Author: Grace Soong

You can carve a firm, sexier body by doing nothing. That’s because  relaxation and recovery are just as important as your workout sessions.  When you exercise, you tear down muscle fibers.  As the fibers regenerate, they become bigger and stronger. It’s during this recuperation that your body transforms.  While  personal training in Rochester , NY I always remind my clients to rest, stretch and listen to their bodies…

Get enough sleep

Your body reconstructs itself best when you’re asleep.  Sleep deprivation also disturbs  your normal hormone levels therby depleting you of needed energy to get you ready for a good workout.  Not only will you  get an ineffective workout but you will also crave for sugar as an alternate  energy source.   In a recent study of 1,000 volunteers at Stanford University, subjects who did not get enough sleep per night had a higher body fat content compared to their constituents who enjoyed at least seven or eight hours of sleep.  

Take days off from your workouts

Give yourself a minimum of 24 hours between workouts.  Take at least one day off every week. You can still get great results from  strength training  twice a week.  Don’t strength train more than five times a week because all your hard work won’t get you anywhere if your don’t let your body recover.

Do not ignore aches and pains

Ignoring muscle soreness or tightness just presents you with larger issues. If you feel any pain while exercising, stop your workout completely. If you feel tightness, pause to stretch.  Better yet, stretch after your warm-up and at the end of your workout to keep your body functioning at its finest.

Avoid anti-infammatory drugs and pain killers

Delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS as it is called by exercise physiologists, is characterized by sometimes muscle tenderness, muscles weakness and a decrease in range of motion.  It usually peaks about 24 to 72 hours after an extreme  cardio-vascular  or strength exercise event.  Although anti-inflammatory drugs do appear to reduce muscle soreness during DOMS, studies show that they may slow down the muscles’ ability to repair the damage.

Eat appropriately

According to a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, subjects who snacked with a 4-to-1 ratio of carbs to protein within 30 minutes of their workout offset muscle damage the most. That’s because after a  workout your body is damaged  and depleted of energy.  It requires immediate attention.  You’ll also get the most immediate bounce-back if you drink your snack in liqiud form because your body absorbs liquid faster than solid foods. You can purchase ready to drink protein shakes at most grocery stores.  Keep fat and sugar to under 2 grams per serving.  Have your shake with an apple, small banana or ½ cup of berries.

Tags: body, cardio-vascular, good nutrition, personal trainer, sleep, strength exercises, workout

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 5:10 pm and is filed under Fit and Trim, Fitness, Healthy Living, Nutrition and Health, Strength Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.