The truth is that without adequate recovery, any training program is doomed to failure. Proper recovery is probably the single most undervalued aspect in the fitness world today. YouTube videos of crazy workouts with athletes pushing themselves to the limits and motivational quotes spurring people on to train harder and achieve more are shared around social media platforms constantly. Despite its high relevancy, the topic of recovery isn’t the most exciting and doesn’t seem to get any love or Internet fame. Injury, illness, general burnout and loss of motivation can all be the result of failing to focus on optimizing your recovery. Here are six ways to supercharge your recovery so that you can make continuous progress with your training program!
NAPPING
People often associate napping with children and lazy people. When it comes to recovery and performance, this couldn’t be further from the truth. People that demand more from their bodies than the average sedentary individual simply need more sleep to function properly. Anywhere from 8 to 10 hours of quality sleep is a must for anyone involved in an intense training program – if they hope to make any progress. This can be difficult to achieve all at once due to early morning obligations, like school and work. To get more sleep time, try sneaking in a few naps throughout the day, like on your lunch or in the afternoon after work or school. Taking a few 20 to 30 minute power naps throughout the day can really help increase your total daily sleep and recovery time!
WHEY PROTEIN + CREATINE COMBINATION
Everyone knows the right nutrition is important for recovery, but not everyone is aware of the amazing recovery benefits of taking a whey protein and creatine combination after your workouts. Six Star® Whey Protein Plus is an innovative protein, creatine and amino acid combination formula. In fact, in a clinical study subjects built 70% more lean muscle with key ingredients in Six Star® Whey Protein Plus than subjects using regular whey protein (8.8 vs 5.1 lbs.)! When it comes to recovery, you need all of the help you can get if you want to beat the competition and perform at the highest level!
Six Star® Whey Protein Plus is enhanced with core ingredients clinically shown to build more muscle and strength than whey protein alone.
EPSOM SALT BATHS
The high levels of magnesium in Epsom Salts help your muscles to relax and help reduce muscle soreness, so you can get back in the gym ASAP! Epsom salts are an easy-to-use and very relaxing way to enhance your recovery. They are loaded with magnesium; a highly important mineral relied upon by all systems in the body for proper functioning. Magnesium actually gets absorbed into your body through your skin very easily, making an Epsom salt bath the perfect way to soak up this important mineral.
ICE BATHS
Although much less enjoyable than a nice, warm Epsom salt bath, ice baths are another great way to speed up recovery. An ice bath helps to reduce swelling while flushing lactic acid out of your body. The icy cold water causes your blood vessels to tighten, which helps to drain the lactic acid out of your tired muscles. Then, when you get out of the bath, your muscle tissue warms back up again, causing a flood of fresh, oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood to enter back into the muscle tissue, helping to quickly repair your damaged muscle fibers leading to a fast recovery!
SAUNAS
The sauna has been a post-gym classic for many years, but has often been dismissed as gym lore by the younger generations. However, the sauna may actually have some potent recovery properties. In a study conducted with two 15-minute sauna sessions at 100°C (212°F) dry heat separated by a 30-minute cooling period, results indicated a five-fold increase in growth hormone!1,2 Human growth hormone (HGH) occurs naturally in the body and contributes to the repair and regeneration of bone, muscle, tendons and ligaments. Try sitting in a sauna after your next big workout to recover faster!
TESTOSTERONE
It’s no secret that testosterone has many important effects for athletes. Your body makes testosterone for muscle growth, strength gains, boosts in training performance and recovery. It is very important to maximize your body’s natural production of testosterone in order to be able to recover from intense training. When your body endures highly strenuous training, it tends to produce high levels of the hormone cortisol, which negatively affects your testosterone levels. To maintain your body’s natural production of testosterone, make sure you are eating a diet full of healthy fats, like coconut oil, and fats from healthy animal meat, like organic, grass-fed beef and wild-caught salmon. Another way to support the production of testosterone is to take a product such as Six Star® Testosterone Booster. Six Star Testosterone Booster is formulated with a precise dose of the mineral boron, which is shown in human clinical research to increase active (free) testosterone in just 7 days. Keep your testosterone up to ensure you are recovering properly!
Six Star® Testosterone Booster delivers a key ingredient shown to amplify your body’s natural testosterone production within the normal range.
- Hannuksela & Ellahham, 2001. Benefits and Risks of Sauna Bathing. The American Journal of Medicine. 110: 118-126.
- Kukkonen-Harjula et al., 1989. Haemodynamic and Hormonal Responses to Heat Exposure in a Finnish Sauna Bath. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. 58: 543-550.
