You’ve finished your workout, you’re feeling super pumped and ready to take anything on! Hold up there Queen…
Before you do, here are five things to do after your workout to help reduce soreness, maintain your energy levels, restore your vitality and help you feel centred.
Cool Yourself Down
When exercising our heart rate increases, temperature rises and blood vessels widen. It’s important to take the time you need to cool down and bring your body back to its natural state in terms of your heart rate, temperature and give your blood vessels the opportunity to return to normal. For example, a gentle jog side to side or using the cooldown setting on workout machines. Think of it like gently making your way down from 100 to 1.
Stretch It Out
I love a good stretch! Especially when I wake up in the morning and I do one of those stretches with my arms over my head and balance on my tippy toes. Stretching after your workout can help with relaxing your body, releasing tension and decreasing soreness from whatever activity you may have been doing.
7 Practical Tips For Stretching
Drink Water
Sweating uses our body’s resources and water reserves. Drinking water will help with replenishing the body so drink until your thirst has been quenched and you start to feel hydrated. Sometimes I’ll be gulping down water like I haven’t had any for days, but it feels so damn good to replace my lost fluids.
Chill Out
Whether it’s before or after your shower, take some time out to just chill. Sometimes I meditate for 5 minutes to bring myself to a space of feeling centred or I lay on my yoga mat until I’m ready to get up and take a shower. These two things make a huge difference, especially after a super intense workout.
Celebrate
Take a moment to celebrate yourself! You killed that session and it deserves some darn acknowledgement so be sure to celebrate yourself. It doesn’t have to be something big (although it could be), think of something simple like lathering your skin with luxury body wash or body moisturiser. I have different ones for different occasions – I love me some coconut oil.
What are some of the things you do after a workout?
Photo by Ave Calvar on Unsplash
