Even the less severe fights can make a human body susceptible to bruises and pain. You can imagine how excruciating the pain would be for an MMA fighter post the big fight! Headaches, bruises and wounds on the face and body are quite common to see on the body of an MMA fighter after the fight is over. Even worst, broken hands and legs can make the whole process of recovery longer and harder.
We take our body parts for granted until we break them or lose them. Therefore, the broken hands or legs, then offer us a vital realization of their significance.
Usually after a big fight is over, the MMA fighter will suffer from considerable damage on legs or thighs due to leg kicks. However, is some fights, the fighters may already begin experiencing swelling and forms of bruising even when the fight is on. Then there are rib damages. As a matter of fact, rib injuries are the most devastating of all as they can affect the fighter’s laughter, sleeping, and even make breathing difficult. Besides, rib injuries take longer time to heal as the damaged areas are made of slow healing cartilage.
Then we have head injuries that MMA fighters need to deal. Swelling around eyes, broken noses and jaws are quite common injuries, in addition to, concussions that sometimes fighters face during or post fights. Scrapes and bruising on the face are very common to see on an MMA fighter’s body.
Training for the big fight itself is such a daunting process and involves such rigorous training sessions, which drives the need of body recovering even more pertinent. Putting a proper recover strategy after the big fight is profoundly significant in order to avoid becoming over-trained and further resulting into a plunge in performance levels.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the ways to help your body recover after the Big Fight!
Tips to recover after the Big Fight
1. Learn to Warm Down your Body
Whether you think you need it or not, take a complete ice bath. And, if for whatever reasons, you cannot take an ice bath, make sure to at least apply ice on bruises or injuries for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Follow an Effective Post-Fight Nutrition
Recovery process begins immediately after the fight is over and you need to implement a proper nutrition plan for intensifying your recovery. When you are in a fight, your muscle tissues are breaking down and if the fight has been very intense then there is a possibility to see your cortisol levels to surge. With the objective of recovery, glycogen stores need to be replenished and protein synthesis must be stimulated. Chocolate milk is the most appropriate short-term recovery food having the right amount of glycogen and protein.
Make sure that you don’t consume any fat immediately after the fight is over as fat tends to slow down the process of digestion and absorption of nutrients.
3. Long Hot Showers
During the recovery process, a primary objective is to restore muscle functions and completely remove lactic acid. And, in order to suffice this objective, it is imperative to take a long hot shower and a long hot bath using the best MMA soap. In addition, you can also choose to add Epsom salts in the water as that will help in faster muscle recovery. If needed, a fine massage can be used too.
4. Rest Well
Lastly, and this tip is quite obvious, take proper rest. Giving complete rest to your body should be your number one priority after the big fight is over. You may be tempted to celebrate your victory by partying and drinking alcohol. But, it is strongly recommended to take plenty of rest before you tire your muscles any further.
The Bottom Line
A lot of MMA fighters don’t feel as terrible as you might anticipate, after their big fight is over. Employing the recovery techniques and slowing down a bit is all that is required to get back to the sport!
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