One of my biggest take-aways from re-entering the professional skiing world is how much the little things matter. In particular, the little self care and injury preventive actions, can truly make a difference. My goal for nearly 3 years now has been to train as smart and as much as I can which means recovering as smart and as much as I can in order to keep the cycle going. There is rarely a moment of the day I am not working towards this goal.
However, the other cycle competing against the recovery rhythm is the toll training takes on my energy level, so I hit snooze in the morning, then rush to training, skip a warm-up, put in high hours, come home tired and crash; all withOUT those little things. And this lapse in the body maintenance immediately results in a nagging hamstring issue, an inflamed rib issue, and an aching knee… Issues very difficult to overcome once present while training the maximum load I can.
Enough ranting, the importance of recovery, pre-hab, activation, stability strength and balanced training loads is obvious. Here are some of the key parts of the recovery habits and routine I have developed for taking care of my body and boy is it worth it! I hope all my friends and everyone I know take some of these habits into their skiing, hiking, kayaking, gardening, rafting, and everyday lives. You’ll feel better!
Waking up at a consistent time and early enough to not be rushed in the morning.
Taking 5 minutes to stretch once awake. Stretching and movement after sleeping is really nice for your body.
Eating a good/clean (and large enough for those highly active) meal before starting the day. And maintaining adequate fuel and hydration throughout the day.
Easing into physical activity, especially high heart rates and high movement activities. Not jumping into the steepest and deepest terrain on first chair, in non-nordic speak that is.
Stretching or foam rolling or massaging stiff areas after activity. Quick warm baths/hot tubs/soaks have worked really well for me when dealing with an irritated area as well.
Making sure to eat a good/clean dinner early enough in the evening to allow digestion before the need for sleep.
My all time favorite: getting my legs up (usually up a wall, but at least above the heart) for a few minutes before I go to sleep to kick start the healing system (the parasympathetic nervous system) before sleeping allowing sleep to maximize healing and recovery from the day.
And a few times a week taking 10-20 minutes to do some strengthening exercises. Such as the knee stability video from last month!!!
This months’ video is the morning movement and stretching routine I do all or part of each day, and sometimes multiple times a day. I hope you enjoy the video, and can incorporate some of these recovery and injury preventive steps into your everyday life’s. See you on the trails.
