No matter what activity you enjoy, you will experience soreness. Muscle soreness is good since it indicates you’re making them stronger. However, what you do after exercise is just as important as when exercising. Muscle recovery is vital to performance, progress, and overall well-being. If you’re not properly recovering from your workouts, you’ll increase your risk of burnout and injury.
Signs Of Muscle Fatigue
While some soreness after exercise is normal, persistent or worsening muscle soreness indicates that you’re not recovering enough between workouts. If left unchecked, you will eventually develop an injury that may force you to stop exercising altogether.
It’s critical to pay attention to your body and how you feel. It gets easier in time, but you may not know what to look for if you’re new or restarting your fitness journey. Let’s take a look at some of the signs you’re experiencing persistent muscle fatigue:
| Soreness that doesn’t go away | You may be training too much if soreness lasts more than 72 hours. |
| Sub-par Performance | If you’re struggling with workouts that previously felt manageable, it could mean your muscles haven’t fully recovered. |
| Chronic Fatigue | If you consistently feel tired, even when you’re not exercising, you may need more rest days to recover. |
| Injuries | Frequent strains, sprains, or other injuries could be from muscles being overworked. |
| Elevated Resting Heart Rate | A higher-than-normal resting heart rate might indicate your body is overworked and needs rest to recover. |
If you’re experiencing these signs, you should consider adjusting your routine to ensure you have enough time for mental and muscle recovery. But what can you do for your recovery and reduce the risk of muscle fatigue in the future? Let’s look at some tips in no particular order to consider including in your recovery strategy.
Prioritize Sleep
Although researchers still do not know the biological purpose of sleep, it affects almost every system in your body. Specifically, sleep helps repair and maintain your body and metabolism. Unfortunately, poor or lack of sleep over time can increase the risk of developing some health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and obesity.
During deep sleep, the body releases growth hormones to repair muscles and other tissues. Not enough sleep can disrupt this process and make muscle recovery take longer. Aiming for 7 to 9 hours of restful sleep each night is recommended for optimal recovery. Some fitness trackers can measure sleep quality and recovery metrics like readiness and body battery. Although they may not be 100% accurate, they can provide insights into how your body is recovering during rest.
If you have trouble sleeping at night, try creating a bedtime routine that includes turning off screens an hour before bed, keeping your room cool and dark, and avoiding caffeine later in the day.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is critical to muscle recovery. Water helps regulate metabolic processes, balance electrolytes, and aids digestion. It also maintains an optimal body temperature and lubricates internal organs and joints.
Dehydration can delay muscle recovery and negatively impact performance. Water helps flush out toxins, transport nutrients throughout the body, and maintain muscle elasticity. If you have difficulty tracking how much water you are drinking, an app or fitness journal can help. Be mindful of how much water you drink throughout the day, especially after workouts.
Use Active Recovery
Rest days allow your body to recover from the stresses of exercise. The number of rest days can vary depending on your fitness level and the intensity of your workouts. Rest days aid in muscle recovery by giving your body time to repair and rebuild, making your muscles stronger and more resilient.
Rest doesn’t always mean you have to do nothing to reap the benefits of recovery. Engaging in rest day workouts like walking, yoga, or light stretching can improve blood flow to your muscles, aiding in muscle recovery. So, if you’re feeling pretty good, try incorporating active recovery days into your routine instead of opting for no exercise on your rest days.
Take Advantage of Rest Days
Overtraining can lead to illness, injury, and burnout, but rest days can help reduce these risks. If you push yourself too hard all the time, you risk injuries such as strains, sprains, and stress fractures. Moreover, overtraining can lead to hormonal imbalances, negatively affecting your overall health and hindering your progress. Exercise can be mentally taxing, and taking a day off can help reduce stress and refresh your motivation.
Rest days are vital for giving your muscles the time they need to recover. It’s important to include one or two rest days each week. Don’t be afraid to take more time when you need extra recovery. However, unless you’re injured, try not to take more than a few days off in a row, or you may start to detrain.
Monitor Stress
Chronic stress can increase cortisol levels, which may slow muscle recovery and lead to persistent fatigue over time. So, managing your stress is critical not only for recovery but also for your overall well-being.
Engaging in activities like meditation, deep breathing exercises, or journaling can help calm your mind and lower cortisol levels. Additionally, regular exercise is a great way to reduce your stress. In fact, physical activity such as yoga combines light exercise and relaxation.
Many fitness trackers can measure stress levels and provide feedback to pause and slow down, such as guided breathing sessions or relaxation reminders. Monitoring your stress can be challenging, but staying mindful of your emotions and using tools like a fitness tracker will help you stay proactive in managing stress and optimizing recovery.
Eat Enough Protein
Protein is like the building blocks that help repair and strengthen muscles. Eating lean protein like chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, and beans can provide the protein you need to help with muscle recovery.
Experts recommend that an average sedentary adult consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. So, a person weighing 165 lbs, or 75 kg, should consume 60 grams of protein daily. However, as you age, you lose muscle mass. Those over 40 should consume 1 to 1.2 grams per kilogram to slow muscle loss. For the same person weighing 165 lbs, that would be 75 to 90 grams daily.
If you already work out a lot, you might need as much as 1.1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram to support muscle recovery and growth. If you regularly lift weights or are training for a marathon, you may need 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram. However, you’re consuming too much protein if it is more than 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. Too much protein can strain your kidneys and lead to weight gain.
Consume Carbs for Energy
Carbohydrates are your body’s primary source of energy and are especially important for replenishing glycogen stores in your muscles after high-intensity workouts. When choosing carbs, choose complex carbs from foods like sweet potatoes, quinoa, or oats. Unlike simple carbs, these foods digest and absorb more slowly, providing a sustained source of energy.
Researchers suggest you need at least 130 grams of carbohydrates daily to meet your body’s energy needs. For a 2,000-calorie diet, carbs represent about 25% of your daily caloric intake. Currently, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that carbohydrates make up 45% to 65% of your total daily calories. So, if your daily goal is to consume 2,000 calories, 900 to 1,300 calories should be from carbohydrates.
Eating too few carbs can leave you feeling rundown and affect your performance. On the other hand, consuming too many carbs without burning them off can lead to weight gain and energy crashes. The goal is to balance your intake based on your activity level, which is vital for recovery.
Embrace Massages or Foam Rolling
Muscle tightness and soreness can really hamper your progress. Massage therapy and foam rolling are great ways to relieve tension, break down adhesions, and improve circulation to aid muscle recovery.
These options help alleviate soreness and improve flexibility and range of motion. Flexibility is important because it can help reduce the risk of future injuries. Improving circulation also helps deliver oxygen and essential nutrients to your muscles, which reduces inflammation and aids in recovery. By dedicating 10 to 15 minutes after a workout or on rest days to foam rolling or a self-massage, you can help optimize recovery and keep your muscles functioning at their best.
Tracking Your Progress
Tracking your progress can help you identify patterns and provide insight into developing a strategy for muscle recovery. By incorporating these muscle recovery tips into your routine, tracking your workouts, and observing how you feel, you will identify patterns that will help you adjust your recovery strategies and measure performance improvements.
For example, logging your workouts, sleep, water intake, and nutrition can show what’s working and what isn’t. If you don’t track your progress, you might overlook signs of overtraining, fatigue, or plateaus in your performance. Tools like a fitness app or journal help you stay organized and on track, ultimately leading to better long-term results.
The Takeaway
Muscle recovery is critical for achieving your fitness goals. Incorporating these tips into your routine can reduce soreness, prevent injuries, and enhance overall performance. Remember, recovery isn’t just about resting. It’s an intentional part of any routine that deserves as much attention as your workouts.
Start incorporating these strategies and track your progress. Whether through fitness apps, fitness trackers, or simple journaling, monitoring your recovery and performance can help you become aware of fatigue before it catches up with you.
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Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
