Best Recovery Tips After a Swim
, by Sandesh Prasannakumar, 5 min reading time
Swimming is one of the most efficient forms of full-body exercise, and it also helps with developing stamina and does not put much stress on bones and joints. But it has to be said that even the most used swimmer may feel muscles sore or stiff and have general tiredness after churning through the water.
The key to avoiding feelings of weakness and sluggishness after a swim is to have a good plan to rest properly. Rest is not a luxury but a necessity for your body's recovery. Looking after your body after swimming enables you to swim in better health, free from any injuries or sickness, and get your muscles ready and charged up for your next swimming episode.
Here are the top scientifically-supported tips for optimal restoration after a swimming session.
Drinking Water and Electrolyte Drinks
Heat transfer in the human body causes sweating and respiration in water and air, resulting in loss of body fluids. Lack of water intake and the resulting shortage may negatively affect performance and overall disposition. To replace the excess water lost through sweating, you should take mineral water or other electrolyte products, such as coconut water or sports drinks, immediately after stepping out of the pool. Sodium and potassium are two minerals that must be replenished through external intake since the body eliminates them through sweat.
Eat an Energy-Boosting Snack or a Healthy Meal
Swimming is an aerobic exercise that requires More calories; therefore, one has to take food after a workout, especially for the muscles that have been worked out. Protein intake is sought to rebuild damaged muscle tissue, while carbohydrates replenish glycogen reserves after swimming. For instance, chocolate milk, Greek yoghurt with berries, eggs and toast, or peanut butter and banana toast are best suited for restorative eating.
Stretch Out Your Muscles
Swimming also involves some force of resistance from water besides the kicking, pulling, and rotating motion; this may lead to micro-trauma and inflammation of muscle fibres. Make sure to stretch parts of your body, such as the back, shoulders, neck, hips and legs, after a pool session. This stretches short or contracted muscles, promotes better circulation, and brings nutrients to aching muscles. Do a 30-second bow pose each.
Perform a Low-Intensity Exercise
As a result of stopping such vigorous activity, blood collects in certain body regions while the muscles are tight. Earlier, get out of a swim using less intense activities that still help lower the heart rate, for instance, walking or easy cycling for approximately 5-10 minutes. Other options include gentle yoga or stretching exercises. This allows the heart to pump blood and oxygen to working areas as the body returns to recovery.
Prioritise Quality Sleep
Muscle repair and building occur predominantly at night, emphasising the need to rest well after swimming-induced microtrauma. As with any physically demanding workouts, ensure you get at least 7-9 hours of good sleep at night to aid recovery. Drink a cup of warm water, avoid using gadgets before going to bed, and help your body prepare for a good night’s rest.
Get a Soothing Massage
Professional Sports Massage focuses on using specific methods to improve results in post-training recovery. Other advantages that can be expected include better blood flow, relaxation of muscles, increase in flexibility, and removal of metabolic products from the muscle tissues. These areas would have been most worked on during swimming, and the massage should have concentrated on these.
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FAQs:
What should I eat right after swimming?
Swimming workout: If you have just completed your swimming session, consuming a snack or meal with a combination of protein and carbohydrates 30-60 minutes after your exercise is recommended. This assists in refilling the glycogen deposits for energy and delivering amino acids for building new muscle tissue. You could try chocolate milk, greek yoghurt with berries, eggs on toast, a peanut butter sandwich, a turkey sandwich or a veggie omelette.
If I swim, how do I know how long I need to spend on stretches?
Make sure to set aside not less than 10 minutes for a comprehensive stretching exercise affecting all the major muscles in the body immediately after one gets out of the water. To be more specific, the parts of your body that would be stretched include the back, shoulders, chest, arms, legs, hips, and core. As with most stretches, each of the stretches should be held for about 30 seconds, but don’t forget to breathe while stretching. Flexibility alleviates tightness and pain in muscles or tissues.
When is the right time to massage my muscles after the swimming exercise?
As for the frequency of a sports massage, it can be given right after swimming or as late as within 48 hours of the actual swimming session. It is possible to find some disagreement regarding the timing of the loss recognition. When done very soon after a workout, it aids in removing metabolic waste from muscles that are fatigued because of vigorous exercise. However, there is emerging evidence about how soon I need to get a massage to benefit most from it and reduce muscle soreness because of inflammation.
What can help with the muscles after swimming?
Some of the recommendations to minimise soreness and speed up recovery namely are a 5-10 minute low-impact aerobic exercise to bring the heart rate down, getting enough rest to allow muscle recovery, drinking fluids, wearing compression garments to enhance circulation, not training heavily the next day, and heeding to the body aches.
