What’s next after a long and satisfying walk?
The body starts to recover by doing some repairs to the “damaged” or worked muscles.
It’s not the exercise that trims and strengthens you; it’s the recovery process that does this.
This surprising fact was discovered by scientific research.
This reason makes it doubly important to know what you have to do after exercising to get the best results.
What Makes Walking Work?
Walking is probably the least popular among the physical activities recommended for weight loss and health benefits.
Yet, it is the simplest and the most convenient exercise for everyone regardless of age and gender.
There are several health reasons to take up walking. Walking will:
- Make your heart stronger
- Lower blood pressure levels
- Make you sleep better
- Ease anxiety and stress
- Give you a positive outlook
A brisk walk at least 30 minutes several times a week guarantee numerous health benefits.
It is best to start a low-intensity walking activity gradually working up to a more intense exercise such as walking uphill, faster, and longer.
Using a fitness tracker is a great way to see your progress and keep you motivated.
Walking is a great physical activity for people who want to exercise for the first time.
You can set the intensity by either walking slow or fast. Increasing the walking time and its pace becomes possible as your endurance gets better.
After Walking, What do You Have to do?
The two primary goals for taking up walking are to lose weight and gain health benefits.
What do you have to do after a long walk to realize your goals?
Here are some moves that require minimum effort to stay on track:
Keep Going
It’s not the best time to reward some downtime after a satisfying and invigorating walk.
Instead, going for low-key activities such as a conversational walk with friends or strolling around the office result in better circulation and prolong the period of muscle-sculpting.
Lactic acid is a toxic waste product produced by the muscles after a good workout. The only way to flush them out of the body is to keep going.
Staying active after an exercise does not only relieve muscle pain, it also suppresses the activities of the nervous system, resulting in better sleep.
Load Up on Water
The body’s metabolic rate definitely slows down when it is dehydrated.
Your workout investment will not pay off if you are not drinking the correct amount of water every day.
The water rule of 8 glasses a day does not stop there for experts believe that an hour’s training demands an additional 500-600 ml of water.
On the bright side, 500 ml is the water content of standard water bottles. Or You can get ones that are even larger.
This means that drinking only four of them equals the minimum water rule of 8 glasses a day.
Get the Proper Amount of Sleep Every Night
You’ve heard it before about how getting the right amount of sleep can hasten weight loss.
It actually seems like if you sleep 7-9 hours a night, you’ll never have to exercise again.
Here are some more advantages that might convince you about the importance of getting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.
Having 7-9 hours of shut-eye every night stimulates the growth hormone to repair the damaged tissues.
Lack of sleep, on the other hand, will shut down the ability of your gut to know if it’s full or not.
This means that you’ll be eating and eating without feeling full at all.
What prompts this body’s reaction to lack of sleep? The overproduction of ghrelin is what.
Your stomach produces the chemical called ghrelin when the body is tired.
Over-production of ghrelin encourages your body to crave for sugar as an energy jolt to keep you awake.
Leptin, the hormone that tells the brain to stop demanding for food because the body’s full will be relegated to the sides due to fatigue.
In a nutshell, not getting enough shut-eye will definitely delay your weight loss goals, try as you might.
Have a Nice Massage
Having a massage is seen as a luxurious indulgence.
Research has found that having a massage right after a strenuous workout increases the recovery strength of the body as much as 60%.
The immediate recovery of the body after having a massage is due to the boost of blood circulation to the inflamed tissues caused by the workout.
The best time to have a post-workout massage is when the body has sufficiently cooled down.
You don’t have to go to a spa to have a light massage because home rubdowns offer the same health benefits.
Doing a light massage on days of workout and a couple of minutes before going to sleep is the optimum way to gain health benefits.
When it is a DIY massage, remember to apply smooth and long strokes over the affected muscles.
A massage ball or foam roller is the ideal tool to use as a way to reach all the aching spots of the body.
Refuel After Workout
Muscle repair and losing weight are likely to happen when you replenish nutrients after a workout.
It has been found by sports scientists that eating after an exercise program results in less stomach fat. How does this happen?
The stress hormone known as Cortisol is released during exercise. That hormone is there to give you an extra boost of adrenaline to finish your workout to the end.
However, Cortisol will still be there after you cool down and the longer it dominates the body, the deleterious effects it causes.
This means that instead of burning off fat, the body is encouraged by this hormone to store it in the gut area.
A good way to counter the effects of Cortisol is to eat protein 30 minutes after an exercise program.
A protein bar, a hard-boiled egg or a cup of light café mocha provides the perfect antidote to Cortisol.
Also, you can plan a relaxing visit to a sauna or a similar wellness venue.
A research study has discovered that protein (like the milk in the coffee) taken with carbs (chocolate) showed a boost of energy production as much as 66% in the muscles.
Eating carbs alone will not give the same benefits as the combination of protein and carbs.
Conclusion
The above-stated tips and guidelines do not only apply to the walking exercise but to all physical activities as well.
Taking them by heart guarantees realization of health and weight goals regardless of the activity and the time spent on the workout.
