Nail your recovery and reap the rewards!
BY STEVE BORN
Even after nearly 25 years of employment at Hammer Nutrition, I remain convinced that proper recovery after every workout is the most important component of athletic success. If you don’t nail your recovery after each and every training session, as well as build a rest day or two into your weekly regimen, you will never realize the full benefits of your training.
To get the most out of the time, money, and energy you spend in your workout sessions, you must resupply your body with fuel right away once a training session is over. It’s easy to boost your fitness and enhance your exercise performance by simply taking a few moments—right away after your workout’s done—to put some high-quality carbohydrates and protein back in your body. When you do that, here’s what your body does to handsomely reward you for all the work you did in the training session:
- Your muscle cells will be restocked with fuel so that you will have it on board ready to serve you in the next day’s workout. In fact, the more consistently you train AND resupply the body with fuel, the more your body will respond by storing additional minutes of fuel in the muscles. (This is a real bonus when you toe the line at future races.)
- Your muscle tissue will have the raw materials (amino acids) needed to become stronger, which will allow you to increase your training volume and intensity without your muscles taking as much of a beating.
- The amount of soreness you experience from one workout until the next will be greatly diminished.
- Your immune system will be stronger, reducing the possibility of missing training days due to being sick.
All these tremendous benefits can be yours! And it’s so easy! Train wisely and replenish right away! Simple! But remember that what you put in your body for post-exercise replenishment determines the quality of your recovery. The adage “garbage in, garbage out” definitely applies to post-exercise fuel replenishment. You cannot hope to improve your athletic performance or support optimal health if you indiscriminately chow down on junk, especially foods or fuels containing refined sugar. That’s just not going to cut it if you hope to get the full value of all the time and energy you put into your training.
What your body wants and needs is Recoverite or Organic Vegan Recoverite. They’ll give your body the necessary complex carbohydrates and protein it’s craving, as well as other important nutrients that will help it recover quicker and more completely.
Recoverite contains complex carbs (maltodextrin) and whey protein isolate (the most bioavailable protein) in an ideal 3:1 ratio, 3 grams of glutamine, a full-spectrum electrolyte profile, and key nutrients such as L-carnosine for recovery and immune system support.
Organic Vegan Recoverite contains the same ingredients in the same amounts as the original Recoverite formula, with the exception that organic pea protein is the protein source. Organic pea protein is an easily digested, gluten-free protein with an excellent amino acid profile, including branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which are three recovery-enhancing amino acids.
Five additional tips to enhance recovery
1) Take Essential Mg and Chromemate with your Recoverite/Organic Vegan Recoveritge. Working together, these two minerals help optimize insulin function for maximizing glycogen synthesis and storage capabilities.
2) Take Boron with your Recoverite/Organic Vegan Recoverite. Of its numerous benefits, this trace mineral is key for helping restore exercise-depleted hormone levels to normal.
3) After a tough workout, your body is begging for nutrient support; it needs vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Premium Insurance Caps will take care of resupplying the vitamins and minerals (some antioxidants as well), and Hammer Nutrition’s arsenal of potent antioxidant supplements—especially Super Antioxidant and AO Booster—will supply wide-ranging protection against the damaging effects of free radicals.
4) Tissue Rejuvenator and/or Vegan Tissue Rejuvenator (many athletes use a combination of both) are superb for supporting joint/tendon/cartilage health, while concurrently alleviating both muscle and joint soreness.
5) Use Hammer CBD. Research continues to reveal bountiful benefits provided by the wide range of cannabinoids and terpenes found in the hemp plant. Topically applied Hammer CBD Balm will be especially beneficial for those particularly achy muscles and joints. Hammer CBD softgels or tinctures will also help alleviate soreness and aches, while promoting many other aspects of optimal recovery. Perhaps its greatest benefit is that it enhances sleep quality and duration, both of which are essential for maximizing recovery from exercise and for optimal overall health.
Summary
What we do in training is definitely important, no question about it, but if we neglect to take the proper steps for recovery, we will never get the full value out of the time and energy spent in our workouts. Remember, the gains we make in our training occur during recovery, but only in the presence of adequate rest and optimal nutritional support. If we don't attend to that, we not only miss out on the benefits of our workouts, but we can also create more problems for ourselves such as getting sick or injured.
Don’t let that happen to you, especially now when your training volume and intensity are at high levels. Feed your body what it wants and needs after all your training sessions—Recoverite or Organic Vegan Recoverite—and reap the bountiful rewards that await!
