience. An injury can mean reduced or no exercise for a certain amount of time and is not a good experience. Many injuries are caused simply by going too hard or overtraining, this can easily be avoided through rest and recovery. Recovery is one of the best ways to reduce injuries. After a fitness session, end with a kind of warm-down routine. You can find many videos on YouTube which detail different warm-downs for different exercises. For example, someone lifting weights would do a different warm-down than someone running. Overall, a warm down is supposed to be a not intense, light set of actions which will transition you back to a normal resting state. For example, after a run you might do a moderate jog or a walk. This loosens your body up and can wash away lactic acid that can build up. Lactic acid can cause severe pain and is why many athletes have rest days. Rest days are a very important part of recovery as well. Going hard at exercise every day is likely to cause an injury down the line and is not always safe, especially if you’re just starting out. Overall, having warm-downs and rest days are very important after exercise. These can lead to less injuries, a situation which is heavily favoured. Not doing these things can put you at risk of a severe injury which is heavily disfavoured.
- More energy
Not recovering properly such as not eating enough food after a workout can take a serious toll on your overall energy. You may think you would want to eat less food as this is ‘healthier’, but in fact in a situation like this it can be unhealthy and does affect how tired you are. Being tired after a workout is a good sign as it means you have put in a lot of effort and pushed yourself well. However, you don’t want to stay tired the whole day. Being tired can greatly decrease your productivity at work and causes a negative impact on your day. The best way to get revitalised and energised is to recover after your workout by drinking heaps of water and eating lots of good food. Dehydration is a common occurrence when it comes to exercise. Having enough fluids is essential for your body to run properly and lack of it can cause fatigue. If your trying to work on your muscles, a protein shake is also a great option. For food, eat healthy high-protein meals. Protein fills you up easily, provides ample energy, and builds muscle. By drinking a good amount of water and having good food after your workout, you will be much more energised and functional throughout the day. Being tired is why many do not enjoy exercise, but by doing this, that should never be a problem.
- Less burnout
Many people when starting out on their fitness journey watch heaps of motivating videos and then on their first workout, they push themselves far harder than they should have. By pushing themselves too hard, they can burnout and not want to exercise in the future. It can create a negative stigma surrounding exercise which is not good at all. Recovering after exercise can reduce burnout as it brings the body back to a resting state. Not doing this can make a person tired and miserable, this is what causes them to never want to exercise again. Burnout especially affects beginners which is why it is good to start small. Don’t push yourself too much at the start and recover well after each workout. Drink enough water and have some protein packed food as well as a warm-down. This will make you almost burnout free. Remember to also take days off. Doing this will turn exercise into a long term habit for life. Starting to hard can cause burnout and make exercise a habit for only a handful of days.
Overall, recovery after exercise is an essential part of a workout that many people don’t care about. Recovery is extremely important and should be practiced by everyone, including you. Recovery after exercise results in less injuries, more energy, and less burnout. Recovery will make your exercise journey far more pleasant than ever and will make it a long term habit for life. I hope you learned a lot from this article and apply it to your workouts.