Muscle recovery: what really works –

Physical recovery is just as important as training. It is in rest that the body begins to rebuild itself, that the muscles of the heart, lungs, buttocks, and all tissues recover. That is, you must plan and consider rest time as much as training days.

Recovery is serious business. Losing rest is the same as losing balance. In a 2016 study in Frontiers of Physiologymen who did two consecutive days of high-intensity exercise performed equally well in the gym on the second day, but had an impact on their levels of cytokines – vital molecules of a healthy immune system.

There is a real risk of getting sick as a side effect of not recovering properly from training. But it is also possible to notice changes in mood, motivation, body composition, sleep and pain level.

THE BEST POST-WORKOUT MUSCLE RECOVERY TECHNIQUES

Post-workout soreness takes 24 to 48 hours to go away. If you are very sore and need relief during this time, there are some therapeutic methods that will help. “Cryotherapy and myofascial release are the most used and show good results in this process of recovery and preparation for the next training session. Their association can be called Recovery, which has become increasingly popular among the public who remain active and are concerned with musculoskeletal health – whether they are athletes or not”, explains Sabrina Torres, physiotherapist at Care Club, in São Paulo . Learn more about these methods:

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Ice

A classic after marathons. The technique consists of immersing the parts of the body most required in training in a bathtub, tank or barrel with water and ice. That’s because the cold has an analgesic effect and decreases muscle pain. Cryotherapy should be performed right after exercise and ideally the water temperature should be between 4°C and 10°C. The ideal is to leave the body immersed for about four minutes, but the athlete can stay a little longer (up to ten minutes) if the water is not so cold.

But apply the technique with caution. A 2019 study from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands compared the recovery of a leg that was doused in ice with one that was just in contact with cold water and found that the icy leg actually built less muscle after the immersion.

Generally, if the water temperature is lower than your skin temperature, you will cool off. Even 20-25°C water can help.

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compression garments

A recent review of 183 studies of compression garments by experts in Australia and the UK, published in the journal Sports Medicine, revealed that wearing compression garments reduces the perception of muscle soreness the day after training. Compression is designed to increase circulation and remove waste products such as lactic acid that contribute to post-exercise soreness. Sabrina comments that the Compressive garments were adopted by athletes, mainly cycling and running, and became very popular in the last decade, with the proposal to favor venous return and bring benefits to muscle contraction, reducing the feeling of fatigue and pain during training.

Although some studies show positive results in the athlete’s perception of these aspects (such as the one mentioned above), there is no consensus in the literature about the real, physiological effect of compression garments. “Since there are no adverse effects, it is worth the experimentation and individual perception of the athlete about the use”, says the physiotherapist.

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Massage

Massages are one of the most used but least researched recovery tools of recent years, with only a few actual studies on them. On the other hand, you can get some benefits from a simple foam roller.

Evidence strongly indicates that the myofascial release roller helps reduce pain and increases range of motion after exercise, with agility: with just 90 to 120 seconds of foam rolling per muscle group showing results.

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HOW TO SPEED UP MUSCLE RECOVERY

So now that you know why recovery is vital, how can you maximize yours?

The teacher Shona Halson is a sports performance and recovery specialist who has worked with the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Olympic team. Part of the expert panel of Be Recovered – an online course through the Benefit Pocket health app – she talks about the recovery pyramid, “whose foundation should be sleep and mental recovery”.

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Rest

Sleep is when the brain and body do most of the repair. In truth, a 2021 study by a combined US-Australian team, published in Physiological Reportsfound a decline in muscle synthesis after just one night of poor sleep.

The body needs consistency, routine: it has to have a time to sleep and a time to wake up. Some things can get in the way of your plans: caffeine and alcohol intake, an environment that is too hot or too noisy. Stress and lack of sleep go hand in hand for many people.

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Give your brain a rest

Mental recovery is also essential. We’ve reached a level of “normal” where we’re always tired and constantly wired, but need some time each day with minimal stimulation for mental recovery. This means, for example, leaving your cell phone well away from the table next to the bed.

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fuel your body

The next layer of the pyramid is nutrition. Three things are key after a workout: replenish your carbs, rehydrate to replace the fluids you’ve lost, and then eat some protein to repair your muscle within an hour or two of your workout.