When it comes to living a healthy and balanced lifestyle, obviously working out is encouraged! Participating in fitness activities of any kind—whether you prefer to run, ride a bike, go to yoga, take dance classes, or anything else—is a positive choice for both your physical and mental health.
That said, working out can be pretty rough on your body! It's important to remember that after your favorite fitness classes at breweries around the city, in addition to enjoying a delicious and healthy beer (in moderation), when you're done, you should also be participating in some of these tried-and-true tactics to recover after your workout.
That said, working out can be pretty rough on your body! It's important to remember that after your favorite fitness classes at breweries around the city, in addition to enjoying a delicious and healthy beer (in moderation), when you're done, you should also be participating in some of these tried-and-true tactics to recover after your workout.
Hydrate
Within 15 minutes after you've finished your workout, you should start hydrating. This might mean guzzling tons of water or, if you had a particularly tough workout, drinking Gatorade or another beverage that will replenish your electrolytes. Unfortunately, beer doesn't fall in this category (unless it is 4% and under), so make sure you hydrate before you get your post-workout beer.
Stretch
Stretching is an important part of the cool-down process and helps your muscles out—particularly after running or a strength-training workout, but probably not so much after yoga since you'll already be pretty stretched out. Try to target all of the major muscle groups in your body, stretching it all out, but focusing specifically on anything that feels sore or tight.
If you want to get a deeper, more beneficial stretch, consider investing in a foam roller, which improves the mobility of fascia (aka, fibrous layer of connective tissue that surrounds all of the muscles in our body) which decreases stiffness and pain after exercising.
If you want to get a deeper, more beneficial stretch, consider investing in a foam roller, which improves the mobility of fascia (aka, fibrous layer of connective tissue that surrounds all of the muscles in our body) which decreases stiffness and pain after exercising.
Get a Massage
Maybe you can't do this after EVERY workout, but getting a massage post-exercise is proven to help speed up recovery times and lessen soreness after working out. Especially if you go somewhere like MassageWorks, where they specialize in sports massage, your therapist will focus on increasing your range of motion, which keeps you from injuring yourself as easily and can make your workouts more comfortable and productive. Massages keep you feeling good, speed up your recovery time, and help you avoid injury, which ultimately helps you stay committed to your workouts and goals (and gives you fewer reasons to take time off or lose motivation).
If you're interested in trying out massage as a recovery tactic, between now and 2/28/17, you can get 40% off any 30, 60, or 90-minute massage at MassageWorks using the promo code WORKFORYOURBEER.
If you're interested in trying out massage as a recovery tactic, between now and 2/28/17, you can get 40% off any 30, 60, or 90-minute massage at MassageWorks using the promo code WORKFORYOURBEER.
How Do You Recover After a Hard Workout?
Do you swear by a certain post-exercise snack? Love soaking in an ice bath or a warm epsom salt bath? Is there another post-workout ritual that you would never skip? Tell us in the comments below!
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