What restores muscles. A new way to recover muscles faster after a workout
Proper physical activity is the key to faster recovery of almost all muscles after training. Although behavior during a break from classes is no less important. You cannot neglect it completely, otherwise the result will only be chronic fatigue and stress for the body. Find out more about how to recover muscles after a workout below.
Muscle recovery after training
The workout itself is stressful for the muscles. During the exercise, they get micro-tears and sprains. Their body begins to gradually heal. In general, muscle recovery after training occurs in four stages:
- Fast. Continues for half an hour after training. During this period, the heart rate will be restored. The levels of stress hormones such as insulin, adrenaline, and cortisol become normal. The reserves of fast “energy drinks” used up during training - ATP, creatine phosphate, glycogen - are also replenished.
- Slow, or compensation. Reparation of damaged cells and tissues begins. Here protein is synthesized with amino acids and enzymes. It is very important that these nutrients come from outside, so at this stage they consume carbohydrate foods and use sports nutrition to restore strength.
- Supercompensation, or super-recovery. It occurs 2-3 days after the last workout and lasts about 5 days. In many ways, it is similar to the previous phase, but here the muscle fibers thicken in order to be able to withstand the volume of load the next time. During this period there should be the next workout, because after it the body returns to its original state.
- Delayed recovery after training. If there is no new load, then all the previous work was done in vain. The muscles will return to their pre-training level of development, which is typical for their usual lifestyle without the gym.
Muscle recovery time after training
There is a direct relationship linking the speed of muscle recovery with their size. The supercompensation period may vary. For example, biceps recover in 48 hours. The chest muscles require 3 days, and the back or legs – as much as 5 days. The calculation of the terms of super compensation is individual. It is impossible to give an exact answer to the question of how long muscles recover after training. If they hurt, it means the recovery stage has not yet ended. The indicator here is an increase in working weight. If there is no progress, rest is extended by 1-2 days.
Nutrition for Muscle Recovery
One of important criteria A balanced diet is key to successful muscle recovery. It can be represented simply by a well-composed daily diet, although in bodybuilding they often additionally use professional sports nutrition. Products for muscle recovery should be predominantly protein, and of animal origin. Carbohydrates are also important at this time - without them, you will feel much worse after training.
Water is also needed. It reduces the load on the heart and the muscles themselves. In addition, it reduces temperature, which is important for recovery. Very useful in this case green tea, enriched with antioxidants. You need to consume the following products:
- fruits, vegetables, berries;
- fats obtained from whole sources, such as nuts or avocados, fish, vegetable or linseed oil;
- Potassium-enriched foods - potatoes, bananas.
Ointment for muscle recovery
Very often, many athletes use ointment to restore muscles. Its effect is to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and reduce swelling. There are ointments with a warming or, conversely, cooling effect. Among the most effective are the following:
- Apizartron;
- Viprosal;
- Sanitas balm;
- Heparin ointment;
- Heparoid;
- Ethkamon;
- Nicoflex.
Muscle recovery drugs
There are different drugs for muscle recovery. Three main groups can be distinguished:
- Plastic. They help speed up protein synthesis and cell rehabilitation, and prevent overtraining. This includes medicines Carnitine, Lipocerebrin, Cobamamide, Potassium Orotate.
- Adaptogens and general tonics. Promotes resistance to sudden physical stress, increases performance.
- Energy. Accelerates the replenishment of spent resources. These are Methionine, Glutamic acid, Panangin, Asparkam.
How to understand that muscles have recovered
Only sensations help to accurately understand that the muscles have recovered. The pain may not be felt on the first day, but often becomes severe on the second. At this time, the body is just gathering strength. The next day, the discomfort decreases again, but is still felt when tense. When it practically ceases to be felt, the recovery is almost complete.
Restoring breathing after physical activity
Permissible value heart rate is 75 beats per minute a couple of hours after exercise. How can you reduce it immediately after training or when resting between exercises? It is recommended to inhale and exhale slowly in a position with your hands resting on your knees. This reduces the heart rate by 22 beats. There is another option for restoring breathing after physical activity. You need to straighten up, put your hands behind your head and breathe calmly. This method of how to quickly recover after training is less effective than the first. Although it will also be easier to catch your breath.
Recovery of the central nervous system after training
If energy, muscles and hormonal background If you have already returned to normal, recovery of the central nervous system after training may take much longer. Symptoms of her exhaustion are loss of strength and mood, lack of progress and reluctance to go to the gym. To avoid this, it is necessary to give the body rest for 1-1.5 weeks every 1.5-2 months. It is recommended to sometimes change the principles of training.
Recuperation after training
The main factor for full recovery after training is rest. In this case, most athletes only need 1-2 days without physical activity. At this time it is important to adhere good nutrition, drink required amount water, maintain a sleep schedule. To make the process of replenishing strength easier and faster, it is important to finish the workout correctly. You can't do this abruptly. The training should end with a cool-down, i.e. loads in the form of stretching the upper and lower body or light cardio.
How to recover after a workout
The focus of recovery should be less on speed and more on productivity. Constant lack of rest can cause overtraining. This is a condition when the load injures the body much more than it can recover. The lack of desire to exercise already indicates that you do not have time to rest. Many activities help to recover after a workout - contrast shower, sauna or hot bath, nutrition, including sports supplements, quality sleep, walks. fresh air, massage and even listening to your favorite music.
Hot bath after workout
As a gentle cardio or just active type relaxation can be a sauna or a hot bath after training. They increase blood circulation, lightly load the cardiovascular system, and everything else, on the contrary, relaxes. It is recommended to add about a glass of sea salt to the bath. It relieves muscle pain and helps eliminate all toxins from the body. You only need to take a bath for 20-30 minutes.
Sports nutrition for recovery
Don’t forget about sports nutrition for post-workout recovery. It is designed to specifically supply the body with amino acids. After class you must take:
- BCAA – 3-5 g to suppress the destruction of muscle tissue;
- glutamine – 3-4 g for energy production and activation of growth hormone synthesis;
- creatine – 2-3 g for complete restoration of spent creatine phosphate;
- whey protein – about 20 g for women and 30 g for men to accelerate and optimize recovery processes.
Sleep after workout
Evidence of replenishment of strength is also a sound, healthy sleep after training. Fatigue can be expressed in weakness during the day, especially in the first half. At night, sleep remains restless. To recover, you need to sleep 7-8, or even better, 9 hours a day. It is important to maintain the same time of waking up and going to bed, for example, getting up at 7 am and going to bed at 10 pm. Sleeping immediately after training is not recommended. The body needs to be given time to “cool down”.
Vitamins for post-workout recovery
Vitamin preparations occupy a special place in replenishing strength after intense training. Without them, rehabilitation worsens and the risk of disease increases. Complexes such as Vitrum, Oligovit, Complivit and Undevit are designed to help in this situation. Vitamins for post-workout recovery can be anything, but they must contain:
Recovery after intensive training
Experienced athletes know that post-workout recovery is as important to muscle growth as the activity itself. In its absence, it will not be possible to ensure proper results. It is important to know how long it takes muscles to recover and how you can speed up this process.
Recovery after strength training is essential. Active muscle growth occurs during this period, so it is important to pay attention to this stage. Regular training to the limit will not bring any effect if the muscles do not get the opportunity to rest.
During training, micro-tears of muscle fibers occur, which stretch and tear. After this, the body, considering this phenomenon unacceptable, will try to restore and heal them. This process is known as compensation. If, after exercise, you give yourself good rest and admission nutritional components, the stage of supercompensation will begin. During this period, the muscles will become rougher and increase in volume to prevent ruptures and injuries in the future. Due to this, muscle mass increases. Hence the importance of recovery.
How long does it take for muscles to recover?
On average, all muscle groups require 36-72 hours to recover. Accordingly, there is no point in training them more often than once every 2-3 days. It is worth considering that the larger the muscle in volume, the more time it needs to rest.
Aerobic training (cardio) requires significant energy expenditure, but does not cause damage large quantity muscle fibers. After them, muscle glycogen is predominantly restored. On average it takes 1-3 days to recover. Strength training, in addition to energy consumption, provokes muscle microtrauma, so it takes more time to recover from it.
The muscle recovery process is divided into four phases, presented in the table.
Fast recovery | Continues for 30 minutes after activity. In a state of stress, the body uses up the remaining reserves of substances to return to a normal state. At this time, he needs glucose for rapid recovery. Also needed minerals, so it is recommended to drink mineral water without gas. |
Slow recovery | Once the body has restored the balance of nutrients and minerals, it will begin to repair the affected cells and tissues. During this period, protein synthesis is activated, and a sufficient amount of it should be supplied with food. |
Super compensation | The most important recovery period, which begins 2-3 days after training. The most powerful supercompensation will be after a grueling workout to failure with maximum weights. The body will try in advance to ensure maximum muscle fiber growth. The next training should be carried out at this stage. |
Delayed recovery | It occurs after supercompensation if the next workout is missed. Therefore, it is important to stick to your study schedule. By skipping one workout, you can significantly slow down the process. During this period, the body will begin to restore its usual state, which is typical without exercise. |
Thus, the answer to the question of how long it takes for muscles to recover will vary from person to person, but on average this time is 72 hours.
Standard methods of muscle recovery
During the period when the muscles are recovering, there is no need to train. Another important point- this is a full-fledged sleep, especially if. It plays a big role for absolutely everyone, but if a person puts a lot of stress on the body, then its importance is even greater. It is during sleep that muscles actively grow and increase in volume.
You need to sleep at least 8 hours without breaks. Important the right conditions. To get a good night's sleep, you need complete darkness and silence, as well as a comfortable pillow and a suitable mattress.
Proper nutrition is important. Immediately after exercise, the body needs to be given a sufficient amount of proteins and carbohydrates. This will help offset their costs. Drink whey protein after exercise to help support your muscles.
1-1.5 hours after training you need to eat a hearty meal. The meal must include all the necessary components.
In addition to proteins and carbohydrates, an athlete’s body needs fats. Their best sources are fatty fish and vegetable oils, especially flaxseed.
Eat vegetables. Due to the presence of fiber and coarse fibers, they help improve digestion.
If you feel hungry but it's not time to eat yet, you can eat a banana or a handful of dried fruits.
You need to drink enough fluids both during and after exercise. Pay attention to the color of your urine, especially in the morning. If it is clear, it means you are drinking enough. If it is more yellow or orange, then the amount of liquid needs to be increased.
How to speed up muscle recovery
Various medications can help you recover quickly after exercise. Sports nutrition for correct use helps increase endurance. Accelerate recovery and improve exercise results. The following additives serve this purpose:
BCAAs are amino acids that prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue after activity and improve the synthesis of anabolic hormones. They are taken before or immediately after training.
Creatine. Helps increase the amount of phosphocreatine, which increases the supply of ATP, which is the initial phase of recovery. This substance is taken immediately after training and washed down with plenty of liquid.
Glutamine. 60% of this amino acid is contained in the muscles, but during active exercise it is used up extremely quickly, and a deficiency appears. The intake additionally promotes the synthesis of growth hormone, which has a beneficial effect on anabolism and muscle recovery. Sports nutrition can be taken after activity or at night.
Sports nutrition should be taken either before or after exercise. It is not recommended to do this during activity.
Vitamins and minerals are important in recovery. A sufficient amount of them should be supplied with food. But active training provokes a decrease in the absorption of some components, so you can take them additionally. The following compounds are useful vitamins:
Vitamin A. This component is useful for vision, but in addition it takes part in muscle synthesis. Because of this, they grow more actively. Vitamin A also affects testosterone, which plays an important role in muscle growth.
Vitamin C. In addition to its antioxidant effect, it can eliminate post-workout pain. The vitamin has an effect at the cellular level, preventing oxidation processes.
Vitamin D. Acts similar to vitamin A. It also has benefits for the skeletal system.
B vitamins. They take part in protein metabolism and the formation of cells required for muscle restoration.
Zinc. Structural element proteins and enzymes that are needed for tissue growth and repair. If it is deficient, muscles cannot grow, since the mineral affects the synthesis of anabolic hormones.
There are special medications that help with muscle recovery. They have complex composition, so it is recommended to drink them only after consulting a specialist. They are most often used by professional athletes.
Aerobitin. One of the most famous restorative drugs after physical activity. Includes a strong complex of antioxidants aimed at combating body oxidation and free radicals. Has a pronounced biosynthetic effect.
Secretaryrog-1. The drug has a special formula that promotes the synthesis of growth hormones. It also has an immunoprotective effect.
Antilactate. The medication helps reduce pain after training. The result is achieved due to the increased consumption of air by tissues, due to which lactic acid is excreted. The composition contains organic acids.
To make your workouts effective and painless, and for your muscles to recover faster, consider the following recommendations:
Don't overdo the tempo. If it's time to train intensely, you need to give yourself enough time to recover.
At the end of the session, do some stretching that will serve as a cool-down. This will make it possible to eliminate excess lactic acid from the muscles and normalize the pulse. As a result, you will recover faster and muscle elasticity will increase. 5-10 minutes will be enough, but the exercises must be done efficiently.
Good result gives a contrast shower. Use hot water first, then cold, not the other way around. This helps improve blood circulation.
If you feel severe muscle pain after exercise, it may be helpful to take a cold bath. Massage with an ice cube and other procedures with a cooling effect give good results. Muscles, under the influence of cold temperatures, expand and contract sharply and rhythmically. In view of this, toxins are removed from them more quickly.
Massage is beneficial for muscles, especially in the evening.
Simple manipulations increase the ability of muscles to absorb valuable components, accelerate and activate their transport to muscle tissue.
Helpful leisure. You should not forget about activity during rest periods. It is useful to walk, swim in the pool, visit the bathhouse or sauna.
Muscle recovery is no less important than the training itself. Various medications can help speed it up, but it is important not to overuse them. Please note that the main criterion for whether the muscles have recovered sufficiently is the desire to exercise. Don't put too much stress on yourself, as this will have the opposite effect.
Success and achievements in any sport depend on three constituent elements– nutrition, training and recovery. And if you will find a lot of information about nutrition and training in any magazine dedicated to fitness, then they usually talk about recovery more than succinctly. “Be sure to recover in order to avoid” - that’s all the “expert” recommendations.
But how exactly to recover? What are the criteria for quality restoration? How does recovery after training affect athletic performance? Can it be accelerated or made more effective? You will find answers to these questions in our article.
General information
Before we talk about how to speed up recovery after training, let's find out what recovery is from a physiological point of view. Any workout for the body is stressful. It can be compared to drinking a bottle of vodka, piercing the liver during a fight, or other serious injury. The only difference is that in the above examples one organ suffers, but severely. After training, damage is distributed among all organs and systems.
Recovery, or “supercompensation,” is the body’s response to the stress received. From a survival point of view, the body strives to adapt to the stress received in order to make it less stressful. Due to limited resources, processes do not always go as expected.
There are two types of recovery mechanisms:
- Adaptive. This is an ideal case when a person gets enough rest, eats a lot and is not nervous. Due to such restoration, his characteristics improve, adipose tissue disappears, muscles and strength indicators grow.
- Optimization. It occurs when the body tries to adapt to the resulting stress using only internal resources. In other words, you will become stronger in one area and weaker in another. For example, with intense drying, the body learns to use fat tissue more efficiently, but in order to survive, it also strives to reduce the amount of muscle. You will become stronger, but weaker and smaller.
How long does it take for muscles to recover?
It's easiest to repeat the popular belief that muscles recover on average within 48 hours from the moment of training. But this is fundamentally incorrect and looks like the average temperature in the ward. The time it takes for muscles to recover after training depends on many factors, including individual ones. Some of them can be influenced, others are beyond our control.
Let's list these factors:
- Load intensity. Obviously, if you do light workouts, your muscles can recover within an hour, since they are not under serious stress. The reverse is also true: if you have surpassed yourself and set a record in competitions, then you can avoid lifting weights for a week, or better yet, two.
- Availability sufficient quantity. Nutrition is an integral component for recovery. It determines whether recovery will follow an adaptive path or an optimization path.
- Hormonal background. It is usually associated with levels of the hormone testosterone, which is used as a doping agent to speed up and increase the intensity of protein production in the body. In fact, muscle recovery after training is influenced by growth hormone, peptide hormones, thyroid hormones, etc.
- Speed . It determines how quickly your body will begin the process of regeneration after stress. The faster the metabolism, the faster the body can cope with the load.
- Somatotype. This is where the main division into endo-ecto- and mesomorphs came from. How the body and muscles react to stress, what fibers are involved, and how the body copes with stress depends on a person’s somatotype.
- General condition of the body. If you are in a depressed mood or have recently overcome an illness, then it will take you an order of magnitude longer to restore your body between workouts.
How much time does the body need?
How to quickly recover after training in the absence of serious stress in the form of overtraining, artificial dehydration.
The body needs at least two days to fully recover between heavy workouts. This is due to the fact that during training the body must reconfigure its systems to cope with heavy load:
- Increase hormone levels.
- Optimize resources for recovery processes.
- Improve the functioning of neuromuscular synapses.
- Compensate for calorie deficit.
- Improve the functioning of the heart muscle.
- Eliminate the consequences of an adrenaline surge.
Interesting fact: any work with weights ranging from 70 to 90% of a one-time maximal maximum forces our body to produce hormones of the adrenaline group. This is partly why people find it easier to lift lighter weights for more reps. The “striptease” lifting training program is based on this principle, in which a person first works with maximum weight, and after each approach reduces the weight load by 5-10%.
Recovery rates
Indicators of body recovery after training are a large set of biochemical processes and characteristics that, independently, medical examination cannot be determined. But several basic indicators you can determine it yourself.
- Pulse and pressure. After exercising at normal intensity for 120 minutes, your heart rate should drop to at least 75 beats per minute (or below the aerobic zone). If your heart rate after training is within a wide range, this indicates overtraining or chronic fatigue.
- Dream. If the training is done correctly, you should not have problems sleeping. As a rule, problems begin with chronic disruption of the training process. The only exception is if you did your workout less than 2 hours before going to bed.
- Well-being. If you overtrain or under-recover, you will feel worse and worse with each workout.
- Progress. Only possible with full recovery. The only exception is a strength plateau.
Techniques to Accelerate Recovery
Do I need to take anything to recover after a workout? With a competent approach using rapid recovery techniques, you will not need supportive pharmacology and sports nutrition products. Just look at the table with ways to speed up recovery.
| Method/technique/factor | Effect on the body | Effect on muscles |
| Emotional relief | Emotional relief implies active endorphin stimulation. This type of emotional relief allows you to stimulate the production of pleasure hormones: and. This, in turn, will reduce the impact of stress on the body's recovery abilities. | Under the influence of endorphins, muscles relax faster, which allows blood to circulate freely in damaged areas, accelerating physical regeneration. |
| Complete rest | Complete rest is an ideal restorative method, which, due to the modern rhythm of life, is not available to everyone. With complete rest, the body, as during sleep, optimizes all resources for a speedy recovery. | With complete rest, the recovery processes in the body will take place somewhat faster, but the intensity of super recovery, which makes the athlete stronger and more resilient, will be significantly lower. |
| Massage is a great endorphin stimulant. In addition, the effect on the lymph nodes and nerve points can significantly improve the body's recovery from stress. | Physical impact stimulates blood flow to damaged areas to accelerate recovery processes in muscle tissue. | |
| Increasing protein in the diet | An increase in calories and protein in particular is a kind of stress for the body, so it is important to select nutrients that will not overload the gastric system. An excess of protein allows you to quickly stabilize the functioning of most systems in the body. | All muscle tissue consists of (which are part of protein). The more amino acids available for muscle building, the faster and better they will recover. |
| Thermal effect | Similar to massage. | Similar to massage. |
| Increasing the amount of sleep | Sleep is an integral part of rest and recovery, as it allows you to reboot all systems and direct free resources to a speedy recovery from stress. | During sleep, the main and... If there is not enough sleep, catabolism will prevail over anabolism. |
Additional incentive
So, it is impossible to radically speed up the recovery processes, but more fast recovery After training you can get through the use of sports nutrition products:
- (tribulus, etc.). They increase the natural production of male hormones, which increases the synthesis of building proteins. Allows you to reduce recovery time between workouts by 20-25%.
- . At correct use accelerate tissue regeneration. It is important to give a full 24 hours of rest when using nitrogen donors, since the nervous and hormonal systems may simply not have time to recover in such a short period.
- Adaptogens. Depending on their class, they can affect both tissue regeneration and general state central nervous system.
- Vitamin and mineral complexes. Supporting the body with essential microelements speeds up the body’s recovery.
Which of these should you drink after training for recovery? First of all, vitamins and minerals. Testosterone nitrogen donors and stimulants are taken in a course, usually in the morning. And adaptogens - only in accordance with the instructions.
How do you know that recovery has taken place?
You can determine that recovery after a hard workout has been successful by one simple sign. This is an emotional state. With the right training regimen, you will want to get extra physical activity after some time. You will feel more alert and energetic. In addition, determine how recovery went after the previous strength training, you can use weights on a barbell. If you can easily lift weights that seemed too heavy for you in the last workout, then your recovery has been successful.
To correctly predict your progress and avoid overdoing your training, keep a training diary, which will help you determine how well you have recovered from your last workouts.
Results
From a medical point of view, professional competitive CrossFit does not allow athletes to progress and recover normally after training. But do not forget that athletes often scale the loads to suit themselves. And even if they train 2 times a day, they do the most difficult training no more than 2 times a week.
At the same time, CrossFit stars use the entire arsenal of sports nutrition and supporting pharmacology. This forces the body to recover faster and better.
Remember simple rules, if you want to fully feel and develop in CrossFit:
- Keep a training diary.
- Eat right.
- Always focus on how you feel: if you think that you are not ready to perform a particular WOD today, let your coach know.
- Use sports nutrition for recovery.
And remember, recovery is related not only to muscles, but also to other systems of the body. Don't take risks and give your body more time to rest - this will allow you to progress much faster.