6 Great Ways To Relax Your Muscles

When I first began to workout, the biggest criticism I got was that I always felt tense, even long after I had worked out.  Like… days after. 

That wouldn’t be such a bad thing if I wore a wife beater 24/7.  However, I am no robot.  Neither should you be. 

Variety is a good thing, and too much of any one thing can be bad for you.  You should never do anything full-time ALL of the time! 

I know you’ve all suffered or still suffer from being too tense like I was, so the question still remains…

What is the best way to relax your muscles? 

There are many ways to relax your mind and body from all that pumping of iron, and I’ve stumbled upon this topic before .  But these are what I consider the best ways to relax. 

REALLY relax! 

In order of enjoyment and pleasure

#1 The Thai Body To Body Massage

The Thai body to body message is… well… fun, entertaining, pleasing and probably one of the best ways to ‘really’ relax.  Now, this is no ordinary run of the mill type of massage as you can see from the title.  And you’ll probably have to get a seal of approval from your girlfriend (Good luck!). 

Why? 

Because it involves ‘another’ girl rubbing her entire body all over yours.  And that is the key trigger for true relaxation in this scenario.  I mean… the massage itself is good.  But it’s the whole environment and anticipation of this massage that will relax your mind, long before it happens. 

Shaun, can’t you show me a real life example? 

Of course I can, we are in the heart of the internet where broadband speeds allow us to watch ‘video’

I don’t yet have a solution for you lady readers as yet.  Maybe one you fabulous readers can suggest something for the 46% of lady readers here.  In the meantime, I’ll be on the search.  I have my sources 🙂

#2 Hanging Upside Down

This is actually something that I do after every workout, and I find that it helps me completely slow down after an intense workout.  It really does make that journey back home a relaxing one. 

All you need is a chin up bar. 

You simply lift both legs over the bar (one at a time) and let yourself hang from your knees. 

That’s it! 

Sure, you might look a bit loopy to your fellow gym goers, but forget about what they think.  You need to be relaxing those muscles. 

If the gym staff start thinking you are loopy, then take it outside and find an outside chin up bar.  I don’t want to be the one responsible for getting you banned from your gym because they thought you have mental health issues. 

In fact, that’s another important thing to take note of! 

Make sure you only hang for 1 minute.  Any longer and you really could develop some mental health issues. 

#3 Plan Your Periods

I’m not talking about that monthly cycle either (Yea… some men actually have them too!) 

It wasn’t too long ago when I wrote the article

‘How to find your bodybuilding map and route’

And I didn’t write it just to feed your brain full of meaningless information that would be of no use to you at all for the long term.  In fact, I try to provide uber amounts of value any time that I put finger to keyboard. 

Any how, the whole point of that article was to show you how to plan your workout routines… YOUR WAY! 

Why? 

Because a routine without a plan will make you fail in the long run.  You won’t recover properly from workouts, you’ll always be tense and your body will start talking back to you in a language you don’t want to hear. 

No muscle growth for you dude/ dudet

And that same article became a key part of the white/ orange e-book you see up there on the top right >>>

Planning Periods

There are many workout programs you can take part in, in today’s world, but the same rules apply, which ever one you decide to go for…

Take your breaks! 

Like I said, you need to find your own bodybuilding map and route, as it’s your life… no one else’s. 

Take a one week break from weight training.  Say, several times a year.  Don’t worry about losing muscle mass.  There’s no way you will lose all your muscles from having a week off.  That takes about 3-4 weeks. 

The one week break is needed so that your body can fully recover.  Go on a holiday and take part in the other 5 activities listed here. 

Remember! 

The goal is to live a fun and great bodybuilding lifestyle. 

#4 Sauna and Steam Room

These are both cliché, yes.  However, I know that most of you will either have a shower at the gym or just head straight back home to shower.  Those will be the only options for many of you, as only the good gyms have proper saunas and steam rooms. 

However, you might want to think twice about completely ruling out the idea. 

Why? 

Jumping into a sauna or steam room will increase your body temperature which in turn will increase your blood circulation and equals…

A better flow of oxygen/ nutrients that will heal your muscles. 

Like I said earlier, you’ll probably only find one of these in a good gym.  If that is not a regular thing for you then do how I do and treat those sessions as a day out. 

Morning breakfast in the cafe

Chill time

11.00am – 01.00 pm workout session

Sauna/ Steam room

Then whatever afterwords.  Just make sure it’s fun. 

Pampering yourself is not a bad thing at all. 

Anyhow,

Stay in the sauna/ steam room for about 10 to 15 minutes and then perform some stretches as you exit the room, as your muscles will be very warm and flexible at this time. 

#5 Dietary Supplements

Green tea/ Magnesium

Green tea is known for it’s ability to repair the damage to your muscles, which means it’s a no brainer dietary supplement to take on the daily. 

Magnesium is another dietary supplement that you can take as it helps with the relaxation and contracting of your muscles.  You’ll find it in foods, such as brown rice, spinach, almonds, and peanuts.  All of which can be found in killer foods for fitness. 

Last but not least (Yet most boring)

Meditation

This is something that everyone should at least try to take up.  A bit hard these days as the late night hours tend to be consumed by Facebook and the like.  Meditating right before bed time is a great way to end the day on a high, which will also leave you feeling fresh and ready for the day ahead as you awake. 

Checkout this post to find out how and why meditating is a great way to relax your muscles. 

There are other ways to relax your muscles, but I consider these the best.  Just make sure you no longer live in the world of a tensed bodybuilder.  Relaxed is the way forward and a natural way of healthy living and also prevents hair loss in women.