Are you tired after an energetic training and sparring session of boxing? Of course, you would have been. In fact, it is a good sign that you feel exhausted. So, what do you do after the class, just take off your boxing gloves, shorts and get into the shower?
Well, that’s great but there are more things essentially to follow after your class for better recovery and results. It is much more than wearing expensive and fancy gears, updating your social media and barging about it with friends.
Outcomes of training do not entirely depend on training and performance in class, in fact, it greatly depends on the following things you should do afterward.
Rest and recovery
You can console yourself by thinking you could not succeed because of motivational loss, or discipline, self-control or whatever but it is not wrong to say you weren’t allowing the body to properly recover and rest. This might not apply to some but most of us know deep down that it’s true.
Stay hydrated
You already know that when you train, you sweat a lot. However, you should know that water and sodium are the major things that excrete from your body during training. Boxing training is extensive that keeps your body on fire. So, you should stay hydrated and monitor water intake during and after class.
It is suggested to drink at least 500 ml of water before your training but prefers drinking it at least an hour before your boxing class. The key is to intake small amounts of water during your training so that you don’t become thirsty and end up drinking a lot of water at once, which can negatively affect your training.
What if you’re low on water intake and you’re not even aware of it? Well, your body itself tells itself in different ways. In this regard, the color of your urine is the guide for you. Ideally, it has to be very clear which depicts you’re having the correct amount of water intake.
However, if it's yellowish, it’s a signal that you need to increase your water intake. When you can see the boxing mitts and pads wet it tells you to drink water. Above all feeling thirsty is one clear indication.
Drink water with salt
You might have heard to reduce salt intake to become healthy. However, only a few people know that salt is bad when it is added to processed food. If you’re relying on whole food and organic food then the only salt in your food will be the one you are adding.
Our body needs sodium chloride that is important for effective body functioning and it is provided by salt. Moreover, as you train hard in your BJJ class, you tend to lose a lot of water and salt from your body in the form of sweat. And you know what? It is mainly sodium chloride that is excreted from the body.
Which salt to choose?
It is advisable to avoid processed food and hence also avoid regular salt. For cooking, sea salt is the best one whereas pink salt is very beneficial and it can be used by adding it to drinking water. Pink salt which is also called Himalayan salt has 84 different minerals in it which can never let you have a nutritional deficiency.
Monitor protein intake
Protein is the food for your muscles so if you want to grow and repair your body, take more protein. When you train hard, the fibers of your muscles break and they need to be repaired with protein.
So, if you’re not monitoring your protein intake and you are deficient at it, your body will not repair it and then you will be tired the next day. Therefore, lack of protein intake is never a way of a trainee. As per rule, you need to eat 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per kg of your body weight.
For example, if you weigh 70 kg then you need to take 105 to 140 grams of protein. In that amount, your body will repair and grow. So, diet matters a lot in any type of exercise and protein is mainly the core element in your diet in all types of exercises.
Sleep well
Your body needs to get repaired after a tough training session. So, what is needed for it? Yes, you guessed it correct. The answer is diet as discussed above. But is diet the only thing that is needed for your body to recover?
Rest is another major thing that can never be neglected. When you sleep, your body goes on a repairing mode and uses the nutrition from your body to aid the repairing process. Therefore, it is necessary to take at least 8 hours of deep sleep so that your body can grow and develop.
