A Guide to Workout Recovery: BCAAs, Protein, Fluids, and CBD
Working out doesn’t just involve what you do at the gym. In fact, what you do outside of the gym has just as much of an impact on your muscle mass and overall health as your actual workout routine. If you put a lot of time into developing the perfect gym routine, you should also put that much time into your pre-workout and post-workout routines. Although you might want to customize this routine to your own liking, there are some solid guidelines that you can use to make sure you’re completely ready to hit the gym tomorrow.
BCAAs
Branched-Chain Amino Acids, or BCAAs for short, are becoming more and more prominent in the workout community, leading to more people starting to use them both before and after working out. Essentially, BCAAs are three of the 20 amino acids, meaning they’re incredibly important to your physical and mental wellbeing. Even more importantly, however, they’re used by your muscles during exercise, which lowers the level of BCAAs in your blood. When you add BCAAs to your workout recovery regimen, you’re recovering those amino acids.
BCAAs are three of the nine essential amino acids, which means, as opposed to the other 11 amino acids, your body can’t make them. You have to make sure you replace them with something, even if it’s not a concentrated supplement, or you risk unbalancing your amino acids. By supplementing those BCAAs, you’ll reduce muscle soreness and post-workout fatigue, and you may also build muscle mass more quickly.
Protein
Even if you’re using a supplement with BCAAs, it’s still important to pump even more protein into your diet. The best way to do that is to actually change your diet. Foods rich in protein, such as eggs, yogurt, and red meat, are some of the best foods that you can eat, especially on high-intensity workout days. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you may want to try protein supplements. Supplements can even be helpful for the average athlete if a change in diet isn’t feasible.
Remember, especially in the case of high-intensity workouts, that you need to refuel very quickly. You should shoot to eat a protein-rich meal within 60 minutes after the end of your workout. That way, your muscles can get to work rebuilding as soon as possible, reducing muscle soreness and making you fit for a workout the next day.
Fluids
Of course, you know that fluids are important. However, it’s equally important to remember that you need to be hydrating the entire time you’re exercising, and that you need to go in already hydrated. Remember to take along a bottle of water when you go to the gym, but drink water before you leave the house as well.
You may hear some people decrying sports drinks because they have a large amount of sugar in them. It’s true that water is the best fluid for rehydrating, and you should try to stick to it as much as possible, but sugar is a quick-burning carbohydrate that can actually boost your performance. Try not to rely on sports drinks too much, but if they’re the best way for you to remember to stay hydrated, it’s better than not drinking fluids at all.
CBD
The fitness community has been buzzing over CBD recently, and with good reason. Many CBD studies are currently underway, studying its effects on fitness, stress, and anxiousness, among other things. The good news is, when you use CBD for your fitness life, it can also have a positive effect on your general life.
With CBD, you can reduce pre-workout jitters, because it’s great at promoting a sense of calm. It also allows you to stay relaxed throughout your workout, making it less likely that you’ll hurt yourself or get too anxious to continue. You can also take a CBD bath with essential oils to help you relax after a workout session. With CBD gummies, getting CBD before a workout is easy and simple.
Workout Recovery Is Easier Than You Might Think
Sure, everyone is going to run into some bumps in the road. You might end up pushing yourself too hard and having to take an extra rest day, or having to back off after accidentally planning for too much. However, by following these tips, you can get back on board more quickly every time. Use Charlotte’s Web to get high-quality CBD gummies that you can take before every workout to be more calm and composed.