Have a beer with friends after exercising? Sounds too good! It is also tempting to treat yourself to something tasty after training, after all, you’ve just burned a lot of calories. Or you just sink on the couch after a strenuous workout!
Does that sound familiar to you?
Perhaps you are wondering why you cannot find any great training successes, although you always stay on the ball. It could be because you are paying too little attention to post-workout time. Especially then you can make some mistakes – often even more so than during training!
But what exactly should you do after exercising and what should you actually do without? We have listed dont’s for you that people like to do, but which you should definitely avoid.
1. No cool-down
You have just trained for two hours and no longer feel like an annoying cool-down? Not a good idea! Because warming up and cooling down should be the alpha and omega of every workout. Not only does the warm-up reduce the risk of injury, but the warm-up or cool-down is also essential for effective and safe training!
Stretching after a workout is important to get your pulse and heart rate down again and to slowly bring the body to rest. In addition, stretching exercises loosen the muscles and thus prevent injuries or the risk of sore muscles or even strains.
However, you should rather avoid stretching after intensive strength training: The resulting microtraumas could potentially be enlarged and thus delay the healing process.
2. No or wrong eating
A good workout demands a lot from the body and burns a lot of calories. Refraining from eating after training, hinders the necessary supply of nutrients and minerals and thus slows down the regeneration of your body.
On the other hand, a sweaty workout is also not a free ticket to regain those lost calories with a greasy pizza or a giant piece of chocolate cake. Please don’t!
Fat and / or Sweet are absolute training killers. Everything that you have done your body good will be immediately wiped out. After training your body needs vitamins and, above all, enough protein so that you feel long-term success.
Anyone who has done strength training should definitely eat something protein . Muscles need protein to grow. All those who have mainly taken care of their endurance should also use protein, but don’t forget carbohydrates in order to replenish their energy reserves.
3. No time to shower
Especially in Corona times, when showers and sanitary facilities may only be used partially, you should definitely not neglect showering after your workout!
Sweat on the skin causes bacteria to form faster. It’s not just unsanitary. Poor personal hygiene can also cause pores to become clogged. Impurities can arise.
The same also applies to women who wear make-up during exercise.
It is not enough just to change your clothes after exercising.
With a relaxing shower after your workout you are not only doing your muscles a favor, but also your fellow human beings! Otherwise you won’t make friends despite social distancing
4. No sauna
Do you love to relax in the sauna right after a hard workout? In the meantime it is possible again in some places if the safety precautions are observed.
Nevertheless, you should really rethink this ritual.
Studies have shown that more infectious diseases could be observed after intense exposure. This is due to the so-called “open window phenomenon”, i.e. the time window in which the immune system is briefly weakened after intensive training.
This risk of infection can be increased by further irritation of the body. Experts therefore advise giving your body a few hours of rest before going to the sauna.
5. Insufficient sleep
If you train hard, you push your body to its limits and should allow it regular breaks to regenerate. Numerous repair and building mechanisms take place during sleep, newly learned movement patterns that have been learned during sport are anchored.
You can learn more interesting facts about sleep in our expert interview with sleep specialist Dr. Read about Krapf.
So after training is before training. For resounding success, it is not only the action that counts, but also the right regeneration. With our tips, everything will certainly go smoothly after the training. Have fun!
