Joop Zoetemelk once said, "You win the tour in your bed.”
There are several ways to recover after an intensive training or competition. The recovery can be in an active way (walking or cycling on your own) or a passive way such as by absorbing the right nutrients, wearing compression stockings, rubbing the legs with cold ointment, cold water over the legs, massage and or simply rest. But the best method is Microcurrent Electro Therapy (M.E.T.).
Treat your body like a temple. Provide it with the right building blocks and plan a break every now and then. Because whether you're exercising for recreation or for performance purposes, never underestimate the importance of proper recovery!
Relaxation
The first 10 to 15 minutes after a heavy workout it is recommended to lower your heart rate by cycling or walking in a relaxed way. This will give your body the chance to cool off and your legs have time to remove the lactic acid.
Blood circulation
There are a number of ways to ensure that the blood circulation in your body returns to normal. You can lie stretched out a couch with your legs on a pillow. Because the pressure at the ankles is higher than the pressure at the level of the knee, the blood circulation (venous return to the heart) is stimulated. This is also achieved by wearing compression socks or cold water rinses (see below).
Water
After an effort you should wait until you no longer sweat and your body temperature is normal before you crawl under the shower.
During the first few minutes, spray your legs with cold water so that the blood that is present in the leg muscles flows back to the heart and the waste products can be removed more quickly. This cold water therapy would also help to relieve inflammation due to muscular overload.
Then you can proceed with a hot shower, this will make sure that your skin pores are completely open. It is recommended to end your shower with cold water so that the pores close again. A powerful jet of water that massages the skin is a nice bonus.
Note: After a heavy, long effort, a bath of about 40 degrees is even better than a shower. A bath relaxes the muscles, activates the blood circulation and calms the nerves. Make sure you don't stay in the bath for too long, otherwise you will become sluggish.
Rest
Your muscles don't get stronger during the effort, but during the recovery. That's why resting is just as important as playing sports and training too much has a counterproductive effect.
Always try to relax during the recovery period. When you are tense, you create the stress hormone cortisol, which promotes the breakdown of muscle tissue and fat storage. The absorption of proteins and carbohydrates is also reduced.
A good night's sleep is important for muscle recovery. If you have a lack of sleep, you make less growth hormone and disrupt the functioning of the hormone insulin, which transports nutrients to your muscle cells.
Nutrients
The composition of recuperation drinks always consists of a certain amount of carbohydrates and proteins. The correct composition depends on the body weight. It is ideal to take up one gram of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight, and a quarter of the number of grams of carbohydrates in the form of proteins.
The right nutrition is a very important factor during recovery. In order to produce glycogen again after exercise, you need carbohydrates. To repair and fill the cracks in your muscles, you have to make sure that you take in enough proteins. The times at which you do this should not be underestimated. Shortly after a physical effort, the body needs nutrients and will therefore absorb them more easily and efficiently.
In addition to the right nutrition, correct hydration is vital in the recovery process. During the exercise your body looses a lot of moisture. It is therefore important that you are well hydrated when you start exercising and that you replenish your fluid reserves sufficiently after exercising.
Microcurrent Electro Therapy
The technology has advantages on 4 levels:
- Increase the production of your energy molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to 500 - 800%. This energy is also used by your body in the recovery process.
- Increased cell membrane transport of essential elements, such as amino acids, proline, Ca++, Na+ and K+, needed in your physiological repair mechanisms.
- Increased protein synthesis: the building blocks of your body.
- Reduction of inflammatory cytokines that prevent optimal tissue repair and regeneration
KFH ENERGY stimulates the physiological processes for afunctional recovery at the cellular level. It has no direct stimulating effect on muscles and nerves.
KFH ENERGY is a non-invasive, active, therapeutic device designed for transient use and contains no animal products i.e. Class IIa, Type B according to Annex IX, Rule 9 of MDD 93/42 EEC
CONCLUSION:
The best recovery after a heavy workout is 10 - 15 minutes of quiet walking or cycling so that your heart rate drops back, then when you no longer sweat immediately take a shower, the first few minutes with cold water on the legs, followed by applying cold ointment to the legs and putting on compression socks. Afterwards, you can lie on the couch, bumping your legs up with a low-fat chocolate milk and undergoing Microcurrent Electro Therapy for hours, then having another good massage in the evening.
"KFH ENERGY helps me to exercise better and makes me recover faster from injuries. KFH ENERGY also makes sure that I recover 2x faster after a sport effort."