After the Workout...

The first 30 minutes after your workout are the most important in making your workout count! Don't rush away to get on with your day. Take the time to ensure your workout wasn't in vain. 
Cardio Cool Down! It's only common sense, but more often than not we speed through it. Even trained instructors have a tendency to sacrifice cool down in order to get 5 more minutes into their workout. Don't do it! Make sure you always take another five minutes for the cool down. Most effective cool downs consist of the same activity only slower and less intense. By simply ending your workout, you risk becoming light-headed and dizzy.

Stretch Stretch Stretch To avoid soreness, stretch after EVERY workout! Research has proven that stretching greatly reduces soreness and increases your flexibility! During my Pilates classes I stretch after each section of muscle worked. Holding the stretch for 20-30 seconds when your muscles are warmed up also helps to increase your flexibility.



Hydrate! When your sweating away your bodily fluids, it's important to hydrate and replenish them. There is a huge controversy over what is best, water vs. sports drinks and every week a new study comes out that discounts the findings of the week before. I will tell you this, water is the staph of life and has been around much longer than sports drinks. However, for athletes and a hardcore workout, the addition of sodium helps you to absorb the water and nutrients and electrolytes are in need of replenishing. Extreme conditions such as heat and excessive sweating definitely calls for more than just water so take into account your activities and your workout and drink what works best for your situation.

EAT Within 30 minutes after your Workout After a hard workout, your muscles are hungry. Eating after a workout, when your metabolism is running high, not only burns through those calories quickly, but the resources from those calories are used more efficiently AND it helps to prevent soreness. Eating before a workout is counter productive. Since your body focuses most of it's resources on digestion, when you workout, your body pulls those resources away from digestion to move oxygen through your blood, the result is your meal just sitting like a huge lump in your stomach. This can cause you to be sluggish and even nauseated.

Remember, working out is your time. Make the most of your time and give yourself the time after the workout that you deserve!
Namiste.