Rest after training is essential for the proper regeneration of muscles and the rebuilding of energy resources in the body. Its quality determines how quickly we will be able to see the results of the exercises. Find out which mistakes to avoid, so that the rest after training is he althy and effectively helps in the regeneration of the body.
Rest after trainingseems to be something obvious and necessary to maintain balance in the body, yet many people do not include it in their training plan. Beginning amateur athletes, counting on the instant effects of exercise and a quick loss of kilograms, train tirelessly day after day. Meanwhile, this is the worst mistake you can make.
Without adequate time for muscle regeneration, even the best training plan will not help us build fitness and strength. Achieving the goal of a slim, athletic figure requires interweaving short periods of effort with longer periods of rest, and only this training regimen is effective and safe for he alth.
Rest after training - what are its functions?
Rest is an important part of the training cycle for several reasons:
- allows you to avoid overtraining - a state in which we feel constant fatigue, muscle pain, lack of energy and in which we achieve worse sports results;
- allows you to avoid injuries, the risk of which increases when the body is overloaded;
- helps in regaining strength and motivation needed for further training;
- contributes to the effect of the so-called supercompensation - a phenomenon in which the body increases its energy reserves from training to training. In this way, our efficiency gradually improves and we can achieve better sports results each time.
Rest after training - what not to do?
In order for the regeneration after exercise to be successful, you need to know what is conducive to the rapid rebuilding of muscles and what slows down this process. Sometimes behaviors that seem to be beneficial for an overloaded body can even worsen it. Therefore, it is important to follow a few basic rules for post-workout recovery.
1. Don't skip stretching
Stretching belongs to the so-called cool down exercises, i.e. calming and relaxing the muscles after training.Their goal is to safely bring a tired body into a state of calm and rest. Skipping this step exposes your body to the shock of suddenly shifting from a very fast exercise pace to a complete h alt. It can manifest itself, for example, with fainting, fainting or venous embolism. What's more, stretching your muscles reduces pain symptoms immediately after training and reduces the risk of soreness.
2. Don't train the same muscle group day after day
Muscles need 24 to 48 hours of rest to fully recover. This means that if you exercise on the same muscle group day after day, you put your body at risk of overtraining. In the long run, instead of becoming stronger and stronger, the body keeps getting weaker.
The he althiest way is to introduce at least 1-day breaks between workouts or to use active rest - a type of rest in which we relieve the muscle group trained the previous day from the burden, and instead focus on another one.
3. Do not skip the meal after training
Do you think that you can burn more calories by giving up a meal after training? This is a mistake! Such behavior is very unhe althy, because it causes muscle catabolism - it means that the body, having no way to replenish the energy deficiency, burns its own muscles instead of fat.
To prevent this from happening, eat a meal rich in carbohydrates, protein and he althy fats within 2 hours after training. This can be, for example, yoghurt muesli with nuts and dried fruit or a nutrient-rich smoothie. For a larger meal: lean chicken with whole grain pasta and salad.
Remember that it doesn't matter whether you train in the morning or in the evening - you have to eat something after each, even late training.
4. Do not reach for caloric snacks
Contrary to appearances, eating a fatty, sweet snack after intense exercise will not remain without significance for the body. Highly processed products, such as crisps, bars or ice cream do not contain any nutritional value that could be used in the process of muscle regeneration. These are just empty calories that are easily stored as fat - and yet fat is the worst enemy of people who exercise to lose weight.
5. Don't fly the night
The right dose of sleep is the key to full recovery after training. While you sleep, your body "repairs" exercise-induced muscle loss and prepares your body to do even more work. 7-8 hours of sleep is the optimal amount of time you need to get after a exhausting dayGet up in the morning fresh and refreshed.
6. Don't drink alcohol
A party with a lot of alcohol the day after training is definitely a bad idea. Alcohol has a number of properties that slow down the recovery process after exercise: it dehydrates the body, hinders the supply of glycogen to the muscles, flushes out electrolytes and inhibits the process of muscle tissue growth. If you plan to consume alcohol in large amounts, do so during a longer break from exercise.
Check: How does alcohol affect exercise capacity?
7. Do not use the sauna immediately after training
Using the sauna can be a good form of rest, but only with an interval of at least 1-2 days after training. Then, due to the high temperature, you can count on the effect of reducing muscle pain, relaxing the body and removing harmful toxins from the body.
However, it is a mistake to enter the sauna right after exercise, when our heart rate has not stabilized yet and the blood pressure is still high. The conditions prevailing there additionally increase the pressure and burden the cardiovascular system. In addition, intense sweating deepens the body's dehydration and leaching of electrolytes, the level of which must be replenished as soon as possible after training. As a result, the sauna, instead of helping, can slow down the process of muscle regeneration.