Okay, I'm taking suggestions. I know most of the stuff out there is complete crap, and I know how many people swear by L-glutamate. I'm looking for other ideas, supplements, food, lifestyle changes (I do get enough sleep), to improve recovery and decrease soreness.


Thanks!
s

P.S. Someone please tell me how important streching is, because I do not do enough of it.

i stretch after a workout sometimes, but most times i am too lazy

Warm up and Warm down.

Warm up
10 mins light cardio
2 sets 12 reps LIGHT weights on the first excersize of the session, should be compound and target the muscle group for the session your about to have (ie squats for legs, rows for back etc etc)
1 set 3 reps heavier weights

Start normal workout.

Warm down
10 mins light cardio, rids the muscle capilarys of lactic acid.

I have started a stretching routine every night before bed, 20 mins of various different stretchs. This has been helping a lot. You must stretch for many reasons other then recovery. It will prevent injury, improve posture, improve muscle strength by allowing fuller range of motion, improve size, shape and allow you to perform better.

At large do a product which John uses, cant remember its name, is like a combination of zinc and some other stuff. Its supposed to be excellent.

Hot and cold water from a shower head on the muscles you have used helps as well. Do 30 seconds of direct hot (as hot as possible) water on the muscles, then 30 seconds on the coldest possible. Repeat for a few minutes. Gets the blood flowing again.

Have fun.

The product is called ETS and it is EXCELLENT for recovery purposes.

You can click on our link above to read more about it. Give it a try, you will be glad you did.

The idea of Microlactin (it's the patented chemical derived from hyperimmunized cow's milk) scares the crap out of me. Maybe it's all the organic, non-GMO food I eat, but it just seems a little weird....



The product is called ETS and it is EXCELLENT for recovery purposes.

You can click on our link above to read more about it. Give it a try, you will be glad you did.

I was just going to add that muscles (for me) often swell a bit when they're sore so I tend to ice them if they get really bad...if you don't have an ice pack, my advice is to simply put rice in a plastic bag and then put it in the freezer for about 3 hours...its maleable and it'll stay cold for quite a while. Also you can put rice in a cloth and heat it in the microwave for a heatpack.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=49D8C75DD7837B0B7F53A7C211 FD2EE3.hydra?id=551687

7 Secrets to Rapid Recovery
by Christian Thibaudeau

he goes into depth on these


1. Epsom salts baths

2. Restorative pulse electromyostimulation

3. Cryotherapy

4. Contrast baths/showers

5. Glycogen/protein resynthesis drinks

6. Neural restorative drinks

7. Massage

How about active recovery training with very light weight? Haven't tried it myself but it does make perfect sense.

Active recovery sessions will enhance blood flow and nutrients to the fatigued musculature and it'll expose your muscles to more frequent training sessions without overindulgence. Basically, choose an exercise that targets the muscle group you're trying to improve. You'll utilize an extremely light load (20-25% of 1RM) and perform 50 reps 2x/day or 25 reps 4x/day (evenly spaced in either case) on your off days for that particular muscle group.
-Chad Waterbury on T-nation

I stretch out of habit, but I remember an article that came out fairly recently questioning whether stretching provides a net benefit or if it is harmful...I think they concluded that stretching actually increased the incidence of injuries. However, I'm not sure how many of the injuries were caused by improper stretching...and this doesn't mean that the study is necessarily correct, either.