Being an athlete is something that is still new to me. Sports, and honestly just working out in general, weren't something I participated in until recently. It just so turns out that the sport I took up, Muay Thai, is one where getting injured is a very common occurrence if you aren't careful. And being that I'm just shy of 30, that's only going to become more of a concern as I get older. I'm always trying to find ways to get ahead of it so I don't completely fall to pieces in a few years (cue the sound of my joints cracking).
Because of that, post-workout recovery has become a huge priority in my daily life. It not only keeps me from getting injured as easily, but also ensures that I can give it my all the next time I hit the gym. You don't have to be involved in an intense contact sport for the recovery phase to be important — if you're active in any way at all, you should be putting recovery somewhere on your to-do list before you get back to it. You can't just grind yourself into dust every time you work out and then do it all again the next day without nourishing yourself. You need to heal.
Now, some would say that rest, proper sleep, and nutrition are pretty much all you need to make sure that you're primed to handle strenuous activity again. Maybe that's true. But, this article isn't about that — it's about the tech that can help make that recovery phase easier, faster, and far more convenient than the old-fashioned way.
Why is recovery so important?
When you work out or engage in any activity that requires muscle contraction, you actively damage your body. I know that sounds bad, but stick with me for a moment. That "damage" isn't necessarily a bad thing — the whole point of building, toning, and maintaining muscle is breaking those tissues down during exercise so you can replace the damaged fibers with new ones later.
That's exactly why you shouldn't rush back to the gym after high-intensity activity. In that crucial period between workouts, your body is in repair mode. So, it's important that you give your body the time it needs to put itself back together. Adding in proper sleep (this is when your body undergoes the majority of those repairs) and rehydration makes this process even more effective. On the flip side, not allowing yourself to recover can lead to prolonged soreness, injury, and degradation over time.
There's more that you can do, though, and it involves working some tech into your recovery period. Products like massage guns, compression tools, foam rollers, and more help to get the blood flowing back to your damaged muscles and get you back in shape more efficiently. While a lot of these devices aren't cheap, they're absolutely worth the investment if you want to be serious about fitness.
What are the best workout recovery devices?
There are plenty of options out there, so I set out to test a wide array of these products — all of them serving a different purpose — to find the best ones. In the end, there were six that I found to be essential to my recovery process, and might be to yours, too. Check them out below.
