Biohack Your Athletic Muscle Recovery

At the beginning of my athletic career, I pushed myself through soul-crushing workouts and used my hard work to justify indulgences. Then one of my mentors forever shifted my perspective.
The main difference between great athletes and professionals is their recovery strategy Indeed, the world’s top athletes biohack their Athletic Muscle Recovery with advanced therapies and nutrients like molecular hydrogen, Brown’s Gas, bodywork, vagus nerve stimulation, hot/cold contrast therapy, and targeted supplementation. And it’s not just for sports either.Indeed, the world’s top athletes biohack their recovery with advanced therapies and nutrients like molecular hydrogen, Brown’s Gas, bodywork, vagus nerve stimulation, hot/cold contrast therapy, and targeted supplementation.

And it’s not just for sports either.

Those pushing their cognitive and mental capabilities also require greater recovery.

Smart recovery protocols and cutting-edge products give high-achievers an immense advantage.

The faster you recover, the sooner your body regenerates and returns to peak performance.

In this post, we’ll explore the best ways to biohack recovery and bounce back fast. Safely, without inhibiting your growth and performance. Whether you’re a competitive athlete or a high-performer wanting to reach the next level, this guide will help you.

What Makes Muscles Sore After Exercise?

Post-workout muscle soreness, also called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), is caused by microscopic damage to muscle fibers during exercise. It usually occurs when you begin a new exercise program, change your routine, or increase the duration or intensity of your regular workout.

Or, if you take a longer-than-usual break and come back to the same routine. DOMS usually begins a few hours after your workout and normally lasts up to 72 hours.

Here’s an overview describing the science behind how DOMS works:

1. Muscle Fiber Microtrauma: When you exercise, especially when performing resistance and high-intensity exercises or starting a new program, you cause small micro-tears to muscle fibers.
2. Inflammation: These small injuries trigger an inflammatory response in the body, which increases blood flow to the area, swelling, and the release of certain nutrients and chemicals that aid in recovery.
3. Pain Nerves: The inflammatory response activates pain receptors in the body, leading to a feeling of soreness.
4. Lactic Acid: During intense exercise, your body produces lactic acid. However, contrary to popular belief, lactic acid isn’t a major cause of post-workout muscle soreness.

Fitness influencers often call DOMS an indicator of muscle growth. But this isn’t necessarily true. You can still have an effective workout without feeling terribly sore afterward.

Plus, DOMS can cause muscle stiffness, swelling, strength loss, and pain.

Some soreness is normal and healthy. Blunting soreness too much can inhibit your beneficial growth. Excess soreness, however, taxes the body and holds us back.

As with all bioharmonization, your ideal biohacking recovery protocol should take into account five core factors:

• Why
• What
• When
• How
• Where

Now, let’s explore the top ways you can safely and rapidly speed up your muscle recovery after exercise.

The Best Athletic Muscle Recovery Equipment & Products

Thanks to modern technologies and well-accepted wisdom, we have all kinds of recovery biohacks at our disposal today.

Of all the ways to accelerate athletic recovery, certain tools work great and are passive.

You can focus your energy elsewhere while still passively enjoying substantial benefits.

First up, we have the clinical-grade at-home systems that you can use to recover like pros.

Targeted Light Therapy

Light is among the top environmental cues that drive human biology. If you’ve heard virtually any episode of Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast, you’ve assuredly heard him emphasizing the importance of light exposure for full-body health.

In addition to entraining healthy circadian rhythm (your internal “clocks” that drive all the biological processes to occur at the right times), light has profound effects on performance and recovery.

Both physical and mental performance, and various markers of muscle recovery [R].

Numerous studies show that red and infrared light significantly reduce muscle damage, oxidative stress, DOMS, and general soreness. [R, R].

For recovery, the most important factors to consider when choosing your best red & infrared light therapy device are the wavelengths and proximity to the muscles worked.

Either way, you can use it about an hour before exercise, or immediately afterward. I notice a difference.

Also read our blog on Zinc