Muscle recovery after training after 40

6 Tips for Faster Post-Workout Recovery

Whether you're trying to gain muscle, increase strength, or lose weight, you need to take care of yourself 24 hours a day. This is not an exaggeration. Of course, an hour or two of training is serious, but it only sets an incentive for growth. What you do the rest of the time will determine whether you can achieve your goals.

The recovery process that occurs outside the gym is primarily related to nutrition. It's probably your diet that has the greatest effect on your fitness. But the recovery process does not end there. There are a lot of subtleties and nuances.

What is the importance of muscle recovery after exercise?

During training, many biochemical processes occur. Muscle fibers are injured and glycogen is consumed. The response to stress most often manifests itself in pain after exercise. Of course, you can leave the gym and spend the rest of the day as if no training had ever happened. But the essence of proper recovery is to get the maximum benefit and reduce all the negative consequences of muscle microtrauma.

According to A. Barnett's 2006 study on recovery between workouts in advanced athletes, neglecting recovery will leave you unable to train properly and perform the required amount of work the next time you go to the gym. Fatigue can lead to injury. Moreover, full recovery is necessary to achieve optimal athletic performance.

Unfortunately, recovery is a purely individual matter.
Factors like age, genetics, training style and experience are extremely important. A 25-year-old professional bodybuilder and a 50-something rookie woman will recover differently. However, the following 6 tips will help almost anyone recover as efficiently as possible. Useful article: 15 techniques for effective training to gain muscle mass

Recovery stages

Correct muscle recovery after strength training is just as important as maintaining proper technique during exercise. It's like ABC for a first grader. Without knowing it, you will not learn to read and write.

Do you know how long it takes for muscles to recover after exercise? Individually, long and step by step.

The recovery process can be divided into 4 phases:

1. Fast recovery.
2. Slow motion.
3. Supercompensation.
4. Deferred.

Fast recovery

Rapid recovery ends approximately half an hour after training. The body, in a panic, uses up all the remaining substances in its reserve to return to normal. And all because during training he significantly depleted his reserves.

At this moment, it is important for him to find a source of glucose in order to quickly restore energy reserves. Also at this stage minerals are required.

Therefore, get used to drinking mineral water during and after training. Preferably without gas. There are also special isotonic drinks, however, their cost is slightly higher. Simple purified water will not be as effective. It will only allow you to restore fluid balance.

Slow recovery

Once the original balance of nutrients and minerals is restored, the body's systems begin to work to repair damaged cells and tissues. After all, strength training involves microtrauma of muscle fibers. Protein synthesis starts. At this point, it is important that you get enough amino acids from your food (which is why it is important to take 25-30 grams of purified protein). This phase lasts for several days after exercise.

Super compensation

The most important stage of recovery in terms of achieving training results. It starts 2-3 days after training. The most powerful supercompensation occurs after training to failure, when you work with maximum weights.

The body tries to get ahead of you (what if you give an even greater load?), and in advance provides excessive growth of muscle fibers. At this stage, the body also intensively consumes amino acids and carbohydrates in order to build the required amount of muscle, as well as store energy for progressive exercise.

Remember that the next training session should be carried out at this stage. Otherwise, you will not make progress, since after supercompensation there is a rollback to the original state.

Thus, at the end of this recovery phase, your body becomes stronger and is able to withstand a heavier load. Progress from strength training is based on this. In bodybuilding, to get into the supercompensation phase, so-called cycling or periodization is used.

Delayed recovery

Occurs after supercompensation if you miss a workout. This is why it is important to maintain a strict schedule. One missed workout can greatly slow down your progress; you will be stuck in place.

The essence of the stage is that the body’s systems restore their usual state, characteristic of a lifestyle without a gym or sports. It's as if you didn't study at all. Of course, you won’t get to this point with one pass, but a month or two is quite sufficient time.

Consume BCAAs and carbohydrates during exercise

Drinking plain water between sets is essential for proper hydration and body temperature regulation. But adding carbohydrates or amino acids to your water will also improve your energy and well-being.

“Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for your muscles,” says nutritionist Paul Salter. – The harder and more intense you train, the more fuel your body requires in the form of carbohydrates. This is especially true for sports like powerlifting and bodybuilding, where short periods of time under tension are expected.”

But getting energy during exercise is just the beginning. “Carbohydrates have an anti-catabolic function. They minimize muscle breakdown,” Salter writes. – If consumed during training, they will reduce overall muscle damage from exertion. They have a positive effect on recovery time because fewer muscle cells are injured.”

To get maximum benefits, consume the “right” carbohydrates. Fast carbohydrates like glucose, dextrose or carbohydrate sports nutrition products are suitable for us. It is also important to consider the duration of the workout and the amount of carbohydrates consumed so as not to overload the gastrointestinal tract.

Carbohydrate intake during exercise

Carbohydrates are great on their own, but when paired with branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), they become even better. Carbohydrates and BCAAs are designed to reduce muscle breakdown and cortisol levels, which is not the case with plain water. In addition, taking them before or during exercise will reduce post-workout pain.

Second phase: slow recovery

In order to enable the body to begin the repair process, after restoration of metabolism, amino acids and enzymes are synthesized due to rapid metabolism. During the second phase, a novice athlete needs to take the necessary substances in food:

• Fast-acting protein - it stimulates the production of anabolic hormones and also provides the body with a large amount of amino acids. Its presence in the body suppresses the production of catabolism. It is better to take it half an hour after training in an amount of no more than 30 grams. If a person takes any amino acids, then it is advisable to take such protein immediately after the end of the workout;
• Carbohydrates in the form of flour products, maltodextrin, porridge and potatoes, such products are recommended to be consumed in quantities of 60 to 100 grams half an hour after the end of the workout. If a person has problems with excess weight, he needs to take complex carbohydrates, but not more than 30 grams;
• To maintain normal rehydration in the body, it is advisable to drink as much mineral water as possible;
• At this moment, you need a good and sound sleep;
• When a person uses various anabolic steroids, it is advisable to take oral drugs during this phase.

Massage roller after workout

Massage is wonderful. But often there is not enough money or time for it, and not many studies have confirmed its benefits for recovery. This does not mean that you should refuse a massage if you like it. For example, R. M. Tiidus in his work “Alternative treatment of muscle microtraumas” recommends massage after training. You can simply resort to a more affordable option, for example, self-massage using a roller.

Over the past few years, research has been conducted on the benefits of myofascial release. A 2015 Canadian study (“Rolling for muscle fatigue and recovery from dynamic exercise”) found that using a foam roller reduced post-workout soreness. The subjects performed self-massage on a roller immediately after training, 24 and 48 hours later.

Someone might think that a massage roller can be replaced with a regular stretch. But that's not true. The 2011 study by R.D. Herbert and M. de Norona, “Stretching as a Way to Prevent Muscle Soreness after Exercise,” found that stretching was ineffective in promoting recovery.

If after training you don’t have the energy and time to massage with a roller, try this: use the roller after each approach in the last exercise. You will get all the benefits without stretching your time in the gym.

What foods relax muscles

Not only muscle restoration is essential. It is important to eat foods that help relax muscle tissue:

We recommend reading: Cinnamon: beneficial properties and contraindications

• fruits characterized by a high glycemic index;
• starchy vegetables containing unique antioxidants;
• sauerkraut, canned ginger, cinnamon, turmeric;
• honey, which is a storehouse of beneficial nutrients.

Important! It is not recommended to drink coffee, cocoa or strong tea for at least 4 hours after an intense workout. This will prevent the production of cortisol.

Infrared sauna for recovery

Muscle recovery is faster in an infrared sauna.
Infrared saunas increase body temperature. In one study, subjects experienced reduced post-exercise muscle soreness by regularly going to the sauna. The infrared sauna is a favorite method for relieving tension among American football players.

“Infrared saunas relax tired muscles and joints, which is necessary for people involved in strength sports,” say researchers F. Oosterveld and B. Westhuis in the scientific article “Infrared saunas and health; physiological effects of hyperthermia." “Because infrared saunas increase body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and sweating, you need to be adequately hydrated.”

Do not confuse infrared therapy with a regular sauna, steam bath or jacuzzi. After a good workout, your body temperature is already elevated. Saunaing after exercise will lead to dehydration, cramping, and in some cases, hyperthermia. For this reason, infrared saunas are not recommended immediately after exercise.

An infrared sauna is available in many spas. If you're actively training and preparing for a competition, an infrared sauna is a good way to reward yourself for your efforts in the gym.

Consume More Protein Post-Workout

Most people add about 20 grams of protein powder to their carbs in their post-workout shake. But scientists advise doubling this amount for better protein synthesis and recovery (L. S. McNaughton, “Response of Muscle Protein Synthesis After Fatigue of All Muscle Groups to 40 and 20 Grams of Whey Protein”).

Research has shown that protein synthesis increased by 20% in those who consumed 40 grams of protein. In addition, the improvement in protein synthesis did not even depend on the percentage of body fat in the test subject.

What causes muscle loss after 50?

According to statistics, sarcopenia affects about 10% of all people over 50 years of age. If left unchecked, this disease can lead to a significant deterioration in your quality of life, not to mention changing your physique for the worse.

Scientists have concluded that sarcopenia occurs as a result of a lack of balance between two signals to muscle cells - a signal for cell growth and a signal for destruction. In a healthy young person, the number of signals for growth and destruction of muscle cells is almost the same.

The process by which muscle cells grow is called “anabolism,” and the process by which they break down is called “catabolism.” Both of these processes usually occur simultaneously, thus maintaining a dynamic balance of cells in the body. First, muscle cells are destroyed, then restored - as simple as shelling pears.

But once a man crosses the threshold of his 30th birthday, things get a little more complicated...

As men age, they develop resistance to anabolic growth signals and the scales tip toward catabolism, which we now know is the cause of muscle tissue degradation.

In short, a person begins to lose more muscle tissue than his body is able to build. Over time, this process leads to a noticeable reduction in total muscle mass - sarcopenia.

As men age, they develop resistance to anabolic signals that cause cell growth

Increase your sleep time

Lack of sleep is a nightmare for your form. Brazilian scientists M. Dattilo and J. Antunes have proven that lack of sleep and poor quality of sleep can increase weight (“Sleep and muscle recovery: endocrinological and molecular basis for a new hypothesis,” 2011). This happens mainly due to increased hunger and appetite. Poor sleep also impairs muscle recovery and protein synthesis by increasing catabolic hormones and decreasing anabolic hormones such as testosterone and insulin-like growth factor.

It is important not only the amount of night sleep (7-9 hours), but also its quality. To get the most out of your sleep, follow these tips:

• Keep the room temperature cool. Rooms without air conditioning that are located on the sunny side will heat up more in the summer and take longer to cool down. Use fans and cover windows.
• Use blackout curtains, especially in summer when the sun rises early in the morning.
• If noise outside the window or from neighbors prevents you from falling asleep, turn on a recording of nature sounds - they will help you relax.
• Don't forget about the phenomenon of sleep apnea syndrome (sudden cessation of breathing during sleep). This is a common occurrence among bodybuilders and athletes involved in strength sports.

Standard methods of muscle recovery

Standard methods of muscle recovery include sleep and nutrition.

Much attention should be paid to getting a good night's sleep. The duration of night sleep should be 8-10 hours. It is during night sleep that 70% of anabolic hormones are released.

First of all, it is testosterone and growth hormone (somatotropin). Hormones that are responsible for muscle growth, increased strength and fat burning.

Scientists have found that people with poor night sleep are 30% more likely to be obese. And all due to disruption of the natural rhythms of hormone release.

The second classic recovery factor is nutrition. You remember that muscle tissue is “destroyed” during training. For the process of compensation and then supercompensation (muscle growth) to occur, building material is needed.

To restore muscles, you need everything - proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals.

Therefore, nutrition should be complete, varied and balanced. So that your body can receive the full amount of material for building muscles.

Particular attention is paid to protein consumption. The norm is 2 grams per 1 kg of body weight. Protein should come from animal products - meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products.

Do light cardio for a healthy heart

This is great advice that many people neglect. After your main workout, you should do some gentle cardio. Its length may vary. At the end of the workout, the heart rate (hereinafter referred to as HR) should not exceed the norm by more than 10–20 beats. The study showed that such aerobic exercise will help remove metabolic waste products (lactate, ammonium and hydrogen ions) that arise after anaerobic exercise. As a result, you will recover much faster for the next workout, say T. Bompa and S. Bucicelli in their work “Periodization of the training process in sports.”

First you need to find out your normal heart rate. You can measure it every day in the morning for several days, and then calculate the arithmetic average.

When you have finished your workout, measure your blood pressure and heart rate. Do 2 minutes of low-intensity cardio for every 10 beats above your normal heart rate. It is recommended to use an elliptical if you have done upper training before, and an exercise bike if you have done leg training before. If you did cardio before, use any exercise machine you like.

So, if your post-workout heart rate is 135 beats per minute, and your normal is 65, then the difference between them is 70. This means that you need to do cardio for 14 minutes.

After all this, we go to the shower and begin to actively recover. After some time, we return to the hall and repeat again and again.

How to recover after a workout at the gym

— Finish your workout with stretching to remove waste products from your muscles

- Take BCAA and glutamine immediately after training to prevent catabolism

- Consume easily digestible proteins and carbohydrates within an hour after training

- Do not eat fatty foods after training - this will impair the absorption of proteins and carbohydrates

— Restore your hydration by drinking 700 ml of water for every pound lost

— Take a nap after training and maintain a general sleep schedule

And remember, the main indicator of a full recovery should be increased strength in the next workout.

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