Nothing derails a workout like sore muscles, a sprain or plain exhaustion. Overuse of anything leads to failure, not progress. So when you've overdone it, normally you need to rest. But there's a huge difference between rest and coming to a complete stop. And "complete stop" usually means an extended time away from training/exercise and you quickly find yourself losing any progress you had made.
So what do you do? Instead of having to stop for weeks due to severe injury, take care to prep and recovery correctly so you can get back to your workout/training and not lose valuable progression.
Take the time before your workout to think about what your body and skin needs to be effective and safe. Are you exercising outside? Are you in a chlorinated pool? Is the air cold and dry?
We're going to assume you have the necessary equipment and proper layers so let's focus on the "background" things to remember to protect your skin and prevent any issues after training.
We are also going to discuss winter workouts and how they need special attention to the skin and how winter can injury muscles easier.
Winter air is typically drier and much colder which means it wants to pull moisture from your skin and also freeze delicate facial skin.
Importance of PREP
Before heading outside, make sure to apply a thicker barrier balm to exposed skin. A barrier balm does just what you think it does. It "protects" the skin from the extreme cold temperatures and wind chill. Think specific vitamin-infused balm for the face that contains natural ingredients for absorption pre and post outside time. Let our Carrot Avocado Balm which is full of Beta Carotene that soaks in while you work out PLUS protects your delicate skin without Petroleum or anything you don't want! (Hint: apply to the tops of your hands and they will be so soft and moisturized post workout!)
Of course you can't go out without protecting your lips. The skin of the lips is actually very thin and most people apply any-ol-balm to their lips and wonder why they are more chapped after applying? Most mass produced lip balms contain petroleum and other ingredients that "sit" on the top of the skin instead of truly absorbing and protecting the skin. Our favorite Mint Tea Tree Lip Balm is Petroleum free, camphor free, gluten free and soy free. Now lets talk about what it does have! Natural Beeswax to protect, Tea Tree to help already damaged/dry lips and a little sweet so it's not too overpowering.
Importance of RECOVERY
Post workout there's 2 main things to think about: 1) Replenish the body with lost fluids/eat protein to promote muscle building 2) Recovery of muscles to ease any soreness
During exercise, muscles break down and is the most common workout complaint. Note that actual injury like sprains, or tendon injury is serious and needs medical attention. Let's discuss muscle "soreness" here.
Don't discount foam roller time before and after to release muscle tension. But a largely ignored way to relieve muscles is with a Mineral Soak at the end of the day before muscle soreness sets in.
Our 2-Step Recovery plan is to use our Ginger + Mustard Recovery Soak to impart Magnesium and release toxin buildup in the muscles before that soreness even starts. So many people (especially as we age) forget to release those toxins first with a roller, then with a muscle soak that's specific to your muscle needs. We created our Ginger Recovery Soak just for this purpose of release and replenish. Taking that time at the end of the day is perfect time to set you up for the next day AND to make sure that muscles have what they need to do their job! You want to release toxins ( acid buildup) and then you want the muscles to absorb the minerals (magnesium) that will help to reduce soreness. You are helping the muscles along in recovering faster and better!
Our Ginger Soak was originally created for a large Las Vegas spa for those that had a little "too" much fun in Vegas. That Soak would be featured in the Wall Street Journal and has continued to be the go-to Recovery Soak for athletes all over the world!
Now what about "really sore" muscles? Or maybe a previous injury that needs a little extra attention? Our Post Workout Balm is it! Our Post Workout Balm, just like our Carrot Balm and Lip balms do NOT contain any petroleum but only natural ingredients to provide heat and cold to sore spots. Applying our Post Workout Balm after your Recovery Soak or anytime will help circulation to that area to help the body focus on that spot and feel better.
Following these Pre and Post workout Steps will have you better equipped to focus on your training instead of thinking about sore skin or having sore muscles that derail your workouts.
Taking a little time to understand what your skin and body needs before and after workouts will have you ready for your next workout stronger than before.