Post-Workout "Hacks" for Better Results

This month I’m talking about simple things to do to boost health and wellness results …

And this one is surprisingly effective.

It can help “hack” the way to less stress, happier moods, less body fat, and better workout results (plus less soreness).

Here it is: Don’t skip those post-workout cool-down or stretches!

A cool-down has powerful implications for health … right down to the central nervous system and getting those stubborn pockets of body fat gone forever.

I know we’re all busy and want to jet off when our workout is over, but it’s absolutely worth taking a few extra minutes to wind down.

FREE OFFER: I take a deeper dive into the power of the cool-down in my latest ebook, The Ultimate Post-Workout & Recovery Guide.

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What gets done during a cool-down will depend on the workout, but here are some basic guidelines:

COOLDOWN PHASE #1:

→ If you just did a cardio or high-intensity workout, spend at least 15-20 minutes gradually returning your heart rate to normal by slowly reducing the intensity of your movements (walking, cycling, etc.).

This can help stop blood from pooling in your extremities, which can make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or even faint.

→ If it was a strength-training workout, hop on an exercise bike, treadmill, or elliptical for a short, moderate-intensity session to help avoid post-workout soreness. Be sure to bring your heart rate down gradually.

→ Burn off the fat that's been released into your bloodstream! Think of it this way ... you've just worked your body really hard and burned through a bunch of blood sugar and muscle glycogen ... now after 30-45 minutes your fat cells are starting to release their contents so that your body can continue to have fuel available for any further intense exercise.

You may be thinking that your workout is "finished" BUT now you have plenty of newly-released fat fuel floating around in your bloodstream that needs to be used up or else it will RE-ESTERIFY (get stored again in your body ... usually in the places where you don't want it).

The cool-down is the ESSENTIAL part of the workout that is the fat-burning part ... the first 30-45 minutes only burned off glucose and glycogen ... if you go and flop down on the couch right away, then the same stored body fat just gets released and re-stored over and over ... also known as NO RESULTS. Or even worse ... maybe even gaining more body fat because intense exercise makes a person more hungry and they end up eating more that goes into storage to join the person's re-esterified fat. A well-formulated cool-down activity is what it takes to finally burn off that pesky excess body fat forever.

COOLDOWN PHASE #2: Where more goodness happens!

After exercising, muscles are warm and pliable, which makes it a GREAT time to work on flexibility.

Stretching helps:

Prevent soreness
Improve mobility
Improve posture
Improve flexibility & range of motion
Cuts risk of injury
Increase blood flow
Relieve tension and stress
Promote relaxation

Not to mention the fact that it just plain feels good to stretch after a workout!

If you normally skip a cool-down, try it for a few weeks and see if you notice a difference ... especially in how your clothes fit and how your tape measurements are looking (you ARE using measurement tools that are NOT the scale, right??) ... you may actually find that committing to the lower intensity (but still intentional) movement in a well-formulated cool-down protocol is the actual part that most effectively burns off that excess body fat.

At Momentum Transformations, I help my clients reach and exceed their goals with strategic lifestyle protocols in the areas of:

Food,
Movement,
Sleep,
Stress, and
Change Management

that gets them a body that's FUN to live in again in the most comfortable way possible.

Let's start the conversation with a FREE Discovery Session.

Committed to your success,

REFERENCE:

www.researchgate.net/publication/274517864_Acute_Changes_in_Autonomic_Nerve_Activity_during_Passive_Static_Stretching