You might have got your workout routine down to a tee, but how much thought have you put into what you do afterwards? Believe it or not, your post workout routine is essential to achieve optimum fitness and can hinder your progress if you get it wrong, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
So, what should you be avoiding post workout?
Sleep is vital for physical and psychological repair, so it is essential to get enough sleep. If you are tired you will not be getting the best out of your workouts and you are more likely to make poor food choices. You should aim for at least 8 hours of sleep per night for optimum performance.
Dehydration will only contribute to fatigue post-workout so make sure you are drinking plenty of water before, during and after your workout, being sure to fully rehydrate when you are finished.
Ideally you should be eating within half an hour of finishing a workout, but it’s easy to forget especially if you are rushing off somewhere afterwards. Make sure you have some healthy snacks with you for if you are on the go, these will keep you going until you can have a full meal.
It might be tempting to skip the cool down stage of your workout, but this will cause more harm than good. Taking five minutes to stretch and cool down allows your body to transition back to rest smoothly.
Most people dramatically overestimate how many calories are burned during a workout and binging on all the wrong foods will only undo all your hard work. Get out of the mindset that you can ‘earn’ calories and stick to healthy food and moderate portion sizes.
Keep track of your workouts and progress made with reaching your health and fitness goals. Being able to look back on where you started and your journey so far is not only great motivation but will help you to set new goals going forward.
