Any change or acceleration in your daily workout can cause tiny injuries to your muscle fibres and connective tissue (check out our previous article on DOMS). To avoid further damage in the future, your muscles are designed to quickly adapt to being able to handle new activities and/ or intensity. This is what makes your muscles stronger. So while these are technically small injuries, they actually help improve your physical fitness. So what can you do to help ease the way?
1 - If you prefer going the natural route, try including ginger and turmeric into your daily nutrition as they are natural anti-inflammatories that may help minimise the pain. If you want to take a recovery supplement then try the Vega recovery powder which can be bought at front desk.
2 - Protein is well known to help muscle’s recover so always try to include some into your post workout meal. There are many ways to get protein into your diet from beans to lean meat to protein smoothies.
3 - If you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle free of pain then try incorporating stretching into your daily program. This can be done through yoga or by just executing a few simple stretches every morning or night as part of your routine.
4 - Hydration is key to life. When we are dehydrated we feel sluggish and so do our muscles. So keep your body hydrated by making sure you arrive at class ready to ride. If you are a caffeine drinker be aware that you will need to rehydrate even more, as one of the effects of caffeine on the body is dehydration. Once class is done and you have sweated out all your stresses make sure you take back in the water you have lost.
5 - Take your body for a treat and get a massage. To really reap the benefits you want to look for a deep tissue massage that will help ease out any areas that are tight from your workouts.