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Article Provided By: Rocky Mountain Sports By John Mora

Have a Post Workout Plan to Keep you Healthy and Injury Free

It’s the moments between. It’s easy to forget, to disregard how vital those minutes, hours and days are between workouts to the quality of training. But our post-workout routines can have a tremendous impact on recovery and your ability to prevent injuries. Whether you are a runner, cyclist, swimmer, triathlete or health-club junkie, you need a post-workout recovery plan to help you recharge and replenish your body. Managing those "tweener" moments can make your next workout or competition all that much sweeter.

What to Do After a Workout

Regardless of the intensity of any given session, you should run through a four-point checklist of the things you need to do right after a workout in order to facilitate recovery. That said, intensity will determine how critical this checklist can be–the greater the toll on your body, the greater the need to do them. Cool-down: Performing a proper cool-down is an often neglected ritual, but if done properly, can have a tremendous impact on your body’s ability to regenerate. Cool-downs will vary from sport to sport, but the general principle is to perform an activity, that brings your body temperature and heart rate down, loosens tight muscles, flushes out any lactic acid accumulation, and allows for a smooth mental and physical transition to your normal state. The longer or intense the workout, the greater the cool-down should be. Plan for at least 10-15 minutes of an easy activity. Hydrate: Most runners understand that complete restoration of the fluids and electrolytes (potassium andsodium) lost after a huge effort, such as a marathon, is an important component of recovery. But proper hydration is often overlooked after that easy 10-mile ride or masters swim session. To evaluate your fluid needs, weigh yourself before and after each workout. Every pound you lose equals approximately two cups of fluid. Drink enough fluids to compensate for any weight loss. Stretch: Immediately after a workout is an ideal time to stretch because your muscles and joints have an elevated temperature, which makes your body more pliable. Stretching enhances recovery in two important ways. First, it promotes neuromuscular coordination, which can help your body move efficiently for your next workout. That’s because stretching aids the central nervous system in becoming more sensitive to the physical demands placed on it, so opposing muscle groups work in a more coordinated way. Second, it promotes elasticity and greater circulation in the joints, which can obviously help you preventinjuries. Eat at the Window: Experts call it the "carbohydrate window," a brief period in which the body absorbs carbohydrates more readily and at a faster rate. Recent studies show that moderate amounts of protein can also speed recovery. The extra incentive is that you’ll enlarge your glycogen fuel tank, which can give you more energy for subsequent workouts.

What to Do Between Workouts

Exercise can put a good wallop on your body. Every time we put in a hard run, swim lap after lap or attend a cardio session, we stress our muscles, ligaments and tendons. On a physiological level, cells are damaged through tears on the membranes. It’s between workouts that these micro-tears heal, which ultimately makes your body stronger. Take Rest Seriously: Most sport injuries result from not allowing the body enough rest and recovery time. Following a smart and effective training schedule that builds in rest days and easy training or cross-training days for recovery is crucial to avoid injury. You should plan rest days immediately after what you know will be a long or tough workout and take them just as seriously. In the long run, nurturing your body on these days off will help you be more productive and efficient on training days. Get a Massage: Massage speeds recovery by removing by-products (lactic acid) from muscles. It also brings a greater blood supply to areas that needhealing, while also improving circulation. Micro-tears from exercise can cause adhesions, or tightness, to form in muscles. These adhesions often result in other muscles compensating and pulling the body off balance. A trained massage therapist can effectively break up adhesions and allow the body to heal properly. Eat Smart: It takes approximately 20 hours after a rigorous effort to replenish the calories you’ve burned. A good rule of thumb is to consume natural foods high in carbohydrates and moderate amounts of protein after a tough or long workout. Although the body is less picky when it is carb-starved, you need the vital minerals and vitamins that you’ll find in vegetables, fruit and healthy sources of protein. In addition, high-intensity or long exercise can deplete your immune system on a short-term basis, so consume foods high in vitamin C, vitamin E and immune-boosters. With a plan that focuses on the things you can do immediately after a workout and during the hours or daysbetween, you’ll be stronger, energized and fresh for your next one. And the bonus? You may find you’re a better athlete.