Post-workout recovery tips: A few stretching exercises can help in reducing muscle soreness
Highlights
- Post-workout recovery tips: Use an ice pack on sore muscles
- You can also try simple stretching exercises to get rid of sore muscles
- Rest and recovery is important to reduce risk of injury
Post-workout recovery tips: Rest and recovery are as important as regular exercise. Without giving your body sufficient time for rest and recovery, you make your body prone to injuries, muscle cramps, sore muscles, etc. Giving your body no time can lead to overtraining, which does more harm than good. Resting is considered to be the equal part of the total process required to build strength, endurance and muscles. Working out excessively can break down body tissues. Having rest days and doing a recovery routine can allow your muscles, bones, nerves and connective tissue to rebuild and recover.
Post-workout recovery routine by Kayla Itsines
In one of her recent posts on Instagram, celeb fitness trainer Kayla Itsines shares a recovery routine that you can do with a foam roller and fit ball or Swiss ball. Foam roller is a unique equipment that specifically targets your sore muscles.
Having a recovery routine can reduce risk of muscle cramps
Photo Credit: iStock
As Kayla writes in her post, "The goal is to target whichever part of your body is sore - focus your session on those areas and roll over them with small back and forth motions - you don't have to roll your whole muscle at once."
The recovery workout routine that she shares is great to be done before a low-intensity steady state workout or LISS workout. It can also be done on a rest day for loosening up your muscles. The routine involves a mixture of static and dynamic stretches.
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Foam rollin
- Traps (foam rolling) - 60 seconds
- Calves (foam rolling) - 60 seconds (30 each side)
- Hip Flexor - 60 seconds (30 each side)
Range of motion
- Calves and hamstrings - 60 seconds (30 each side)
- Glutes - 60 seconds (30 each side)
- Pecs - 60 seconds (30 each side)
Watch video to see how each exercise is done.
"If you're a beginner or your muscles are particularly sore, use a softer one that is just smooth foam," recommends Kayla.
All these exercises help in opening up your muscles, which become stiff and sore after an intense workout session.
Apart from this recovery routine, there are other ways which can help you deal with sore muscles. You can do them regularly until the pain and soreness go away.
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- Go for a massage or get one at home
- Use an ice pack on muscles that are too sore and are causing problem with movement
- Stretch and stretch as much as you can
- Take it slow on exercising. LISS workouts can be your ideal choice when you are experience pain and muscle soreness after a workout.
- Take a warm bath to relax your muscles and relieve pain
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Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.