OPTIMIZING REST AND RECOVERY

Optimizing Rest and Recovery: 

With the Academy Year coming to an end last week this is a great time to take a week or two off and recover from the treacherous tournament season! Picture this, you put it all out there on the line each and every tournament, each and every workout throughout the year. You put your body through the toughest conditions and came out on top! Eventually your body will break down, this is usually seen in fatigue, injury, sluggishness or even sickness. Even the best in the world take a few weeks off after the season is over. Rory usually takes 4-6 weeks off of swinging a golf club to work on his performance gains in the gym during his offseason! For most of us 1-2 week intervals are best a few times throughout the calendar year. 

As an athlete, you need to be in tune with all of this and know when your body needs a break! This is to ensure that you don’t have any setbacks and you can keep your trajectory working upwards towards your goals! Now this doesn’t mean you do nothing during these 2 weeks though! 

The first week is meant to get into deep relaxation mode. This could mean taking a relaxing trip somewhere tropical, optimizing your sleep schedule and getting a minimum of up to 8-10 hours of sleep per night, hanging out with friends and family, laughing and enjoying life and minimizing screen time after the sun has gone down, really trying to get the most out of week 1 of recharging your internal battery. Now you still want to get some movement in during this week. Light activities like hikes, yoga, deep breathing activities, myofascial release techniques with a lacrosse ball and light to moderate workouts in the gym. Nutrition is also key, it is very important to eat nutritious things throughout this week while hydrating with at least half your body in ounces per day. These types of activities will optimize your deep relaxation week. 

For the second week now it’s time to build daily routines that you can bring into the fall. Continue to get 8-10 hours of sleep but start to wake up a little earlier and build a solid morning routine. For example getting sun first thing in the morning then get into your workout immediately after this. Then, nourish your body with a nutritious breakfast and start to really dial in your nutrition and hydration. During this week it is really important to eat 3-4 full meals per day, prioritizing protein, carbs, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables and drinking again half your body weight in ounces and start to introduce an electrolyte supplement like Liv Pur Hydrate.

As for golf, you should take a few days off completely from swinging to give your body a break. After this I would suggest setting up fun rounds with your family and friends and simply just having fun out there. This will get your mind right to bring into the competitive fall golf season! 

At the end of the day you are human and everyone needs a break and a recharge use this outline to optimize your time off! You will feel recharged and reap the benefits of dominating your fall season and even into having a successful offseason! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to the Performance Team about how to really dial in a rest week!