Everyone knows that hitting the gym regularly is important if you want to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. That being said, when your workouts start to leave you feeling the pain of recovery, it can be hard to find the motivation to go as often as you should. The good news is that there are some great products out there that are designed to help you in your recovery from even your most intense workouts.
Along with plenty of water and stretching both before and after your workouts, here are four things that you should get that will your muscles and joints recover faster from your workouts so that you can get back to it sooner rather than later.
1. Recovery Pants
Many professional athletes swear by compression pants, and for good reasons. When your muscles are recovering from a workout, they are more prone to becoming stiff. That stiffness can then add to your soreness. Compression clothing helps by increasing circulation to your muscles and thus aiding in the recovery process. For some extra support and convenience, go for a pair of high rise compression leggings with pockets so that you can get the most out of your compression pants when you are recovering from your workouts.
2. A Foam Roller
Another staple in any athlete’s gym is a foam roller. These helpful recovery tools help you to target specific muscle groups that might need a little extra TLC while you are recovering from a workout. By applying your body weight to the foam roller as you use it, you create a counter-pressure on your muscles that helps to increase circulation and release lactic acid.
You might wish to use a foam roller immediately after a workout as part of your stretch and cool-down routine or you might want to use it on your recovery days between gym sessions. Either way, there are a variety of foam roller exercises that will help ease your aching muscles.
3. A Tennis Ball
It might sound like a simple household item, but a tennis ball can prove to be highly effective in aiding recovery from intense workouts. This is because a tennis ball can be used to target specific points on your body that are in particular discomfort. Whether you need to apply some counter-pressure to a knot in your muscles or help open up your joints, a tennis ball can help you out quite a bit. Similar to the foam roller, the ability to roll out your muscles using a tennis ball can help increase circulation and flexibility in your muscles.
4. Ice
The use of ice or extremely cold water in the recovery process has become known as cryotherapy. In its simplest form, cryotherapy might just involve you applying an ice pack to your aching muscles for about ten to fifteen minutes at a time. However, those who really give their workouts their all can benefit from more technical products that allow you to use cryotherapy to ease muscle inflammation and increase circulation.
