Avoid processed foods and refined sugars
If you do not use refined sugars, soft drinks, pep drinks and classic (chemical) sports nutrition, you will recover much faster anyway. You limit the load on your body before, during and after exercise. The recovery process requires time and energy from your body and this process is slowed down when consuming processed food.
Supplement your reserves sufficiently with, among other things, protein
It is important that in addition to a quality source of carbohydrates (it is best not to consume refined sugars), you also eat a sufficient amount of protein. An intensive athlete must eat his own weight x 1.2 to 1.4 grams of protein. For example: in case you weigh 76 kg, you should eat 91 to 106 g of protein per day. That's a lot and fortunately you can easily reach that number by supplementing your diet with a protein shake and/or bar.
“What helps me a lot for a good recovery is not eating and snacking after my last meal of the day." Dirk Baelus
Daily routine
"The most important thing for me in my daily routine during loaded training periods and after heavy competitions is not to eat or snack after my last meal, says Dirk Baelus. This speeds up the recovery. Don't eat your last meal too late, preferably before 7 p.m. (but this is not always possible if you exercise in the evening). Otherwise you are inclined to continue eating until late in the evening. Don't do that. It is too stressful for your body, your digestive system and it is also not good for your hormonal system. This causes you to produce less melatonin (antioxidant), growth hormone and testosterone... which you desperately need to recover.
If you give your body rest, it can also deacidify/detoxify better. This is necessary because due to heavy exercise you have a lot of waste products in your body that are burdensome for your liver. Make sure that you eat enough calories during the day. If you exercised late in the evening, I would eat something light or a protein shake with cereal milk, unless it was a light and short workout."
Practice stretching and yoga
Stretching and yoga aid recovery. Be sure to massage yourself with a foam roller. To keep the body moving is also the most recommended after a 'big race. After a few days of complete rest, it is good to start with light recovery training. This means short and very slow workouts that stimulate the blood circulation in the muscles. Not easy for most, because it is only effective if you do it slowly.
Eat varied and fresh
Prepare your own meals with fresh vegetables. Choose organic vegetables. They are full of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants (more than non-organic food) that your body desperately needs to eliminate the deficiencies caused by the load.
