Professional athletes are often thought of as amazing freaks of nature. They are the perfect combination and expression of genetics applied to the sport their bodies were designed for. Watching a professional perform their sport is often a work of art. They perform the same sport that you and I struggle to perform with ease and grace at amazingly high levels.
Does the perfect genetic combination mean they don’t have the same struggles as the rest of us? Do the professionals heal more quickly than we do?
What we don’t often see or hear about in the highlight section is their athletic self-care routines. We’ve asked a few of the professional triathletes we have as patients how often they foam roll, stretch, massage, receive chiropractic services, etc., to see just how much work goes into recovery. The goal of this article is to show you that if you want to perform, you have to do the work - it isn’t simply wake up and train.
Self-care for athletes should mirror the demand you’re putting on your body. The more you workout, the more tissue breakdown you create. As you push the limits, you need to be sure you’re helping the body balance that new stress.
More demand on the body should mean more self-care.
If you were to start to drive your car more, you would change your oil more frequently. If you eat a bunch of candy, you brush your teeth more. Similarly, if you work your muscles and joints more, why wouldn’t you do more self-care as an athlete?
Professional athletes understand this principle. They push their bodies to the limits and equally try to match their training with recovery. Recovering well is the key to being ready for the next training session.
We sat down with a few of our favorite professional triathletes, good friends, and patients at Boulder Sports Chiropractic to learn about their self-care routines.
One of the best examples of someone who has always prioritized self-care as an athlete is one of the most seasoned professional female triathletes, Dede Griesbauer. Over the course of her career, Dede has amassed a resume of world records, awards, and championships. Amazingly, she seems to defy father time and at 49 she is still outpacing women less than half her age. We sat down with her to learn some secrets about her routine for self-care as an athlete!
BSC: How often do you have a trouble spot or something bothering you?
DG: Hah. At my age? (49) ...almost every day! As the oldest Professional Triathlete on the planet, I'm often met with comments from others of "Wow. Well, age is just a number, right?" Wrong. Age is real. VERY real. When people ask how I am still out competing for podiums against women half my age, most assume "Oh, you must take more recovery," or "Oh, you've modified your training since you've gotten older." Not the case. I am doing MORE training and at MORE intensity now than I did in my 30s. What has changed; what has had to change is the time I spend taking care of my body outside of training. So when I wake up and something new feels creaky or tight or sore, I'm on it right away so it doesn't become "a thing" that keeps me from executing my training as planned. If I'm going to keep up with these young kids, I need every session to count!
BSC: How long do you wait in your athletic self-care routine before you seek some kind of help with the problem spot (massage, chiro, PT, needling, etc.)?
DG: Typically, if an issue hasn't resolved with self-care within about a week, I'll seek some extra help. Or, if pain escalates significantly over the course of a session or in a couple of sequential days from the onset of pain, then I call in the pros.
BSC: How often do you foam roll as part of athletic self-care?
DG: Daily. Sometimes twice! Sometimes, it's just a quick once-over with a foam roller over a certain spot or a quick swing with "The Stick" or a Thera-Gun...or a car buffer (best body tool ever!) to warm something up or loosen something up before a session. I'm also in the gym every day and each session will start with anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes of foam rolling, trigger ball work, etc.
BSC: How often do you get muscle work done?
DG: I get weekly massages. Depending on the time of year, sometimes 2x per week. Then if I am dealing with an issue, I may have a chiropractic appointment or PT session on top of that.
BSC: How often do you do strength/corrective exercise work when performing athletic self-care?
DG: Every day! I am in the gym seven days a week. Three days are "primary strength" days. The other four days are shorter sessions of 15-30 minutes of foam rolling, trigger ball work, mobility and any corrective exercises my strength coach, Kevin Purvis prescribes. Sometimes, if I am dealing with an issue, we'll add PT prescribed exercises into those sessions as well. Most of my "non strength" gym days address thoracic mobility, hip mobility, and since, I'm prone to low leg issues, so we do a lot of calf strengthening, ankle mobility and foot strength work.
BSC: Do you use recovery drink mix, supplements, etc. for your athletic self-care routine?
DG: I use some limited supplements; adrenal support, vitamin B, zinc, and magnesium. I use recovery drink mixes after every big session, or after smaller sessions where I won't have access to proper food calories within a short window of finishing a session.
BSC: Do you use self-care tools to help with athletic recovery, i.e. NormaTec, massage guns, muscle stim machines, compression socks, etc.?
DG: I have quite the inventory of recovery tools! I use NormaTec boots almost every day, a Thera-Gun, a car buffer (don't knock it till you try it!), cups, and I'm a fan of epsom salt baths for recovery as well.
Two of the best young triathletes on the 70.3 circuit today happen to be one of triathlons power couples. Jeanni Seymour and Justin Metzler have already created a lengthy racing resume of wins and podium finishes in their young careers. Let’s see how seriously they take their self-care as athletes:
BSC: How often do you have a trouble spot or something bothering you?
Justin- Almost everyday I wake up with something sore or tight. I have specific problematic areas such as my hamstrings and lower legs (achilles tendons) in addition to tight upper back and shoulders. It always takes me a while in the morning to get the body rolling and I have some exercises in my routine that feed those areas with blood flow to ensure they are ready to go for that day’s training.
Jeanni- I would say about once a month I have something that gets extra tight or one of my recurring issues may pop up. I try to stay on top of issues before they even start with frequent self care, massage and chiropractic work.
BSC: How long, as athletes, do you wait in your self-care routine before you seek some kind of help with the problem spot (massage, chiro, PT, needling, etc.)?
Both of us try to give it the 72-hour rule. Part of training hard is breaking down muscles and letting them repair stronger so we believe that it is OK to be sore. BUT if something is abnormally sore, could be categorized as painful or persists beyond 72 hours, it’s time to get someone else to look at it. First stop is likely at our weekly massage or we will book in to see the chiropractor/ needling specialist for some extra attention and/ or diagnosis.
BSC: How often do you foam roll for athletic self-care?
Jeanni- everyday, about 10 minutes
Justin- I try to be consistent but don’t get to it every day. I would say 3-5 times per week I foam roll for about 10-15 minutes. If something is specifically bothering me, I will make sure to give it extra attention on the foam roller. In those instances, I’m more likely to foam roll everything as I have a little routine I run through with it.
BSC: How often do you get muscle work done for athletic self-care?
We both shoot for 1x per week on massage. 2-4x per month on chiropractic/ ART/ Graston type treatments. The later in the season we get, the more we rely on that treatment as our bodies begin to really fatigue under heavy training, racing and travel stress.
BSC: How often do you do strength/corrective exercise work?
Jeanni- 2x per week with a personal trainer
Justin- 2x per week with a personal trainer and 1x per week solo working on strengthening and loosening my “issues.” I know that without doing my specific exercises for my lower legs an injury is likely so it’s important for me to get into the gym by myself 1x per week to keep these issues at bay. I’ll also incorporate some hip decoupling and core strength in this session.
The workouts with our strength coach, Erin Carson are very dynamic. We work on every aspect of strength training from pure strength to power to mobility.
BSC: Do you use recovery drink mix, supplements, etc. for your athletic self-care?
We both use First Endurance Ultragen after almost every single session. We also supplement with a multivitamin, fish oil, iron, vitamin C and probiotic.
Justin has found that he tends to lose a lot of magnesium in warm conditions so he will supplement with that in summer months or if he is doing specific heat training to prepare for a warm weather race.
BSC: Do you use tools to help with recovery, i.e. NormaTec, massage guns, muscle stim machines, compression socks, etc?
We both sit in the NormaTec boots for 45 minutes every evening. We also just picked up a massage gun that we are working into the routine. Initial reviews are good but still need some time to see how it will integrate into our processes!
If you are struggling with figuring out what to do and why, check out our blog: Doctors advice on how to build your 2021 Self Care Routine by clicking here.
At Boulder Sports Chiropractic we help athletes and active people of all levels, weekend warriors to professionals. Each visit includes some muscle work (Active Release Technique, Graston Technique, or Dry Needling), chiropractic adjustments, and corrective exercises to get you out of pain, balanced, and performing at your best.
We also offer Physical Therapy and Massage therapy in office. Our team of providers work together to help you get back to performing at your highest level.
Schedule an appointment today.