Most people end their running fitness regimen the moment they slow their feet to a crawl and let their pulse get back to normal. However, this discounts the importance of establishing a routine following a workout. When you run, you’re asking a lot of your body, and when you make a sudden switch between activity and inactivity, you undercut your body’s ability to heal from the intense pressure you’ve just put on it.
A new report takes a look at those things that can be done in the wake of a run to encourage health. It’s important that runners take the advice into consideration, as ignoring the steps could contribute to injuries and a lack of desire to engage in such a workout in the future.
First, don’t underestimate the importance of a cool-down period. Just like you stretch to get your muscles ready and initiate a light jog before you actually work out, so too do you need to bring your body back down from its high. Rather than falling to a seated position after your run, keep your feet moving. Walk around, and when you’ve got your breath back, do a light jog for a minute or two.
When that’s complete, make sure that you take the time to stretch out those muscles that you just worked out. This will make them feel much better the rest of the day and onto the next day. Ten minutes is a good benchmark to strive for. Once you’ve stretched for this amount of time, you can consider your workout to be well and truly complete. However, it doesn’t necessarily mark an end to what you need to do to aid recovery.
Your workout is ultimately only going to be as good as those activities you take part in throughout the rest of your waking life. Not only should you embark upon a healthy diet that allows your body to receive the nutrients it needs to keep you running for years to come, but you have to have the right eating schedule in place. A long run is necessarily going to work up your appetite, and it’s not only okay to satisfy this hunger, it’s wise to do so. Hunger at such times is basically your body telling you that it needs fuel in order to meet the demands you’ve just placed upon it. When you eat healthy at these times, your body’s ability to heal improves dramatically.
The amount of water you drink also plays a critical role in overall health. You’re not doing yourself any favors by refraining from drinking water during a workout. Even those workouts designed to get an individual to sweat as much as possible need to be supplemented with plenty of water intake. When your body gets water, it’s capable of conducting all those other tasks you’re asking of it.
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