5 Products to Help Boost Post-Workout Recovery & Healing
Whether you’re old or young, breaking into the professional game or a casual player, sports recovery is important. Not only can a solid recovery routine help prevent injury, but it can improve your longevity, make you feel better, and allow you to perform to your best ability on game day or in the gym.
Hyperice Vyper 2.0 Vibrating Massage Roller: A personal sports massage in your home
Hyperice Vyper 2.0 Vibrating Massage Roller is a solid everyday-use recovery tool. This innovative play on a typical foam roller, balances power with portability, so you can feel your best at home or on the go. Shake up your self-care routine and energize your body with this compact vibrating massage roller. With a 3-speed high-intensity vibrating core, you’ll always be ready to roll and target those tight muscles.
While it can take a bit of getting used to, having a go-to massage roller is ideal when relaxing watching TV and focusing on recovery after a tough gym session or sports match. It does come with a cost, but factoring in the amount of physio and massage sessions people spend money on, it’s well worth the price tag.
Price: R3,111.
Red Lab Flex Pad – Red Light Therapy
Red Lab, one of the company’s highlighting the benefits of red light therapy in South Africa, has launched a range of at-home red light solutions to help people with muscle pains and fatigue, amongst other ailments. fungal infections, eczema, sleep disorders, psoriasis and emotional well-being, amongst other ailments.
One of Red Lab’s products is the Red Lab Flex Pad (R6,999), which is a portable, rechargeable neoprene pad, embedded with 60 NIR and Red Light LEDs. The handy Velcro straps allow you to strap the fully charged device to any part of the body requiring treatment, allowing a recommended time of 20 minutes per treatment area. Unlike a heating pad, NIR and Red Light Therapy works below the skin’s surface, reaching deep into tissues, stimulating and healing cells and increasing circulation to target pain at the source.
The heat generated from the red light is beneficial itself, and using it over the course of a few weeks on niggly areas can produce improved healing. The fact you can also just strap the Flex Pad to the part of your body needing attention, and continue with your day, is a huge bonus. There’s no doubt that the product is rather expensive, but if you have the budget, it’s a great addition to your post-workout plan.
Price: R6,999
Beurer MG 10 Electric Massage Ball
While massage guns are incredible additions to any athlete’s arsenal, there are certain places that you just can’t reach with them — most notably, the shoulder-blade area, which is a huge problem-zone for many people. The Beurer MG 10 massage ball features a rubberised exterior with little nubs and takes 3 AAA batteries, giving it a vibration function. Lying on this ball and manoeuvring it into those tight and knotted areas, while tender, can be incredibly therapeutic.
Thankfully, it’s also super compact and can easily be thrown into any gym bag or pocket to take on-the-go.
Price: R379
Wintergreen Magnesium Bath Soak
While many of us jump into the shower after a game of football, rugby, or a tough session at the gym, you may be better off enjoying a post-workout out bath instead. Relaxing in the bath after a tough sweat session gives you the chance to use some good recovery products, such as Wintergreen’s Magnesium Soak.
Magnesium is a natural muscle relaxer and rejuvenator and Magnesium Soak aims to release physical tension in the body and calm an anxious mind. A warm 20-minute bath sprinkled with a sachet of pure magnesium sulphate (AKA Epsom salts and magnesium chloride), will open the pores in the skin allowing for the best possible absorption, improving circulation, helping to ease stiffness and pain in the muscles while reducing inflammation in aching joints, and helping to detox the body from the effects of lactic acid build-up after an intense workout.
Price: R119.99
Arnigel- Arnica Pain Relief Gel
Arnica is well-known for its ability to help offer relief from muscular pain due to its anti-inflammatory properties, but it’s less known that this plant-based medicine also contains antioxidant compounds and supports heart health too. In fact, Arnica is known to contain over 150 active therapeutic substances. Its three main properties are anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and soothing which help bring relief to muscle tension, bruising, swelling and joint pain.
Research shows that arnica is rich in potent compounds including flavonoids, lactones, phenolic acids and triterpenoids, and has also been shown to have antioxidant properties and may assist in protecting blood vessels, thereby helping improve blood flow to the heart. Arnigel is formulated with arnica sourced from fresh Arnica Montana plants, picked whole and while in bloom, allowing it to retain most constituents and active ingredients. This is the secret to what makes Arnigel so particularly effective for the treatment of muscle pain, stiffness, swelling and bruises due to injuries. Arnigel is a great, natural relief for muscle pain, bruises and contusions. It’s the number one Arnica pain reliever in the US and it’s now available in South Africa too with a new 45g tube that is perfect for your gym bag!
Price: R85.95.
