Recovery is coming
Recovery is one of the most important and neglected parts of people their training regimen. You’ll get injured and get frustrated but injuries are just a part of sports. I recently suffered from bruised ribs but I kept on training. No pain no gain am I right. I just couldn’t do everything but it was bearable as long as I put tons of ice on it. But last Thursday I’ve got a setback. The pain in my ribs became a bit more unbearable and I got a new injury.
I bruised my pinky at the beginning of the training. I was swelling, became blue/purple and was pointing outwards. So what did I do?
You’re correct if you thought that I kept on training. I taped it in right after the training and did some ice therapy as soon as I got home. Ice therapy is great but I felt more pain in the pinky during this therapy so I looked for a different approach. Note that it’s better to quit training when you feel injured; I’m not the greatest example in this matter.
I had inflammation in my body that needed to be addressed. People who paid close attention to my latest blog posts will probably tell me that I needed to take turmeric or ginger and that’s correct but I got something even better.
Recover better with this herb combo
Do you remember that turmeric is great for recovery but also a great natural painkiller? Turmeric is probably the most hated herb by scientists since they can’t make a huge profit like they do with other pills.
Turmeric is even more powerful in combination with pepper. It gets absorbed 2000% quicker when you consume them together. I mixed one teaspoon of turmeric with some black pepper in a glass of water.
But Alex doesn’t this taste horrible? I suggest you whine about it because that will solve all your problems including a bad taste. You can also read the whole article because, in the end, I’ll share the recipe for a testosterone boosting recovery tea. It’s your choice.
But this wasn’t the big secret behind my quick recovery. My finger was hurting more as I got up so I jumped into my secret magic potion bath. After 20 minutes I felt less pain and my finger was already close to my ring finger.
Recover quicker with my magic bath
You’ll need:
- Epsom salt (I’ll always buy in bulk)
- apple cider vinegar
Just fill a bathtub with warm water and add a glass of bio-organic apple cider vinegar and 125 grams of Epsom salt. Just make it hot, it has to stay bearable to stay in it for about 20 minutes. You don’t want to be the guy that needs to go to the hospital after he took a bath.
I hate taking a bath, especially a warm one but never forget that it’s all about getting out of the comfort zone. I rather take a shower. A shower equals power, a bath equals laziness.
After those 20 minutes, I’ll jump under a cold shower. This will wake me up and gets me going. Let’s take a look at why these 2 substances are so strong when it comes to recovery.
Before I go on I want to point you to the fact that the commercial painkillers or creams won’t do you good. They do you more harm than good. The only cream I use is Tiger Balm because it’s the most natural available option. You can buy it here.
Apple cider vinegar and recovery
An apple cider vinegar bath is a great detoxifier and aids with muscle aches and pains brought on by physical exertion. It’s also a great choice for people with candida issues that affect the skin as it returns the skin to an optimal ph. This is a hard environment for candida to thrive.
Apple cider vinegar also draws uric acid out of the body. This acid is created when our body breaks down substances called purines, these can be found in certain foods and drinks. An apple cider vinegar bath can help with joint problems, arthritis, gout, bursitis or tendonitis. It can also help people with excessive body odor problems.
These baths also help people who suffer from sunburn. The most surprising one is that you could use it to clean the toilet.
We can conclude that apple cider vinegar is pretty all around.
Epsom salt and recovery
People used Epsom salt over hundreds of years for recovery. Just a simple soak in this bath will make you feel better.
NOTE: don’t take an Epsom salt bath if you’ve got a kidney disease or high blood pressure.
Epsom salt can be useful for:
- Arthritis pain and swelling
- Bruises and sprains
- Fibromyalgia, a condition that makes your muscles, ligaments, and tendons hurt and causes tender points throughout your body
- Ingrown toenails
- Insomnia
- Psoriasis, a disease that causes red, itchy, scaly skin
- Sore muscles after working out
- Soreness from diarrhea during chemotherapy
- Sunburn pain and redness
- Tired, swollen feet
There aren’t too many studies to back this up. Most studies were conducted on goats or pigs and these aren’t close to humans like rats. Consult your doctor first if you’re afraid to do it.
So how does this Epsom salt work?
Epsom salt is the fancy name for magnesium sulfate. It breaks down in magnesium and sulfate once you mix it with water. Your skin will absorb both and this has multiple effects. It draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling, relaxes the muscles, it’s a natural emollient, exfoliator…
It also increases blood magnesium levels and prevents bloating due to excessive water retention.
The increase in magnesium is great because it’s one of the most important minerals for athletes and one that we’re easily deficient in. Magnesium also helps with muscle relaxation and testosterone production. You can buy a magnesium supplement here. I take it twice a year to make sure I’m not deficient.
How much should I use?
You’ll see that the amount differs from site to site so it’s hard to pick the right amount. I used about 125 grams (1/2 cup) the first time and I already felt a difference. Next time I’ll try a cup but I won’t use much more than that. It comes in handy that it’s extremely cheap and you can stack big amounts.
Testosterone boosting tea for the ultimate recovery
I just tried this after I read an article that you could cook turmeric in water. It’s a tasteful tea with nothing but benefits for recovery, health, and testosterone.
The best part is that is doesn’t contain Gallic acid. This acid lowers testosterone levels and can be found in all tea leaves. Green tea has the most Gallic acid in comparison to other teas. You’ve hit the jackpot if you’re consuming this tea regularly.
This tea contains ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and honey.
Ginger and testosterone
There is a recent study which was conducted on rodents. They found out that adding this spice to your diet will significantly improve your testosterone levels and sperm quality.
There’s one human study where they used infertile men to examine the effect of ginger. Note that they didn’t mention the amount of ginger that they gave to the subject. After 3 months the infertile men had a 17% increase in testosterone, a 47,3 % increase in sperm motility and a 36.1% improve ejaculate volume. Ginger also boosted their luteinizing hormone levels by 43%. That’s pretty amazing for a cheap kitchen herb don’t you think?
The testosterone boosting recovery tea
You’ll need:
- Ginger powder
- Turmeric powder
- Cinnamon
- Raw honey note: always buy a liquid version of honey. The other versions can be polluted.
Add a cup of water to a pan and heat it.
Lower the to medium heat once the water is cooking.
Add your ginger powder and turmeric powder (about ½ tablespoon each)
Cook for about 15 minutes.
Do a big heaping tablespoon of honey (will be around 21 grams) in your cup and add the warm water with the spices.
Mix it up till the honey is disappeared, add some cinnamon and enjoy.
I’ll also drink this one on heavy training days. I like it. You can also mix the spices in water and drink them just like that.
I made this combo after reading this study. The study concludes that the combination of ginger, cinnamon, mastic and sesame oil was effective when it came to reducing pain and stiffness in osteoarthritis.
Conclusion
Taking this bath three times a week will suffice.
These ingredients are both extremely powerful when it comes to recovery. But when you combine the tea and the bath you’ve got……
BOOM dynamite.
Till next time
Alex
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That tea sounds good man I’ll have to try it
It’s more addictive than coffee haha. Let me know how it turns out