You ran. Your legs are now rock hard. Sounds familiar?
Guess what?
Muscle relaxation after a run is actually the second part of the workout and as important as the running part.
I don’t mean that no one pays attention to the cool-down part after runs. In the United States, there are about 50 million runners.
Still, most of these people have no clue when it comes to cooling down.
It should never be an afterthought because without taking care of your post-run recovery properly, you are sabotaging yourself and putting yourself at risk for:
- Delayed Recovery
- Increased Muscle Soreness
- Injuries
Time to get your act together. Below, we are going to talk about muscle relaxation strategies and how to cool down after a run. And we are going to get you recovering like a pro.
In This Article, You Will Learn:
- The Science Behind Cooling Down After Running
- The 3 Best Post-Run Muscle Relaxation Methods
- How to Improve Recovery Time Without Bells and Whistles
- The Top Mistakes Runners Make During Recovery
The Science Behind Cooling Down After Running
Running is an exercise when the human body has to face the fact that we don’t have four legs but only two. No matter how good your stride is, your muscles and your feet have to take a brutal beating every time you do a run.
Microtears and damage are completely normal and even necessary for improvement but that’s where your cooling down and muscle relaxation after a running session come in.
Did you know that when you run, the muscle fibers in your legs suffer some microtears and damage?
Of course, you did. This is actually how they grow stronger but it also has its bad side, which is the delay in recovery, muscle stiffness and soreness, and injury.
When you are done with your training session, that is when you are allowing your body to heal these injuries and all of that is called muscle relaxation.
During the repair process, certain metabolic waste products are being accumulated in your tissues. The side effect of exercising.
Those are things like lactate, creatine kinase, hydrogen ions, and others. It is of extreme importance to flush them out of your system so that your muscles can recover as soon as possible.
Research shows that active recovery reduces inflammatory markers in the bloodstream while reducing the perception of soreness.
Meaning, you will feel the soreness almost never and you will heal your muscles as quickly as possible.
We can conclude this paragraph by saying that to get maximum healing results, you need to increase blood circulation to your muscles.
Your job is to make sure that blood is flowing freely and quickly to your tired and damaged tissue.
The 3 Ideal Post-Run Muscle Relaxation Methods
Do you know what is the worst thing you can do after your training session?
Nothing at all. Absolutely nothing.
The worst thing that can happen to a runner is that their body goes from a high metabolic process to none. During your cool-down period, try to move a little bit but make it easy and stress-free.
Going for a quick walk or getting on the bike or elliptical for 10-15 minutes will dramatically improve your post-run blood flow and get you feeling fresh and loose in no time.
You can also try those nifty red light therapy home devices. The ones that promise a super fast recovery time and feeling instantly revived.
The light therapy works on some pretty simple principles.
A special wavelength penetrates deep into your tissue and targets certain cells, which then begin their regeneration.
This amazing process of recovery is called photobiomodulation and it is being used in order to relax your muscles after running or other kinds of intensive exercise.
Research comparing red light therapy to traditional ice baths found that red light was superior at reducing delayed onset muscle soreness and muscle inflammation. This is also an amazingly effective technique if you plan to lose weight or have fast recovery time.
How to Improve Recovery Time Without Bells and Whistles
You are probably thinking about all those crazy high-tech tools and methods, which can accelerate your body’s natural recovery process.
Before you throw away all your hard-earned cash, there are some cheaper (not in price but in terms of your effort) and just as effective recovery techniques that don’t need any hard to find or high-tech equipment.
- Hydration & Nutrition
- Temperature Therapy
- Getting Enough Sleep
You are most probably done with drinking those protein shakes and special sports drinks that promise you to heal in a snap.
The best natural way to heal your muscles is to hydrate well. Your body naturally flushes away the no-so-good toxins from your muscles and blood vessels.
Another great recovery technique is temperature therapy or more specifically, contrast therapy. It is quite simple in its concept. You start with the warm water and finish with some cold water.
Alternating between hot and cold water temperatures will improve your circulation, relieve you from any inflammation, and have you feeling amazing in minutes.
And, of course, the best thing ever that can heal your body after running is to sleep.
Try and get at least 7-9 hours of quality sleep.
The Leading Mistakes Runners Make With Recovery
Not every runner is a fitness guru, some are literally professionals in their recovery session, but others are, well, bad at it.
Don’t sweat it, we all need someone to learn from. Here are the most common mistakes runners make when it comes to their recovery sessions:
- Skipping Recovery Altogether
- Overdoing It
- Recovery Monotony
- Neglecting Nutrition and Hydration
Bottom Line
Muscle relaxation after running is one of the most essential elements in becoming a better and faster runner.
You can be the most naturally gifted athlete in the world, but if you don’t have the mental strength and discipline to follow your recovery, you are surely going to be injured.
Trust me, some form of cooling down after your run is the very least you can do after the punishing miles.
The runners that take their recovery sessions the most seriously are the ones who never get injured and the ones who are in the front in most races.
There are tons of strategies and techniques that can help you get the best out of your body after running. The right approach is the one that combines the following:
- Active Recovery Movement
- Targeted Recovery Tools
- Nutrition
- Sleep
Pick 2-3 and start incorporating it into your cooldown sessions.
Trust me, do not overcomplicate things, start small and if you feel like you need more just mix and match until you have a full recovery session for you.
Your legs will thank you for it and you will be pumped for the next run.