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You’ve been hitting the gym hard, but do you know how important it is to practice recovery and mindfulness too? Here are five ways to do so.
You’re smashing your weekly exercise routine, but when it comes to allowing your body time to recover, you feel clueless.
Most of us have experienced the aftereffects of a vigorous workout, and they’re not so pleasant. It’s those nasty aches and pains you gain from pushing yourself too far, and sometimes they seem to last for days!
That’s why treating your body with recovery and mindfulness exercises and activities are crucial – so you can allow your body and mind some time to rest.
If you’re not sure how best to practice recovery and mindfulness after an intense workout, don’t worry as we’re here to help. Here are five ways to soothe your body and mind!
Yoga
While you won’t want to practice a yoga routine that’s too strenuous after a heavy workout, using some gentle and calming moves is a great way to stretch it all out.
Yoga allows people to improve their holistic health by exercising both the body and mind together as one.
It’s an exercise that’s adaptable to your needs, too. You can try a calm and mindful practice following an intense workout, or alternatively, you can up the intensity a notch or two if your body isn’t feeling too sore.
What’s more, practicing yoga regularly can help you lose weight, increase flexibility in the body, and reduce stress. It’s the perfect post-workout recovery training!
Meditation
Sometimes after a big workout, you simply need to switch off for a moment. The ancient practice of meditation is an ideal way to do so, as it allows you to focus your mind to reach a mentally and emotionally clear and calm state.
Post workout, meditation balances your body’s needs and increases physical stamina so you can reap as much as possible from every training session.
Just like you train your body from physical activity, meditation allows you to train your mind. So, for example, if you’re recovering from an injury you can train your mind to change the perception of the circumstances and deal with the pain more effectively. It’s all about working with the mind!
Floatation Tank Therapy
You may or may not have heard of the recent post-workout phenomenon that is floatation tank therapy.
Just imagine lying in a dark egg-shaped tank in a bath of Epsom salt or magnesium sulfate. The water matches your body temperature, and the salts allow you to float. It’s completely black, quiet, and it feels like you’re floating mid-air.
Sounds cool right? Not only is floatation tank therapy an extremely calming and interesting experience, but it also works wonders for post-exercise recovery. Floating can help reduce recovery time between intense training sessions and is used by many professional athletes worldwide.
If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us!
Sport Massages
Post-workout sports massages are a great way to recover from any workout injuries. Having a soothing massage after exercise can help with pain relief and with a speedy recovery. This is because a massage can improve the movement of blood flow and nutrients around the body so they can reach your muscles and other tissues more quickly.
Plus, who doesn’t love a good massage? It’s the perfect reward for all that vigorous training you’ve been doing!
Stretching
Stretching has to be the most overlooked practice of recovery after exercise. It’s easy, effective, and free!
Stretching sore and tired muscles after workouts is crucial as it improves flexibility and reduces muscle tension after an intense session. Plus, it helps your body cool down in the process.
Likewise, stretching is important before starting a workout too as it helps prevent injuries occurring in the first place. When you stretch before and after workouts, you gain from both physiological and psychological effects.
Ready to Practice Recovery and Mindfulness?
By practicing recovery and mindfulness with these activities and exercises, you can enhance a strong mind-body connection and can increase the rate of recovery. That way, you can get back to your weekly routine pronto!
Want to learn how to improve mindfulness even further? Here’s how to practice self-care for anxiety.
