HYDRATION – STRETCHING – REST – ICE
Since I can remember, I have been competing and training for something. These past 3 years I have been competing on the sand, playing beach volleyball. There are off-seasons, pre-seasons, and post-seasons, all have specific needs for my body and me. I have seen great strides in my strength, endurance and my ability to produce power and force at a high rate. Aside from strength training and skill training I have added plyometrics into my weekly routine. By the looks of this, you make be wondering how I manage to get all this accomplished and still perform at my best. It has been a process learning how my body reacts to the intensity and volume of my workouts and what I need to do to gain full recovery with the time available.
First and foremost, the intensity and volume of my workout heavily influences my need for recovery. Whether I’m training at near maximum effort with low repetitions or about 75% maximum weight with high repetitions, 24 hours will give my body time to restore depleted substrates and repair damaged muscle tissue. Along with that I must adequately hydrate not only with water but electrolytes as well. I consume on average 3L of water a day, aside from my preworkout black coffee and evening hot tea. Yes, water is a must for muscle repair but also lost when we sweat are sodium, chloride and potassium (all essential for maximum performance). While sports drinks help fulfill this need the sugar might be too high so I drink BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids). BCAAs improve exercise performance, reduce protein and muscle breakdown during intense exercise.
In addition to hydration, stretching before and after workout is something I won’t neglect. I always start with a combination of dynamic warm-up and ballistic stretching whether I’m weight training, practicing skills, or plyometrics, which target all my major muscle groups and get my heart rate up, while finishing up with 5 minutes rolling out on my RumbleRoller foam roller. To help prevent muscle stiffness and swelling, I choose to roll out and extra 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a week AND 5-10 minutes static stretching before bed on my heavy days.
Lastly, resting my body is a MUST! When getting anywhere from 6-8 hours of sleep allows not only my muscles to relax but gives my brain a chance to turn off and reboot for the next demanding day. However sleep is not the only way I like to rest. If I get a chance to sit down, I thoroughly enjoy elevating my legs, which gives my legs a little more TLC. Also, this may sound crazy but so am I, 10-15 minutes in an ice bath with Epsom salt at the end of the day 1-2 times a week hits all those tender areas, legs and shoulders/upper back (all of which take a toll playing volleyball). If the cold scares you, a hot bath with Epsom salt and lavender will be sufficed too. Try adding some extra care to your down time and really enhance your recovery process to maximize your performance and see the changes.