There are a LOT of running, biking and triathlon races happening around the country this time of year so I thought this would be a good time to discuss race recovery and what to suggest for quick recovery after a challenging physical endeavor!
Share these ideas with your racing clients….their stiff and sore muscles will thank you!
Prevention
The best way to treat extreme muscle soreness is to prevent it in the first place. So if you are super stiff, you may not have put in enough training to manage the effort effectively. Next event, consult with a coach to assure your training protocol sufficiently prepares you for the race.
Cold treatment, elevation and anti-inflammatories
We experience stiffness due to the body’s inflammation response. If you’ve done a little too much, your body will send blood flow and nutrients to the affected area to help heal the tissues. The problem is typically the body overcompensates and you get too much fluid in the area causing pressure and pain. So whatever you can do to decrease the inflammation response will help with the amount of associated pain. Ice or cold treatment will constrict the blood vessels slowing down blood flow to the area and therefore decreasing the inflammation response. Some athletes will sit in an ice bath or cold river, or hose down their affected muscles with cold water or just use ice packs. Elevating the affected areas will also decrease the blood flow and the inflammation response. While others will use ibuprofen or a topical anti-inflammatory like Traumeel or Arnica. Don’t overdo it though! We still want to assure adequate blood flow to aid the healing process.
Don’t forget to sign up to automatically receive my newest blog posts….right up here!
Move that body
The last thing you want to do when you are really sore is workout. But if you sit around, you actually get stiffer. So it’s better to get moving and help flush some of those fluids out of the tissues. Just make it easy like a gentle walk or bike ride and that should do the trick!
Massage
Book an appointment with a therapist that can do some reflexology, acupressure or cupping techniques to help release some of the tissues. I’m a firm believer in the importance of body work such as massage as well as daily foam rolling if you are extremely active. It’s the support your body needs to be able to continue doing what you want for years and years!
Proper nutrition & hydration
Be sure to drink lots of water, eat tons of fruits and vegetables and lean protein sources to adequately fuel the healing process!
Congratulations on your accomplishment! Crossing the finish line definitely changes you!
Yours in health, fitness & business,
Sherri McMillan
Looking for more business oriented info? Check out these two marketing blog posts!
Careful and Consistent Marketing For Fitness Professionals
Fit Pro Marketing Rule: Don’t Sell The Braces
SAVE $125 ON THE FITNESS RESULTS MANUAL TODAY!!!
Our Fitness Results Manual is the main resource tool we use to generate an extra $20k in revenue each year with our annual weight loss challenge. We also use it for corporate wellness programs, as a selling feature when talking with a potential new member and so much more! Don’t want to put the time and effort into writing this resource yourself? Get the licensing rights to use The Fitness Results Manual that I created. It helps us bring in about $20k in extra revenues for us each year. Automatically get $125 off through the end of July.Don’t hesitate. This is the last time this manual will be on sale this year!
