Are you sabotaging your running recovery without knowing it? Learn 7 common post-run mistakes and simple fixes to recover faster and run stronger.
1. Skipping the Post-Run Cooldown
You’ve finished your run. Great! But if you skip the cooldown, you are setting yourself up for sore and stiff muscles when it catches up to you.
What Works: Spend 5–10 minutes doing a gentle jog or walk, maybe finish your run a small distance from your house or car and then use the remaining distance as your cooldown. Follow this with some quick, simple stretches such as 30 second hamstring or calf stretches and quad pulls. This gradual cooldown helps your circulation and can reduce stiffness the next day.
Pro Tip: Post race? Pop on your Recovery Slides while you warm down to really help your feet and legs recover.
2. Forgetting Hydration During and Post Run
Dehydration harms muscle recovery, yet many runners underestimate or don’t know how much fluid they actually lose during exercise. The average fluid loss is around 1 litre per hour, but it can vary widely based on genetics, fitness, temperature, and humidity.
What Works: Drink at least 500ml of water or a recovery drink within 30 minutes of your run, focusing on restoring fluid and sodium levels. If you are exercising for more than 60-90mins, make sure you are hydrating during the activity too.
3. Avoiding Nutritional Value for Optimal Recovery
It’s an easy mentality to fall into: you've just finished a great run, and you feel you automatically reach for that less nutritious option. However, your body just put in an effort, and now it needs specific nutrients to recover (protein), and to replenish glycogen stores (carbohydrates). "Junk" food might be satisfying, but it will make you feel more tired and listless than other, better choices.
What Works: Ideally within 45 minutes post-run, choose a balanced snack combining protein and carbohydrates, such as a banana or even a chocolate milkshake!
4. No Movement At All Post-Run
Prolonged sitting without any gentle activity after a run can cause muscles to tighten up, leaving you feeling stiffer and less ready for your next session.
What Works: Make sure you follow your easy cooldown routine, then continue to move gently throughout the day, keeping the blood flowing to your muscles and enhancing recovery. Little and often is best.
Pro Tip: This can be as easy as easy walking in your Enertor Recovery Slides or doing gentle stretches from the sofa!
5. Forgetting Dynamic Activations and Stretches
Stretching and dynamic activations is often sacrificed first when you are on a time crunch or have a busy schedule. It can, however, directly contribute to injuries such as plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and chronic tightness.
What Works: Incorporate just five minutes of dynamic activations pre-run and static stretches post-run. This short five minutes on a consistent basis will really enhance your muscle’s ability to perform and recover.
6. Ignoring Muscle Tightness and Niggles
Feeling minor aches or pains and ignoring them until they become significant issues is a common runner’s mistake. Nobody wants to be injured, and it is easy to just hope that they will magically disappear.
What Works: Address muscle tightness and soreness early with effective recovery, nutrition and self-care. Focus on improving your mobility and flexibility with consistent strength and conditioning to reduce the chance of injury.
Pro Tip: Enertor shock absorbing insoles reduce impact and help reduce the risk of injury, helping you to run faster for longer. Pair them with strength work for the ultimate combo.
7. Making Recovery Complicated
Foam rollers, massage guns, recovery boots… the internet is full of new and intriguing recovery tools that all claim to be the ultimate recovery enhancer. How do you pick what to use?
What Works: Pick the recovery tools that will easily fit into your normal routine: they don’t work if you don’t use them! Enertor is backed by clinical studies and leading bio-mechanic specialists, so make sure that anything you try is science backed and proven to work, not just the latest gimmick.
Build Habits around your Workouts to Optimise your Performance and Recovery
A good recovery routine will be a key part of your workout, not just added on to the end because it should be. Fewer injuries, faster recovery, and better performance will make running a much more enjoyable experience and all these little tweaks will add up to a noticeable improvement in the long term.
With PX1 and UltraSole technology, Enertor is here to help you avoid injury, recover faster, and run longer to get the most out of your running goals.