Flavor Infused Water

Every year around this time there seems to be a wonderful resurgence of people working out and hitting the gym hard.  I too have fallen in to that category and have been having my body crushed multiple times a week by my girlfriend / trainer.  She is hardcore and she absolutely does not let me slack at all.  And let me tell you…there are days when I leave her house and I barely have the strength left in my arms to turn my steering wheel to get myself home.  It is pathetic and amazing all at the same time and I truly love it.  But I have learned a couple of valuable tricks on recovery and I wanted to share them with you in case any of you are feeling that love / hate relationship with your muscles right about now.

Drinking water is the most important thing that you can do to help your body recover.  It is absolutely essential to replace the fluids that you lost while sweating during your workout.  You don’t want to get dehydrated, so make sure that you are drinking the correct amount of water for your body daily.  And water is also a super helpful tool to help you lose weight as well.  Since your body has a hard time differentiating between thirst and hunger, drinking more water will help fill you up and help you to eat fewer calories.  Not to mention that being even 1% dehydrated can cause major drops in metabolism, so drink up!

Now why flavor infused water?  Well, it’s two fold, really.  For one thing, it tastes really great which will help you drink more.  Secondly, the fruits add their own nutrients and value.  After a super tough session with my trainer, she mentioned adding lemons to my water that day to help with the soreness, so I made sure to head home and do some research.  Not only was she right, but the list of benefits was pretty mind blowing.

Lemons are alkalizing so drinking lemon water regularly can help reduce the buildup of lactic acid in the body and help prevent soreness.  There are a ton of other reasons that you should add it to your water, such as improving the skin, helping with digestive problems and heartburn and even helping reduce mucus and phlegm.  The list goes on and on!

Blueberries are also more than just a pretty face.  They are loaded with fiber, so just a handful can keep you full for longer periods of time.  They also have massive amounts of Vitamin C to keep you healthy.  Not to mention that they boost brain health, these little bad boys pack a punch.  And they taste great too!

Now if I am honest here, I just added mint because I love the taste, but there are benefits to it as well.  It can help with seasonal allergies, indigestion, IBS, skin issues and act as a decongestant.  Not too shabby.

I like to slice up a few lemons, add some delicious blueberries and mint, fill with water, stir it all up and leave it in a glass carafe in my fridge so that it is the first thing that I see when I open the door.  It is beautiful and looks yummy which helps me gravitate towards it instead of a sugary soda.  And you’d better believe that I am reaching for it without doubt on days that I hit the gym hard!

Have you been experiencing any soreness from your workouts?  Have you upped the intensity after the holidays?  And do you have any tips to help relieve those tired muscles?  I would LOVE to hear from you in the comment section below!