Hello,
Hope life is treating you well! I'm including my story here (for review). It's about an effective method of relaxation after a workout.
The title: How to Relax After a Workout and Remain Healthy
I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion.
Thanks for your time and have a great day,
-Karol
((( BEGIN )))
If you're an active person - meaning that you're working out at least once a week then you probably think you've got the idea of relaxing pretty much figured out, right?
I mean, how complicated can it be? You can simply sit in front of a TV and watch a game or something. But is it really the best possible type of relaxation after a workout?
Now, I'm not saying that I'm an expert in "all things working out," but I hope I can tell you a thing or two about relaxation nonetheless.
Let's start with the first thing some people tend to do, thinking that it's relaxation ... and why they're wrong.
Relaxing by doing light exercise
First of all, I'm not talking about the stretching session immediately after a workout, or the finishing treadmill run, this is still part of your workout.
I'm talking about coming home, and then deciding to go for a walk with your dog or for a quick bike ride together with a friend. Even though these (and other similar) kinds of exercise are perfect for relaxation in most cases, they are not good at all if you've just come back from the gym.
The reason for this is that you can only truly relax when you change the area of your activity. Here's what I mean.
Areas of activity
Brace yourself because the following is not strictly about working out.
No matter what we're doing, we can only operate in one of three main areas of activity: (1) physical, (2) emotional, and (3) intellectual.
Physical activities are pretty self-explanatory. They are tings like gym workouts, bike rides, jogging, and virtually anything else that gets you physically tired.
Intellectual activities are also quite easy to grasp. It's everything that involves using your brain.
I admit that "emotional" activities is not the most fortunate name, but what it actually stands for are all kinds of social gatherings, e.g. going out with your friends, watching a movie, going on a date, etc. In short, everything that involves other people and isn't physical or intellectual in nature.
Now the trick is that relaxation is only effective when we switch from one area of activity to another.
Switching areas
For instance, if you've been working out, which is clearly a physical activity, then you cannot relax by doing some other physical activities. That's why having a bike ride with your friend will not work.
However, if you switch to the intellectual or emotional area, you will be able to get good relaxation very quickly.
The main issue is that relaxation doesn't only mean relaxing your body. Your mind deserves an equal amount of time off too. Or else you won't feel motivated to keep working out next time around.
Here are some examples of intellectual and emotional activities you can relax with after a workout:
In essence, anything that doesn't strain your body in any way is a great relaxation activity after a workout.
And this actually works both ways. If you've been doing some intellectual work for more than a couple of hours, you can't relax by staying in the same area. In such a case, going to the gym is a lot better idea.
For example, when you come back home after a long day at the office, it's very difficult to truly relax by reading a book because you're still staying in the intellectual area.
The simple fact is that we can get tired by doing just about anything, and if we want to relax, we absolutely need to change the area of our activity.
However, there's one exception:
Your go-to relaxation activity
Everyone has some activity that is always relaxing no matter what state we're in.
For some people it's guitar playing, for others it's video games, for others it's getting a massage. No matter what it is for you, keep it in mind as your final trick in case everything else fails, or when you just don't feel like experimenting.
The key here, though, is to still not overdo this go-to activity. Even if you love getting a massage, getting six massages a day probably won't be very relaxing...
Finally, let me just emphasize that relaxation is not a complicated concept (and by definition I don't think it should be). You really need to remember only a couple of things:
That's exactly my approach, and it's been working perfectly for months. No matter what's the reason for me being tired, I can always relax in a relatively short time.
What's your current method of relaxation after a workout? Do you have any tricks of your own you'd like to share?
About the author: Karol K. contributes articles on dieting through modern food delivery services (you can check his website or this diettogo review). He's also a fan of healthy eating and working out on a budget (you really don't need much equipment at home). He enjoys writing occasionally for WeightLossTriumph. In his personal life, he proves that one doesn't have to struggle to be healthy.