Although getting time in the gym can be one of the hardest things to do with a busy schedule, there are some important things you should be doing after your WOD’s to make sure you’re getting the most out of your hour at BLF. Inspired by an article I read recently on Well+Good, here are the top five things you definitely need to be doing following your daily sweat sesh.

1. Hydrate hydrate hydrate! I know every health and wellness magazine preaches about hydrating 24/7/365, which is definitely something you should be incorporating in your daily routine. But considering how much sweat your body is producing during your WOD, you should be drinking a crazy amount of fluid during and after your workout to replenish all of the water your body has just lost. The last thing you want/need is to be dehydrated after a hard lift. It won’t do much good for the muscles you just worked out either!
2. Refuel with the right foods. Trust me, after every workout, I convince myself I deserve to have a big burger with fries since I just worked my ass off and can afford to put that food into my body. WRONG. But I wasn’t on the wrong path with the burger idea. You want to make sure you eat a good portion of protein 20-30 minutes after your workout. Whether that’s in the form of a protein shake, a protein bar, or a larger meal with a protein incorporated in to it, give your body what it really deserves following a sweaty day in the gym. I promise it will thank you later.
3. Stretch it out. Like I said before, I know just getting yourself into the gym can be a challenge with a busy schedule. But making sure you stretch and/or roll out your muscles will make the difference between not being able to walk or move your arms the next day, to feeling ready to spend another hour in the gym. Even if you need to split right after class, make time before bed, or even at your desk, to simply stretch the muscles you worked that day. You’ll feel a hell of a lot better the next day by just stretching for 5 minutes.
4. Don’t reward yourself with a lazy day in bed. If you’re lucky enough to have hit the gym early in the morning and get the rest of the day to be lazy, do not spend it all on the couch or in bed! Make sure you get up and move around every now and then to keep the lactic acid following, which will prevent tight muscles and major cramps. Even if you’re sitting at a desk all day, take your lunch break elsewhere and walk away from your desk or take a few laps around the office. You don’t want your muscles to hate you for the rest of the day, do you!?
5. Get your beauty sleep. You have a busy life. Yep, I get it. But it’s when we’re sleeping that our body has the time to recover and rebuild from whatever we threw at it that day. It’s the only way we can all get up each day and do it all over again.

It’s not that NOT doing these things will ruin any chance of building a better body for yourself, but it will really make all the work you put in on your front squats, bench press, or push-ups all worth it. Keep rockin it in the gym Lion Chasers, we love seeing you all reach new heights every day and improving in all aspects of your life at the gym.