Practice Makes Perfect

I took a new gym class on Monday. It was the hardest workout I've ever done. The hour-long class is called Practice. It's an advanced workout "for the athlete in you." I knew I was in trouble when I broke out in a full body sweat during the first 10 minutes, which the instructor Eric VonFrohlich said was just the warm up. I crawled home that night, exhausted. I thought I would take it easy on Tuesday by stretching out the kinks.

It's now Wednesday and I still can't walk. My legs feel like logs and they are screaming. I was hoping when I woke up this morning they would magically be better. But as I took my first steps, my legs were loud and clear about how sore they really are.

This is why I'm sore. The class included:

Squats

Lunges

Tricep dips

Push-ups

All at super high voltage.

I usually like the pain from a new workout. After all, I'm using muscles that I haven't used in a while or I'm using them in a different way. In this case, one part of the class involved speed squats until your butt hit the step about a foot off the ground for 20 seconds, eight times, with 10 second breaks. Another move was attempting to sit down on the step with one leg slightly raised and then getting back up again.

I'm going to take it easy today. This doesn't mean I'm not going to be working out. I still can do light exercises for my lower body and my upper body and abs can certainly be worked on.

So what can you do to make sure you can recover faster?

What you eat after a workout matters as much as stretching. No matter if you're a morning, lunchtime or evening person, the most important part to remember when eating is to combine protein, to help your muscles recover, and carbohydrates, which replenishes your energy. For the best results, you should eat within an hour of exercising, when your muscles are most receptive. In addition, it's really important to drink plenty of water. And if you feel the need, pop a couple of ibuprofen and soak in a hot tub with epsom salts.