Sore? – Kick It!

SORE??? – Kick It! 

Kettlebell kickboxing class can get you sore in all the RIGHT places.

Most commonly girls tell me  ‘ I couldn’t walk for a whole day’ or ‘My boss asked me what i did last night!? I looked so funny walking down the stairs…’ . The truth of the matter is lactic acid is a bi-product of our hard work, and as it builds up no kettlebell kickboxer is safe from soreness. We train very hard in class- and we get the job done! Often feeling it a day or two after the workout. Now, while ‘feeling it’ is good – it might not ‘feel’ so good when you are trying to get dressed and stroll out the door. Please take several things into perspective so that you can get over your SORE and get on with your day:

1. MOVEladies get it moving… laying or sitting around doesn’t help. the more you more, the better the muscles will feel and recover.

2. CONSISTENCY if you train once very two weeks you WILL get SUPER SORE all over again! Especially from the total body classes that KB offers. Instead make a routine and LIVE by it like you do your favorite shows, your nights out and your nail appointments. The sooner you get with a schedule, the sooner your body will recognize the motions and create changes in the body (inside and out) with out immobilizing you for a full day:

3. Anti-Inflamitory foodsI wrote an entire article on it for Blackbelt magazine… So read on about the NO-no’s and Must-eats Post training.

Reduce muscle inflammation and help aid your recovery!
Dasha’s favorite recovery foods include : Salmon, onions, peppers, lots of water and…                                                                                Recent research tested levels of inflammation with specific ‘recovery food’. In the end, the positive data prompted a nutritional readjustment for many high performance sports.

Sports Science Research Studies: Immediately After Training grab a bottle of organic tart-cherry juice and- drink up.  The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents found in cherries have recently been shown to help aid recovery in muscles damaged after training. In some studies tart-cherry extract facilitated recovery better then Aspirin, helping muscles significantly reduce inflammation in time for the next days training session.

Recovery Meals: The ideal recovery dinner should have a healthy serving of Omega 3’s which are one of the best anti-inflammatory agents you can find. Pick grilled salmon post training and get a much needed dose of both Omegas and the protein to help rebuild strong muscles.

Add a backed potato with the meal and get your dose of energy restoring carbohydrates, which are essential to recovery and performance.  Lastly try to include a salad, in which you can add key recovery ingredients like raw baby spinach, red bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and a little canola oil. Each one of these are at the top of the rehabilitation food chain.  The vegetables and canola oil have all been linked to reducing inflammation and aiding a faster recovery. If you are not a fish person, fear not, Omega 3 rich foods are not only in the seafood isles of your grocery store.  Every dairy isle now carries Omega 3 fortified eggs . mix the eggs with chopped red bell peepers, onions, turkey breast, spinach and tomatoes and be ready to hit the training floor the next day in optimal shape.  As an added bonus look for Cabot’s brand 50% reduced fat Omega-3 cheddar cheese and melt it in for flavor and nutrition.

On your hardest training days stay away from read meat, which is associated with inflammation, instead aim for fish, plenty of which  (like tuna or halibut) can be cooked to resemble a nice steak. If the sea is not your thing, stick to white meats, poultry and omega 3 rich eggs. From the produce isle: bell peeper, onions, spinach and tomatoes, are some of the best foods to help restore muscles. In a more general observation of nutritional studies, most fruits and vegetables, especially the colorful ones, have been shown to fight inflammation. On the other hand, diets high in sugar, refined flour and fried foods increase inflammation, so stay out of the candy isle. Kettlebell Kikcboxers must understand that poor quality food will keep the muscles sore and your training and progress will suffer. The increase in inflammation will also inhibit the body from making the much-needed physiological repairs and gains you so painstakingly worked for on the training floor.