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Any athlete knows that there is an immense amount of dedication, discipline, and training that goes into not only their daily fitness routine but into endurance events as well. We show up hard on event day and give it all we got. What we do after the events matters just as much and here is why.
Physical activity has been proven to show that it boosts our feel good hormones or endorphin levels. Ever heard of that “runners high”? That is a surge of endorphins that boosts our body’s ability to continue to perform and push through exhaustion. We may be familiar with the phrase “runners high” but this feel good feeling can happen during any type of physical activity.
Okay so the big race is over or you have maxed out your lifts in the gym and you are feeling unstoppable except for when you wake up the next morning and your muscles are stiff. You may feel like you have been riding on a horse for the past week. We all know that feeling, it’s painful to sit down but even more painful to stand up. We have that muscle hangover that keeps us out our routine for the next 2-3 days or sometimes even more. But why does this happen?
When our muscles are making energy anaerobically, lactic acid is in turn created. Lactic acid builds up in the muscles during exercise and they can be overloaded with it by the time your workout is done. In most situations, drinking water will naturally flush the lactic acid out of your system and allow the muscles to begin to repair or build themselves back up. There are times however where the lactic acid levels build up so much that it takes much longer and more frequent bottles of water to flush the levels out causing the muscles to feel stiff and sore.
Stretching and drinking fluids generally will speed this process up however there is only so much hydration absorption that your body can receive through drinking water.
When we are looking at the ultimate way of recovering your sore muscles it is important to consider IV hydration. With IV hydration, the fluids and electrolytes are bypassing your gut which can decrease the absorption and bioavailability and heads straight to your bloodstream to immediately replenish your body.
IV vitamin therapy or IV hydration provides a level of muscle recovery that no other modality can achieve. Within minutes your muscles may be feeling better and by the end of your infusion, you are likely going to be feeling near or at 100% again. When considering IV vitamin therapy it should be noted that IV infusions containing magnesium are of great benefit for its mineral properties that aid in fast recovery of muscles, elimination of headaches, improvement in sleep, decrease in brain fog and reduction of restless leg discomfort.
Magnesium acts naturally to block calcium which aids in muscle relaxation after contraction. Having adequate levels of magnesium can reduce muscle soreness and enhance athletic performance.
There are many other vitamins and minerals that could be added to an athletic recovery IV infusion and you should consult with your trusted IV infusion team as to which cocktails would be best for you. In the post exercise phase, you may benefit from vitamins like B-vitamins and Vitamin C and minerals such as zinc and magnesium.
While most of us focus on muscle recovery post-workout it is important to also consider our immune system and the stress that a big endurance event can cause to it. During the excitement of our workout our endorphins are high and our cortisol or stress hormones may be high as well. We are putting stress on the body, good stress but stress nonetheless.
Taking care of our immune system post race is equally as important as taking care of our muscles. The last thing we want as athletes is to be out of the gym because we are sore AND sick. We would recommend considering modalities such as IV Vitamin C, Zinc and Glutathione to prime the immune system for the spikes of cortisol and the stress our body is enduring during intense workouts.
The recovery phase of your training is as important as the building phase of your training and it should be taken with high consideration to decrease down time and enhance your overall performance and outcomes.
