Unlikely Tips For Post-Workout Recovery (That Actually Work)

When you exercise, many things happen within your body — your heart rate increases to keep the blood pumping, carrying the oxygen and nutrients that your body needs to keep going. You also sweat in an attempt to keep cool and prevent you from overheating but another thing that happens is your muscle fibres physically tear. These micro-tears are normal, but not giving them enough time to regenerate can lead to strains and injuries.

As such, it’s important to have post-workout routines and rest days to facilitate your body’s recovery. A common tip includes eating carbohydrates after your workout to replenish the lost glycogen, among other things that can maximize post-training muscle recovery.

However, there are also other tips that can support your body as it recovers from your workouts which aren't often talked about. Here are a few of our recommended tips:

Drink chocolate milk

Proper post-workout hydration is important. Aside from water and sports drinks, a good post-workout drink you may not know about is chocolate milk — this is actually as effective as protein-rich sports drinks. Chocolate milk contains carbs, protein, and healthy fats which are great for both post-workout recovery and for reducing muscle damage after high endurance exercises. Drinking chocolate milk will also help you rebalance your electrolytes, since it contains sodium, potassium, and calcium. However, make sure that your chocolate milk doesn’t have too many sweeteners, so keep an eye out for sucrose, malt syrup, and other forms of sugar. To be completely sure what’s in your drink, you can whip up your own chocolate milk with this recipe.

Use an ergonomic chair

It’s pretty inevitable that when you exercise, you’ll have some level of soreness in your muscles. Because of this, you should be more aware of how you position your body to refrain from straining your muscles and worsening your aches and pains. As such, using an ergonomic chair could be key to your productivity, health, and wellness when you're not working out. As mentioned here, ergonomic chairs are designed with varying supporting features to suit your own specific needs. They offer adjustable features — such as seat height, seat pan depth, backrest, armrest, and headrest to ensure your body is held in a neutral position. This can also improve circulation so nutrients and oxygen reach the parts of your body that need them which is key to muscle recovery.

Try IV therapy

You don’t need to be confined in a hospital to be given an IV anymore. This article discusses IV therapy -  a method of administering medicine or nutrients directly into a vein, traditionally used to treat a number of medical conditions, such as dehydration and malnutrition. IV therapy is performed in the clinical setting, but it can also be administered at home by a healthcare provider. More recently IV lounges are beginning to pop up since IV therapy has been proven to be an efficient way to hydrate the body and deliver much-needed vitamins and nutrients after a workout. Although it is not for everyone - people taking certain medications or suffering from allergies might not be appropriate for IV therapy - it is always worth consulting a health professional before undergoing an IV session.

Get an NMES unit

A NeuroMuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) unit is a handheld device that uses electrical current to target motor points in a muscle to activate them directly. Normally when we exercise, our brains send a signal to our muscles to contract and relax. An NMES unit however utilizes the current to contract and relax the muscles, bypassing the conscious thought process. NMES can reduce muscle spasms and swelling — and in sports medicine it is also used to increase muscle strength, circulation, and range of motion — making it a great all-round tool for post-workout recovery.