If you have been bodybuilding for any period of time, you are probably well aware of the tolls that training hard and competing have upon the body. Here are some areas of common concern, as well as methods for helping these areas to recover faster.

Joints

Glucosamine is a decent supplement for dealing with the achy joints that accompany heavy training. You may be better served taking frequent breaks from training heavy, or completely avoiding the type of heavy training (including one-rep maximums) that leads to joint damage.

Skin

Always shower immediately following your workout. Use a gentle soap, or body wash, preferably. If acne is an issue, consult your dermatologist. Always disclose the use of AAS to your physician, as he may prescribe oral solutions to your skin problems (which may coincidentally be caused by steroid use). Unforeseen toxicity can cause serious liver damage if oral acne mediation is taken with steroids.

Muscles

Throughout the course of a workout, your muscle fibers are torn down quite vigorously. They recover in the following days thanks to adequate nutrition and rest, but there is still going to be lactic acid and other toxins present in the muscle groups which, over time, are going to lead to waste buildup which can prevent you from reaching your peak condition. If your budget (and your girlfriend!) allows it, visit a massage therapist 1 to 4 times per month. Having a trained, professional set of hands working the muscle fibers can drastically reduce soreness, and decrease the likelihood of injury.

Feet

Believe it or not, bodybuilders have some of the most frequently abused feet in sports. You might assume that simply lifting weights and avoiding the quick changes of direction and collisions that occur with other sports would be safe. Alas, there’s something about wearing very thing shoes and squatting a total of 30 times with 400 pounds on your back that feet just don’t seem to enjoy. Go figure. Massage your feet frequently, soak them in cold water following tough workouts, and consult a podiatrist if any injuries occur.

Hair

Very rarely discussed in the annals of bodybuilding forums are the complex issues that are associated with shaving the entire body (sans the head for many users). It has to be done before you get on stage, but many bodybuilders avoid it because, well, it’s not all that manly. Never mind the haters. Use Nair or hot wax to make the hair loss permanent, or just very carefully shave using hot water and shaving gel.

Tanning

If you aren’t a competitive bodybuilder, then precise tanning details probably won’t be of interest to you. However, if you plan to don the posing dais and make your way to the stage one day, you’re going to need to work to develop and complete and healthy tan. It’s not that hard – after all, sunlight is free! However, bringing your tan to a point where it will look good in a pair of small posing trunks is a whole different ballgame. Tan professionally if you plan to compete. Of course, all of these concerns can be skipped if you ignore the tan all year and opt for a pro-tan product on the day of the show, which is what most bodybuilders choose to do.

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