Whether you’re talking to someone about your fitness plan or reading exercise articles, there is usually plenty of advice about what you should do.
What’s often glossed over are the things you should avoid doing after a workout to ensure you don’t sabotage your results.
Skip a cooldown
Sure, it may only be five or 10 minutes, but a cooldown is just as important as your workout — for the physical and mental benefits.
Stretching, using foam rollers or walking on a treadmill enables muscles to recover faster and helps decrease aches and pains so you’re ready for your next workout.
A cooldown is also a time to lower your heart rate, clear your mind and refocus on the rest of the day.
Put away the water bottle
Even if you tried to drink a lot of water during your workout, don’t stop after you finish.
Chances are you sweated and your body needs to replenish those fluids, especially if you’ve hit the bathroom after your workout. The key is to drink water at a steady pace in the hours after your workout.
Staying hydrated helps with muscle recovery, makes you feel fuller and clears toxins out of your body.
Check your phone
Don’t finish your workout and immediately check your cellphone to see if you missed a call, text or email.
By focusing on what you’re missing with your workout, you could build up negative associations, and that’s not good for motivation.
Give yourself time after you’re done to sit quietly and deal with anything that may have come up during your workout.
Analyze your workout
Don’t spend time and energy picking apart the exercises you’ve just completed.
You’re not always going to have done the best lift, ran as fast as you wanted to or get through all your exercises. But guess what? You still completed a workout and you need to be proud of that.
You accomplished something so find the good in what you achieved. There’s always another opportunity to make adjustments so don’t focus on the negative.
Sit back and relax
Just because you crushed a good workout doesn’t mean you should just sit around for the rest of the day.
Try to consciously do some movement, whether that’s walking around the office on your breaks, doing your work at a standing desk or combining TV time at home with stretches. It’s also a good idea to focus on breathing properly and maintaining good posture.
Eat whatever you want
Everyone’s appetite is different, and you do need to eat something after a workout. The key is not picking up a burger and fries on your way home from the gym because you think your workout makes up for those extra calories.
Sensible choices such as fruit, vegetables or lean protein offer nutrients to help fuel your body and prepare it for the next workout.
Downplay getting a good night’s sleep
We all know it’s important to get quality sleep, but that’s especially true on the days you exercise.
Wherever you are on the sleep scale (we should all aim for seven to nine hours a night), deliberately plan your nightly routine. Limit screen time before you head to bed and ensure your bedroom is dark and cool.
Sleep helps with muscle recovery and prepares you mentally and physically for the next day. Proper sleep can also impact eating patterns.
Forget your manners
In the midst of a workout, or after it’s finished, it’s easy to forget to clean up after yourself. That means putting away the equipment you’ve used, unracking the weights and wiping down the machine or mat.
Yes, these actions are common courtesy to other gym members and necessary in today's climate, but there’s more to it.
Doing these routine things is about having discipline, which is part of reaching your fitness goals.
Maximizing results
When you leave the gym, your body has a higher metabolism. It’s still burning calories more efficiently and you want to continue to get results for as a long as possible.
Avoiding these eight actions can improve your results — physically and mentally — and make sure you’re in the best condition to hit the gym multiple times a week.