In order to see progress in your exercise plan, recovery is essential to reducing the risk of fatigue.
Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, the founder of The Turmeric Co., explains the benefits of adopting quality, naturally source nutrition post-workout.
It’s commonly understood that a balanced diet is key to a healthy lifestyle. As more of us are setting new and personal fitness goals, it is also a challenge to know when and what to eat to get the best results from our exercise regime.
As ever, quality nutrition plays a fundamental role in reducing the risk of fatigue and ensuring that we are ready and raring to go again the next time we pull on our trainers.
Yet, many of us still fall into the same old pitfalls when it comes to what’s good for us.
Workout recovery is a complex discussion. While the way we train is unique to everyone, restoring energy and muscle is essential to seeing those personal gains – and the types of foods we consumer can help achieve them.
For many of us, outdoor activities have come naturally in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and, as we attempt to stay mentally and physically healthy, exercise has helped many of us stay grounded during these unprecedented and trying times.
It means that, whether you are an avid gym-goer, training for a marathon, or just at the beginning of your fitness journey, we are now actively putting more strain on our bodies than we might normally be used to.
What this also means is that understanding how our bodies recover from exercise is just as important to sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
Calorie intake forms a strategic part of every exercise plan – but don’t be fooled into thinking that sugary supplements and extra egg whites will suffice.
There are several misconceptions about sports recovery. This includes, for example, the emphasis we place on sports drinks to replenish sugars and electrolytes used up during exercise, whereas a clean, iron-based, and vitamin-rich diet will give you all that you need and more.
Whereas many sports supplements you’ll find in-store are high in sugar and don’t necessarily provide sufficient electrolytes to replenish your energy reserves, finding a product like The Turmeric Co., which draws on raw, natural ingredients, in my opinion, gives your body the nutrients it needs for optimal recovery, as part of a balanced diet.
Even though it’s important that we refuel properly post-workout, there are good and bad ways of going about this. Drawing on healthy sustenance within half-an-hour of finishing exercise is ideal for giving your body the fuel it needs to accelerate the recovery process.
What’s more, there are natural ingredients that have been proven to boost your recovery without the need for processed supplements or high-protein energy drinks. You can easily find what you need in naturally sourced wholefoods.
While protein is essential to the growth and repair within the body, and natural carbohydrates are also helpful to alleviating sore muscles and building stamina, other foods such as turmeric, beetroot, tomatoes, berries, and fatty fish are also good for reducing inflammation in your muscle and joints.
Among the common causes, a poor night’s sleep can inhibit heightened levels of inflammation in your body, so it is therefore strongly advised that you also get at least seven hours of sleep a day as part of your exercise plan and is going to give you the best chance of feeling energised the next day and to complete an active recovery.
In order to get the best night’s sleep, there are of course the obvious habits to avoid, such as caffeine and screen time before bed. Exercise will naturally help you sleep a lot better, however, it won’t come as much of a surprise that excessive exercise can cause those unwanted muscle aches when you wake up and, once again, relates back to when and what you eat post-workout.
In addition to those natural foods, by incorporating raw turmeric into their diets, our clients have demonstrated less fatigue and soreness the day after exercise, with positive results emerging within a matter of weeks.
This is yet another example of why nutrition is essential to your body’s recovery post-workout – whatever you do to stay fit and healthy.
Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu is founder of The Turmeric Co. which partners with professional sports teams, NGBs and elite athletes to enhance their recovery and holistic health with its naturally produced shots. www.theturmeric.co