Being an athlete is not just about forcing yourself past your limit. Doing so will only push you toward your breaking point! Athletes need to relax and recover in order to become stronger and greater. You can do this in just ten to fifteen minutes with a muscle bath soak.
Benefits Of Muscle Soak For Athletes
A warm bath on its own is extremely relaxing. However, adding epsom salt and essential oils to a warm bath will further boost its benefits. Athletes who are under a lot of mental and physical stress will benefit greatly from Better Bath Better Body’s Muscle Soak. The muscle soak is especially made for athletes. This is made with the goal of facilitating relaxation and recovery to help you perform better the next day. You can incorporate a muscle soak in your daily training as a pre-workout or post-workout bath to maximize its benefits.
Here are the benefits of warm bath with a muscle soak:
1 - Helps the body adapt to heat
A warm bath after exercise or training reduces both resting and exercising body temperature, which helps athletes get used to performing in hotter temperatures. This helps the body cope better with heat, warm baths help significantly improve performance.
2 - Relaxing sore muscles
Any form of exercise leaves the muscles feeling sore, which anyone who has ever exercised before knows, is uncomfortable. Sore muscles can hinder your daily activities, including the next day’s training. Soaking in a warm bath helps relieve tension and loosen spasms in sore muscles.
3 - Improve blood flow
Warm baths, much like Japanese hot springs, is believed to improve blood flow through the body. This is why some athletes prefer warm to hot baths after training. Intense exercise causes muscles to contract, which hinders blood flow. A warm bath will help promote healthy blood flow especially in the days after intense training.
4 - Soothes Skin
Athletes are often exposed to the harsh weather for hours on end. This leads to dry skin, if not a sunburn. A warm bath can help combat hours’ worth of sun damage as it can help soothe the skin. Make sure to maintain a fairly warm temperature and avoid a hot bath because the latter is also drying. Put on lotion or aloe vera (if you have sunburn) after taking a warm bath.
5 - Stress Relief
Epsom salt, peppermint, and eucalyptus essential oils are great for stress relief as they have calming properties. Athletes can achieve total deep relaxation in just a few minutes. This is perfect not only for after workout stress relief, but also for when you’re feeling the pressure before a competition.
6 - Improves Focus
Success as an athlete is as much about your physical strength but also your mental strength. Your mind needs to be able to endure through the pressure and any pain or exhaustion during competition. A warm bath will help you condition your mind by improving your focus and concentration.
7 - Improve Sleep
Sleep is the most important aspect of recovery for athletes. Getting enough sleep is important for athletes’ mental and physical well-being. Athletes subject themselves to extreme workouts that often involve staying up late and waking up early. A warm bath a few hours before your scheduled bedtime will help you fall asleep faster and achieve deep, restful sleep. For this purpose, a muscle soak, which primarily targets muscle relaxation and recovery, also works in promoting restful sleep.
Athletes have to take care of their mind and body in order to achieve maximum performance. The motto “no pain, no gain” is indeed true, but athletes also need to be kind and show some love toward their body. Warm baths are not just for stressed moms who need me-time; it offers so many benefits for athletes, too. Check out Better Bath Better Body’s muscle soak and other bath soaks for your bath needs.
