Hydrating for Recovery
This article may not (or it may) be what you are thinking of when talking about recovery. In this instance recovery isn’t referring to a long night out on the Vegas strip (though the benefits of proper hydration should be apparent in that instance). No here the discussion regarding recovery is referring to training and competition. Hydration pertaining to recovery in athletic performance is critical. According to the folks over at Livestrong.com even the most minor drop in hydration levels within a persons body can hinder muscle growth and performance during training. Considering how lack of proper hydration can affect our mental state of mind it should come as no surprise the impact this can have on muscle growth and recovery. Its also important to recovery to start your training regimens hydrated properly. Exercising with your body already dipping into the dangerous realm of dehydration can cause even greater damage to your muscles per the folks over at greatist.com. While they recommend that drinking regular water may be enough to help prevent unnecessary damage to muscles, thus creating a longer than normal recovery time, we believe that adding Oral IV with its trace minerals and electrolytes to your hydration methods will help even more. Speaking to this from personal experience with training I found that by adding Oral IV to my post workout recovery routine I was able to minimize delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. For those unfamiliar with DOMS it is the soreness that you feel after participating in intense exercise that occurs within the following 24 – 48 hours. Anyone who has had trouble washing their hair the day after a particularly tough workout knows what this feels like. (For more information regarding DOMS click HERE for a great article from WebMD.) During training our body sweats a lot and during that process we aren’t just losing water but salt and other important minerals that are critical for proper hydration and performance. So to replenish those minerals and to help in speeding recovery, whether from intense training or a tough weekend of competing, here is an easy post-workout recovery program. Recovery Program
- Hydrate using water and a single vial of Oral IV immediately following exercise.
- Utilizing a foam roller spend 10 – 15 minutes rolling out the muscle groups on the body that were just used
- Stretch – Stretching after exercise increases range of motion. A good list of post-exercise stretches can be found at health.com HERE
- Find an Airdyne bike and do an easy 5 minutes on the Airdyne to loosen everything up.