Accelerate Recovery

How to Accelerate Muscle Recovery

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
It is essential to accelerate muscle recovery for a number of reasons. In order to get back into your fitness routine, incorporating a few healing techniques for sore muscles is essential. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or just starting a fitness routine, giving the muscle time to repair itself is imperative to muscle recovery, which can affect your ability to exercise or train on a regular basis. No matter what your fitness level, you'll be able to get back on track with your exercise routine by following these tips.

Steps

1. Start the day right, by having an egg white omelet in the morning. Egg whites have a solid amount of lean protein, which helps repair muscles and tissue within the muscles.
2. Eat low-fat peanut butter and celery sticks for a snack. The low fat peanut butter makes you feel satiated so you eat less the entire day.
3. Grab a low fat chicken fajita or a can of tuna in spring water for lunch. Eat this with whole grain crackers and low fat cheese; both have plenty of protein.
4. Prepare any type of beans you prefer for dinner. Soybeans, kidney beans, pinto beans and black beans are all great choices of lean proteins. Sprinkle with olives, salsa, and low-fat sour cream to add even more flavor.

Take a Rest to Restore Muscles

1. Allow your muscles enough time to recover from a strenuous workout, especially if you just started a fitness routine. Failing to take a well-needed rest for a day or two can result in muscle tears, which will make muscle recovery time even longer and may result in an ongoing injury.
2. Apply cold and hot compresses to sore, achy muscles. The heat works to alleviate pain, while the cold temperature helps to reduce swelling and inflammation of the muscles.
3. Exercise parts of the body that are not sore. For instance, if you did lunges and squats and it hurts to sit down, exercise your arms instead. Perform various bicep and tricep exercises with weights, to tighten and tone the muscles in the arms.

Stretch the Muscles Thoroughly

1. Stretch the muscles that are sore. For instance, if your legs become increasingly sore after exercise, make sure you stretch these muscles thoroughly.
2. Hold each stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds. Start out with shallow stretches and gradually increase the deepness of the stretch on each repetition.
3. Repeat this same stretching exercise on the other leg. Do 3 sets of 5 repetitions on each leg. Failure to stretch muscles after an intense workout leads to sore muscles and increases the likeliness of pulled muscles.

Tips

• While you may not experience muscle soreness immediately after a workout, you may notice it a day or two later. Scientists believe that this swelling and stiffness is caused by biochemical changes within the body, which increase nerve sensitivity and leads to sore muscles.

Warnings

• When stretching it is important only to go as far as what is comfortable for you. As soon as you begin to feel any form of discomfort, stop and take it back to starting position. Stretching too deeply can result in torn ligaments. Use slow and controlled movements to prevent this from occurring.

Related wikiHows

• How to Recover from Workout Soreness

Sources and Citations

• http://www.3fatchicks.com/4-ways-to-accelerate-muscle-recovery/

Related wikiHows

• How To Make Sore Muscles Feel Good

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Accelerate Muscle Recovery. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Relax muscles

How to Make Sore Muscles Feel Good

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Muscles can often feel sore after exercise or other strenuous activity. Use these simple tips to alleviate common muscle soreness. Put pillows in needed areas

Steps

1. Rest. This is the very best thing you can do for soreness. Try not to use the muscle in a strenuous fashion for 24-48 hours after exercise, especially if the soreness is due to a weight lifting routine.
2. Stretching. This will also help to get the lactic acid out of your muscles. Waiting a few hours after a strenuous workout before stretching is not the best. Stretch after activity that caused the soreness to prevent becoming stiff.
3. Heat. After the first day of soreness, heat can be used to help blood flow to the muscle. This will help rebuilding take place and provide some soothing relief.
4. Proper diet. If your muscles are sore from intense activities such as weightlifting, your muscles are rebuilding themselves and need lots of protein. Aim to take in 1 gram of protein per day for every pound of lean body mass you have. For example, a 160lb. man at 20% body fat would want to take in approximately 130 grams of protein per day. This will speed up recovery times considerably, as well as prevent muscle loss from poor nutrition. Take Protein 15 to 30 minutes after workout. Drink lots of water
5. Take a shower. Allow warm water to hit the muscles, relaxing them.

Tips

• An excellent source of protein would be fat-free chocolate milk, which can assist in muscle protein repair and replenish glycogen stores faster than most energy drinks after a long workout[1]. It also provides sugar for your body which normal milk does not. The ideal carbohydrate:protein ratio for both energy replenishing and muscle recovery is 4:1.
• Saran Wrap. If you need to be moving around (cooking, cleaning, etc.) while using ice, saran wrap can help secure ice onto a muscle while you move.
• 5 gallon bucket. For soreness of the arms (like from baseball practice) a 5 gallon bucket filled with ice water will allow you to ice the whole arm at one time.
• Sour cherry juice can also help your muscles feel better. Sour cherry juice is filled with antioxidants to help your working muscles during or after physical exercise. Sour cherry juice can be found at most health food stores.
• Adding baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) to your bathwater is a home remedy that is very effective. Add 2-4 heaped tablespoons of soda to a full bathtub and stir a little to dissolve. Enjoy your bath. You should feel some relief immediately after you finish your bath.
• Stretch while taking a shower. Use water which is slightly hotter than what you are used to. This increases blood flow around the muscle fibers with micro-tears.
• If you do end up getting stiff from working out or some other physical activity where you have forgotten to stretch afterwards, massaging the stiff area will relieve you from the pain for a while. Then stretch and find another place of the muscle it hurts and massage there until the pain goes away.
• If you are massaging a sore muscle, don't focus on the middle of the sore muscle. Focus more on the connections at each end. This will help the muscle to relax more quickly. If the muscles are along the back and neck, see a massage therapist. These areas are dangerous to massage without proper training.
• You may want to consider a massage or sauna.
• Some people believe that taking a shower with cold water for a few minutes, then with hot water for a few minutes, then finish with a cold shower again may relieve sore muscles.

Warnings

• Sustained icing of sore muscles is not very effective. It is generally recommended to ice for 15-20 minutes, taking the ice off for the same 15-20 minutes, and repeating as desired. The reason for this is that icing for longer than the 15-20 minutes will not cool the muscle any more than it already is. Also, if iced for too long, the icing period can lead to frostbite, damage of the soft tissue, or skin damage.
• Joint pain is a serious problem and can result in sustained, critical injury. Try not to confuse muscle pain and joint pain. If the pain does not go away after a few days rest and the other procedures prescribed here, it may be wise to contact a physician.
• Stretching both before and after exercise is important to avoid injuries, however it must be done properly. Consult a personal trainer at your local gym for tips on proper stretching.
• Be careful if you plan to immerse a whole arm as indicated above with the 5-gallon-bucket method. This may result in a rapid loss of body warmth and may affect your circulation. Do NOT do this if you have blood pressure or heart problems. Even if you are completely healthy, proceed slowly by dipping your arm in bit by bit, starting at the fingertips, especially if it is a hot day. It may be even better to make something resembling a Popsicle from regular water and wiping the arm with it (again, starting at the fingers), then drying immediately and massaging (moving from the hand towards the body). Be gentle to avoid causing pain or over-agitating the muscles.

Things You'll Need

• Ice
• Plastic Bags
• Heating Pad
• Saran Wrap (optional)
• 5 gallon bucket (optional)
• Protein-rich foods or protein powders

Related wikiHows

• How to Heal a Sore Arm
• How to Do a Lower Back Stretch Safely
• How to Improve Your Posture
• How to Mobilize Your Spine
• How to Treat a Trigger Finger

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=About_ACSM&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=14752

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Sore Muscles Feel Good. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Also check out this for more info -----> http://60c6c9t707hiao20v5yep7-y2o.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=MUSCLE

How to Gain Muscle Fast

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Most people that lift are looking to add as much size as possible, while staying as lean as possible. This guide on how to gain muscle shows you exactly that, in 5 easy steps. With the following tips and suggestions, both should be accomplished faster than ever before. Make sure to take in everything and give it a chance. There are many different strategies when it comes to building mass, but the following are some of the best.

Steps

1. Use proper form - To develop precise technique, do every rep with good form. Beginners, strive to keep the rep target inside your strength capabilities. Find the right groove for each exercise. Don't train to failure when you're just starting out.
2. Develop the mind-muscle connection - Research confirms that tuning in to the mind-muscle connection can optimize your results in the gym. Visualize your target muscle growing as you complete every rep. Remember, it's not the amount of weight on the bar that's important; it's the effect of that weight on the muscle that leads to increases in the size and power you're after. This has a lot to do with how your thinking and what you’re focused on. Instead of focusing on your day, or the blonde next to you, strive to get into a muscle-building mindset to help increase gains.
3. Start Basic - Most workouts for your major body parts should start with basic, multi-joint exercises that allow you to lift more weight overall, such as the bench press for chest, overhead press for delts, barbell row for back and squat for legs. This will allow you to lift heavier on these exercises, while you're still fresh and have enough energy to better stimulate muscle growth.
4. Get the Tunes Cranking - Listening to your favorite music while you train can make a world of difference in your strength, research continues to confirm. Use a portable MP3 player and make sure your play list is stacked with plenty of music that gets you pumped up for your workout. Heavy metal works wonders for those intense back days. You can check out our workout playlists for some ideas on some new music.
5. Utilize Forced Reps - Forced reps are a way to extend a set and maintain intensity beyond failure. When you reach initial failure in a set, have your training partner give you just enough assistance to help you through 2-3 more reps. By prolonging the set past the normal point of failure, you optimize the stress placed on the muscle fibers and therefore overload the targeted muscles. Attempt forced reps during only your last set of a particular exercise, since they’ll completely burn you out. Research confirms that forced reps lead to greater GH levels and enhance fat loss.

Tips

• Nutrition is by far the biggest factor, and more important than the actual workout you complete in the gym. Look below to find some example meals that are best for building muscle. You'll want moderate carbs and high protein in almost every meal.
• Example Meals:
• Chicken, Brown Rice, Green Veggie, Water
• Steak, Brown Rice, Green Veggie, Water
• Fish (Tuna, Tilapia, Salmon), Brown Rice, Green Veggie, Water

Warnings

• Always use a friend to spot you on the more difficult lifts like bench pressing. This move is high risk, and plus it always helps to have some support to hit a few more reps.
• Water is vital in any sport, but especially in weightlifting. If you're taking supplements and eating more, your body is using up more water to help digestion. Drinking up to a gallon a day of water is very important.

Things You'll Need

• Motivation
• The Proper Research
• A Gym to Go To
• A Buddy to Workout With
• A proper diet routine.
• Free Weights
• Supportive people around you
• An iPod with a play list of music to get your blood pumping
• Tracking software

Related wikiHows

• How to Gain Weight
• How to Get Stronger Muscles when You Are Currently Weak
• How to Build Muscle
• How to Eat to Gain Muscle
• How to Gain Muscle

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Gain Muscle Fast. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.