If you are into fitness, you’ll know that the preparation that you do before a workout is just as important as the recovery that you go through after a workout. Your training is important, and that’s why you stretch and warm up before you start to work out. But what do you do after a workout? 

The recovery that you do afterwards is just as essential as your warm up, but it’s something that is too often overlooked. You need to know how to jump start the recovery process for your muscles before you start the workout, as this can prevent injury. You may have already looked up the best heat pads for muscle recovery, or tried to figure out what is ibuprofen and how it can help. However, there are some specific things that you should be doing post-workout to make this an easy recovery for you. So, let’s take a look at five things that you should be doing after a workout.

1. You should always cool down after a workout. It’s the first thing that people forget to do when time is precious, but it’s really a bad idea to leave it out at all. You need to bring your heart rate down slowly, not just shut off the treadmill and walk away. Without the cool down, you’re going to end up with blood pressure bottoming out too quickly and you could feel faint. Take the five minutes to bring your workout to a close and you’ll thank yourself later.
2. Stretch properly after your cool down. The last thing that you want is for those muscles of yours to seize up and stop working for you. Without those adequate stretches, you’re going to end up with DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness.
3. Use a roller if you want to reduce your muscle tension. Foam rollers are a form of massage and they can help your muscles to feel relaxed and adequately looked after a workout. You want to do this if you are in the gym and your muscles have started to feel sore very soon after the workout has completed.
4. Hydration is so important when you are working out, but you need to remember to rehydrate after a workout, too. Drink water with added electrolytes to boost your hydration levels after your workout and give your muscles that extra chance at recovery.
5. Nutrition is essential, and after a workout, it’s always a good idea to go for a snack. Most people love to have protein snacks like boiled eggs and fresh meat after a workout, but it’s also important that you go for something like a banana to up your potassium levels.

A workout is supposed to be something that you enjoy and get something out of when it’s done. The best thing that you can do is to ensure that you follow the steps above and you can recover faster post-workout. Your recovery is as important as anything else, so pay attention to it and allow yourself the time to feel great!