Your workout ends when recovery begins—not when you leave the gym. Working out and reaping its benefits doesn’t merely constitute following a routine to the T. In fact, any workout routine is useless if you don’t follow it up with proper post-workout drills.

Contrary to popular belief, your workout shouldn’t end with your last rep. Ideally, it should end when your body has properly recovered.

Here are five simple post-workout drills that can help ease soreness and speed up muscle repair, and lower the risk of injury, keeping you ready for your next workout session.

Low-impact exercises

One of the best ways to maximize your recovery process is to focus on low-impact, active recovery drills. These include:

• Yoga
• Stretching
• Walking or jogging
• Foam rolling
• Cycling
• Swimming

Stay hydrated

Proper hydration might be one of the most overlooked aspects of training and recovery. Not many people know that dehydration can heavily impact the ability of your muscles to self-repair.

Ensure that you drink at least 1.5 litres of water for every kilogram lost during exercise. You can also opt for energy drinks or cherry juice to avoid muscle soreness, muscle damage, and inflammation.

Proper lifestyle

Leading a proper lifestyle is just as important as training consistently with proper form. One of the best things you can do for your body is to get adequate sleep. While some professional athletes require up to 10 or more hours of sleep every night, you don’t need to go to that extreme.

Instead, strive for at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. Muscle repair happens during rest, not during the workout. Recovery time correlates with performance gains.

As per Healthline, some of the other changes you can add to boost post-workout recovery include:

• Massages
• Compression garments
• Sauna and cold plunges

Take your supplements

While you don’t need to load up on every type of supplement in the market, a few can be quite beneficial to your recovery process. These include-

• Omega-3 fatty acids: help reduce inflammation and muscle soreness
• Magnesium – supports nerve function and aids recovery
• Electrolytes – reduce muscle cramps
• Collagen peptides – support ligament, joint, and tendon health

Eat the right foods

This may be one of the most talked-about post-workout recovery drills, but protein is essential to support recovery and muscle growth. Ensure that you take at least 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight throughout the day.

You can also opt for pre-workout proteins in the form of supplements or protein powders. Also, strive to eat properly balanced meals throughout the week to help your muscles recover well.

Which of these post-workout recovery methods do you already follow? Are you thinking about adding any of them to your routine?

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Written by

Avantika Das

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil