[background music] Heather Fell: Right,
you've been out for your run, you've got it done, you've made it back home.
What should you do now? Or more specifically, what should you not be doing after you run?
There are plenty of recommendations for pre-run routines, and there's also a lot of things that we
know we should be doing to help our recovery after a run. We've been having a think here at GTN and
realized there's also quite a lot of things that you should absolutely not be doing after a run.
That said, we are still all guilty of several of these. First up, don't sit at home in your wet,
sweaty running kit, scrolling through the latest things on social media. It's really tempting to
pick up your phone and start uploading your data, having a look through, maybe comparing your run
to someone else's on Strava, or even putting your pictures on to Instagram.
It's very easily done but before you know it, you will start to get quite cold. When you're
running your blood vessels dilate and you'll get really hot and sweaty, which is fine.
You won't even feel cold when you walk in the door. If you sit down for 10 minutes or more,
you'll soon find that that dumbness of your kit will get to you and you'll find your way shivering
towards a chat and it'll be much harder to warm up, so try and avoid the temptation
and get straight into some warm, dry clothes and then you can scroll as much as you like.
Second on the list, don't pop open a beer as soon as you walk in the door or open a
bottle of wine and pour yourself a glass. It is very tempting I know,
but try to make sure you've rehydrated fully, especially if it's been a hard or a really
sweaty hot run. You want to make sure you've rehydrated with water.
Maybe some isotonic drink as well and once your levels are back up, you can then sit and enjoy
the alcoholic beverage. We're not party poopers here. We're not saying don't drink. Just make sure
you've given your body the best chance to recover and it will thank you the next day.
All right, the same goes for food. This is number three. We've all been there, we're all guilty of
getting back from a run and diving into the sweet jar, grabbing biscuits, or maybe even eating some
cake, anything that's just easy to eat and it's going to satiate us with that sugar craving, but
that isn't actually what our body needs after a run. If it's mealtime, it's a good idea to prepare
something beforehand if you're tempted by the naughty things, or maybe even have the ingredients
out ready so you can cook straight away. Alternatively, if you really need food,
as soon as you get in the door, have some healthy, nutritious snacks to hand and again,
this goes on the drinking side. Your body will thank you much more the next day if you've had
a proper meal and if you're still hungry, then why not have a bit of a treat after your meal.
Number four, this one leads on very nicely from our previous. Do not try and do your
weekly shop on the way home from a long run or any big piece of exercise because
your brain is probably not going to be working properly. I've certainly been guilty of this one.
You're just craving carbohydrates to replenish those that you've burned and your muscles are
wanting that fuel and you're walking around the supermarket and just end up putting in
things that you want right there and then, and you might not be able to think of the bigger picture.
I would suggest coming with a list being strict to that,
but you're probably still going to sneak those naughty things into your trolley,
so maybe have a healthy snack in your car or a protein drink or something beforehand
that will just kind of keep that hunger at bay. When you get home, you'll realize that you do
actually have the ingredients for a proper meal, rather than a random selection of all sorts.
Number five, do your best to not be a couch potato. You might have done your run early in the
morning, feel really satisfied with yourself, come home and plonk yourself on the sofa and not move
for the rest of the day. You might think that's brilliant for recovery. Well, I'm afraid it isn't
ideal. First of all, you need to make sure you do a very thorough warm down, especially if it's been
a hard run and then you still need to just keep your body moving at points throughout the day.
I think we've all been there when we've done a hard race and jumped in the car or on a flight,
got out the other end and we can hardly move,
that's because your muscles are going to seize up. Make sure you just try to do a
thorough warm down and try to be a little bit mobile throughout the day as well.
Our sixth and final point of the day, this is a very serious one. Do not brag about the latest
segment or KOM you might have just got out on your run. If you're bringing up your friends
or you're posting it and boasting about a time you've achieved, it's probably just going to
ignite a fire in your friends, and I'm pretty sure you won't be holding that record for very long as
they'll be heading out the next day to beat it. "Hey, Mark. How are you doing?
Yes, you know that runny you did the other day when you went along the canal and then
up that hill and you were quite pleased with your time. You might want to check Strava. Yes,
I'm afraid I did. Very sorry about that one. I'm not at all actually, I'm quite pleased with my
time. Yes, sorry I've now got the segment, but anyway, I'll catch you soon. Cheers."
All right, that was a bit of tongue and cheek and I know we were joking and making it lighthearted,
but all of those points, maybe by the last one are very valid. Please do take them on board
when you're doing your running and if there's anything that we've missed that you think we
really shouldn't, or you shouldn't do after your run, please let us know, share those in the
comments section below. Give us a like if you've enjoyed it, follow us on our social media channels
and you can also subscribe to us here on YouTube. [00:06:39] [END OF AUDIO]