If you want to meet your fitness goals, you need a regular workout schedule. There are no shortcuts here, you have to hit the gym a lot and do some intensive workouts, but there is a hurdle that a lot of people struggle to get over; recovery times.

When you are in the midst of an intense workout routine, you might find that your muscles are sore and you feel fatigued, which makes it a lot harder to get back into the gym and carry on. So many people find that they lose motivation and they can’t work as hard as they want to because they are not recovering properly, and that’s a big problem. If you want to reach your goals, you need to find a way to improve your recovery times and beat things like muscle fatigue and soreness so you can work hard every time you hit the gym. These are some of the best ways to speed up your recovery time after a workout.

Hydrate Properly

Everybody knows that it’s important to stay hydrated when you workout, but a lot of people underestimate just how much water they need to drink. You should be drinking plenty of fluids before, during, and after a workout. People tend to be quite good at hydrating before and during, but not so good at hydrating afterwards. The other big mistake that people make is only drinking when they feel thirsty, but if you do that, you won’t be getting enough fluids to recover properly.

If you don’t drink enough water after a workout, you massively increase the chances of things like muscle fatigue, soreness, and even tearing. In some cases, you may even end up with a nasty injury that puts you out of action entirely. So, you need to make sure that you drink plenty of water after you finish working out, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Sports drinks that replenish electrolytes are good as well.

Sleep Properly

Good sleep is so important to your overall physical and mental health. Unfortunately, most people aren’t getting enough sleep and that’s bad news, especially if you are working out regularly. Your body does most of its recovery and growth while you sleep, so getting your 8 hours every night is absolutely vital if you want to see muscle growth and recover quickly. It can be difficult to get a good night’s sleep when you have a busy schedule or a family to look after.

Kids don’t always care whether you’ve had enough sleep or not, when they’re up, you’re up. If you are having trouble getting your 8 hours in for whatever reason, you should try napping. If you wait until a few hours after a workout and then have a 20 minute power nap, you will massively improve your recovery times. Sleeping properly will also improve your overall athletic performance, which means that you will work harder during a workout and see better results.

Rest Days

When you are focused on your fitness goals and you have a lot of motivation, it can be tempting to push your limits and skip out on the rest days. People think that the more they work out, the faster they will hit those goals, but that isn’t always the case. If you don’t give your body time to rest and recover, your muscles will be fatigued and sore, and that means you will struggle to do a proper workout. Instead, the efficiency of your workouts will suffer and so, even though you are working out more regularly, the results won’t be as good. It’s much better to do fewer workouts and make them count.

There are no specific rules about rest days because it really depends on your body, but you should try to take at least one or two a week. If you are doing a particularly intense muscle building workout, you should try to leave 48 hours of rest before you do it again, so your muscles have time to recover fully. On those rest days, try to do some stretches or light exercise like yoga and tai chi. This will keep your muscles from seizing up and help you to tone up.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to rest days is that you have to listen to your body. If you get up in the morning and you are aching all over, it’s not a good idea to workout. That’s your body telling you that it needs to rest for another day. If you ignore your body and continue to exercise when you have not recovered properly, that’s when you will end up with an injury.

Pre Workouts

There are some great pre workout supplements that can help you to improve your performance and speed up your recovery times. If you find that recovery time is a big problem, you should definitely look into it. Some of the best pre workout UK companies offer all round supplements that boost your performance and improve your recovery times. They contain active ingredients that improve focus and reduce the buildup of lactic acid during the workout, so you can avoid muscle fatigue.

They also contain ingredients that help your muscles to recover after a workout. If you find that muscle soreness is a big issue for you and you struggle to stay motivated during a workout, these pre workout supplements could make all the difference for you.

Eat Properly

The right diet is absolutely essential if you want to see the best results from your workout and make sure that you recover properly afterwards. When you exercise, your muscles use up their glycogen reserves and some of the proteins are broken down. So, after a workout, you need to make sure that you are replenishing those things. If you don’t, your muscles will not repair and grow properly and that’s when you’re going to get sore muscles. That’s why it’s essential that you eat the right post workout meals.

You probably already know that protein is essential to your recovery. It’s important that you give your body the protein that it needs to repair and grow muscles, so make sure that you are eating a lot of protein rich foods like meat, eggs, and dairy. If you are finding it difficult to get the protein that you need and you are doing intense muscle workouts, you should also consider using protein shakes to make sure that your intake is high enough.

It’s not just about protein though, and a lot of people don’t realise this. The glycogen stores that are depleted during a workout need to be restored and the best way to do that is by eating carbs. A lot of people focus on their protein intake but they are not eating enough carbs as well, and that means that they don’t recover properly. Carbs are particularly important if you are doing heavy cardio workouts, but you still need some if you are doing weight training. Just make sure that you are eating healthy carbs like oats, grains, and vegetables.

Finally, you should be eating some fat. Most people tend to avoid fat because they think that it will just undo all of the hard work that they are doing. That’s true if you’re eating excessive amounts of fat after a workout, but a small amount can actually aid your recovery so try to get some healthy fats into your post workout meal as well.

The timing is important as well because if you leave it too long, your body will not see the benefits. Ideally, you should be eating your post workout meal within 45 minutes of finishing.

Take Cold Baths

The idea of plunging yourself into a freezing cold bath might not sound that appealing, but if your muscles are very sore and your recovery times are long, it could be a big help. Muscle soreness is usually caused by inflammation and one of the best ways to reduce that inflammation is by immersing yourself in a cold bath.

The cold also acts as a numbing agent which makes your recovery a lot easier. Taking a cold bath for 10 minutes when you get back from a workout could make a big difference to your recovery so it’s worth a try.

Check Your Form

If you find that you have very sore muscles after doing a particular exercise, you should check your form. You might be doing the exercises wrong and that can lead to sore muscles and even injuries if you’re not careful. Whenever you are trying a new machine for the first time, make sure to read the safety instructions to make sure that you are doing the exercise properly. If you are new to weight training and you are unsure, it might be a good idea to get a session with a personal trainer. They will be able to tell you what the best exercises for your specific goals are and, most importantly, how to do it safely.

Slow recovery times can make it very difficult to stick to a workout routine, but as long as you follow these steps, you should be able to speed up recovery times and get back on track.