Ever had that next day feeling when your muscles are too sore to do anything, although you’d love to get back in the gym? For a short time, unless the sadomasochist in you comes out, it can be quite painful and uncomfortable, but the good news is that this pain is often your bodies’ way of adapting to the stress that you (or more likely, me) has put on it! This adaptation is the exact process underlying your training, and really pays testament to the old adage ‘no pain, no gain’…

But what if there were some really quick and easy methods that YOU could use to speed this process of recovery up, and get you moving pain free in no time… Try these simple techniques to reap the rewards from that hard gym time, and get you on the road to quicker recovery, and better results!

• Sports massage. Booking in for a good 30 minute sports massage can give your body a real kick-start to recovery. Massage increases local blood flow, with the delivery of oxygen and nutrients, and helps remove lactic and other toxins, helping to prevent injury and facilitate recovery.

• Hydro/Cryo-therapies. This doesn’t have to be as hedonistic as jumping straight from a hot sauna into a plunge pool, and can take the form of simply changing the temperature of your post work-out shower. The crux of this technique is to start with a quick cold shower; blast out 30-60 seconds at between 10-16 degrees C (this will feel cold to the skin). Then switch to warm; get the water a little warmer at about 35-37 degrees, and stay under for 1-2 minutes. This cycle should be repeated 3 times in succession for great recovery.

If you are lucky enough to have a shower head to hand, why not pin-point your cryo-therapy? Had a tough arms day? Leave the cold on your biceps… hit the Kettlebells hard? Leave the cold on your hammies and lower back… And remember, STAY HYDRATED: drink as much as you can before, after and maybe even during, to flush those toxins away!

• The Basics. It is all very well getting a sports massage and adopting cryo-therapy religiously, but if you are not laying the foundations of recovery, you will not be getting the results you crave. It sounds simple, but eat right and sleep well, and you are already more than half way there. Your body needs fluid to re-hydrate, a little carbohydrate and protein to refuel your muscles after you train, and as much sleep as you can cram into your life to give your body time to change. So drink more, get a good post-workout shake, and switch off Desperate Housewives early to get your full 7 1/2 hours.

Get these three basics onboard, as well as trying the more complex stuff, and full recovery will replace that sore and tired feeling, and get you well on the way to top notch results.