It’s no secret that exercise is good for you. Regular workouts can help you lose weight, lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, and improve your mood. But you probably already know that you shouldn’t do things before a workout. For example, it’s never a good idea to exercise on an empty stomach or after eating a heavy meal that’s high in fiber or fat. However, what about the hours after your workout? This article will look at things you should never do after a workout!
Contents
Eat A Large Meal Within A Hour Of Exercising
It’s a good idea to eat something right after you exercise. Why? Well, if you don’t have anything to eat, your body will just start breaking down some of those hard-earned muscle fibers for energy. This is especially true if the workout was challenging or longer than an hour! However, there’s also the possibility that eating a big meal right after your workout can cause you to feel nauseous. Plus, the extra calories from the meal might make you pack on some unwanted weight. So what do you do if you’re hungry after a workout? After strenuous activity, the best thing to eat is something like protein and carbohydrates, such as a half-pound of meat or fish and a cup of whole grains.
Skip Drinking Plenty Of Water
Drinking water is essential. Not only can staying hydrated help you recover and improve your performance, but it can also prevent you from feeling dizzy or faint. Plus, according to the Mayo Clinic, drinking plenty of fluids after a workout can decrease muscle pain and soreness. However, if you’re like most people and don’t like drinking plain water, you can add a splash of lemon or lime juice to enhance the flavor.
Don’t Sit Down Right After A Workout.
Sitting down right after a workout can make your muscles stiff and sore. Also, sitting for long periods of time can increase your risk of dying from heart disease. The solution? After your workout, walk around for a few minutes or do some gentle stretches. This will prevent stiffness and keep your muscles loose. In addition, it’s also a good idea to avoid sitting down right after a workout if you have an injury, especially one that involves the joints in the legs.
Don’t Forget To Cool Down After A Workout
Even though you might feel drowsy or exhausted after a strenuous workout, it’s important that you cool down. Going straight from intense exercise to sitting back and relaxing can cause blood flow to pool in your muscles instead of returning to the heart. This means that your body won’t be able to cool down properly. You might also experience sharp pains later if you don’t cool down after exercising. To cool down, just walk around for five minutes at an easy pace!
Don’t Skip Your Stretch Right After A Workout
Stretching is extremely important after a workout since it helps reduce muscle stiffness and soreness. In fact, stretching is such an important part of exercising that the Arthritis Foundation even recommends doing gentle stretches before working out to warm up your muscles. However, keep in mind that if you skip your stretch right after exercising, you can increase soreness or stiffen your muscles. When You work out your muscles build up lactic acid, stretching afterward helps to break down some of this lactic acid which is essential for proper recovery.
Don’t Skip The Shower
Taking a hot shower after you exercise is one of the best things that you can do to promote muscle recovery. Showering also helps remove sweat and dirt from your skin, which will prevent acne breakouts. Plus, it also gets rid of all the bacteria on your skin so you won’t get sick if you touch other people’s things or shake their hands. Remember that you don’t have to take a full shower right after working out. Just be sure to at least rinse your body off for a couple of minutes.
Don’t Drink Alcohol
It might be tempting to crack open a cold beer, glass of wine, or cocktail after an intense workout. However, avoid drinking alcohol right after exercising since it can slow down hydration and actually cause you to feel even thirstier. Also, if you’re trying to lose weight, drinking too much alcohol will stop your progress in its tracks. If you do want to have a drink on days you workout it’s best to wait at least 4 hours before consuming any alcohol!
Conclusion
Remember that your body needs time to recover after a tough workout. Skipping this recovery period can have serious consequences. You might, for example, injure yourself if you try to do push yourself again before your muscles have healed. As important as working out is, the steps you take after a workout can also be important. Remember these steps the next time you exercise so you can get the most out of your workout!
