How Team USA Recovers After Competition at the Olympics and Paralympics

[energetic upbeat music]

My recovery process is extremely extensive,

particularly after a competition.

I immediately take the Theragun.

I Theragun my full body for maybe five to 10 minutes.

Then I have these JetBoots by Therabody

that I put on while I'm then Theragunning my upper body.

Oftentimes I'll go to Reset,

which is a recovery facility by Therabody.

I'll go do red light, sauna,

stretch and massage, cryotherapy, hyperbaric.

I have a really, really extensive recovery routine.

I do this on a daily basis as well.

So I'm very into the recovery,

making sure my body's optimized,

making sure I'm not leaving any centimeters on the table

as far as performance,

and then staying healthy all throughout the season.

I usually lift,

because then if I lift right after the game,

I'll already, you know,

just continue a high-intensity workout.

So then the following day can really be like a recovery day

Sleep. [laughing]

No, ice baths work pretty good too, actually.

But they have this thing,

it's like a NormaTec, and it goes around my legs,

and it kind of helps push all the blood

and move everything around,

and kind of helps me recover a little bit.

The first thing that I do is I always call my mom

'cause we talk about the match,

and it's literally within like 15 minutes,

so like I change, I call my mom.

As of lately,

it's drinking kombucha,

'cause I feel like I'm fancy, like it's my wine.

I try to get in some Word,

so like the Bible before bed.

Guilty pleasure, I scroll before bed,

so I'll like go through TikTok,

and just like watch videos and then knock out.

Well I've had to really focus on my recovery game

as I've aged in my career.

I'm 36 years old now,

but it feels like I'm about 107 in athlete years,

so recovery is super important.

As soon as the game ends,

I'm back out doing some dynamic stretching,

making sure that I feel loose

and getting ready for the next game,

so that's the physical side.

I always try to get like a protein smoothie

like right afterwards just to get some like fast carbs,

to get some protein that my body can process

as fast as humanly possible.

And then it starts with like

another big meal right after the game.

So to make sure that my body is fueled the right way

to not only help recover

but to propel me towards victory in the next competition.

After a game, our recovery process

is kind of like down to a T.

So, we get down in the game, we meet on the sideline,

have a huddle, take a few breaths,

and then we head back to our locker room, use it beforehand,

you know, take some pictures of fans,

and then when we get to our locker room,

we put our legs up for about two minutes.

Afterwards, we do shout outs

and just kind of come together as a team,

say what happened in that game.

And then we get a protein shake,

and I try to hop in the ice bath

as quickly as I can usually,

especially if it's not a hot climate,

we try to hop in really quickly.

And then from there, just kind of,

like all sorts of modalities, like whether it's NormaTec,

you know, stretching, whatnot, we try to get it in.

My recovery process is, [laughs] as a girl, dry shampoo,

'cause you know what's not cute is, sweaty, helmet hair,

and the minute they wanna take your helmet off,

it's not cute.

So, in my handcycle I will have dry shampoo in it.

And then also just like right afterwards

going to get my recovery drink,

taking off my sweaty clothes and the uniform,

and putting a new one on.

That's part of my after-race routine is, dissecting it.

What I could have improved, what I wish I did and didn't do,

and what I am proud of,

because I have another race after that,

and so I just want to to keep that fresh.

You gotta cool down,

so I hop in the cool down pool, swim a few laps.

I have some special bands that help with blood flow,

so that's good.

Other than that, I love saunas.

I love ice baths, I love massages.

So if you're a masseuse,

and you want to come massage me,

I may be accepting applications.

Not always, but if I'm feeling it, it's an ice bath.

When it's still cold in the season,

I don't like to go into the ice bath

after the freezing cold.

I actually lift after, it just helps with recovery

and kind of just like pushing your border.

And then, yeah, protein shakes, water.

You just need to refuel, drink the right things,

and, yeah, get ready for the next week.

Seeing my massage therapist once or twice a week,

that usually helps right after the competition

just to release everything,

the tension from the stress and the ride.

After a race,

a lot of times I'll have another one coming right up,

so I try to rest as much as possible.

If I have two races in the same day,

I'll immediately like try to go somewhere

where I can lie down,

and then recaffeinate when it's time to go again.

We're given snacks right after the game,

so we get to eat right away, which is nice.

We always travel with the NormaTec, like the puffy pants.

I just really try to distract myself more

than anything else after a game,

because it's so easy to be like,

Oh, what did I do at this time?

And like get really like down a rabbit hole,

so it's like how can I distract my mind

to just like relax a little bit,

like whether it's like reading, coloring,

or like honestly, just working

or doing something different.

Yes, sure.

From a physical standpoint,

it looks like it needs to be better, honestly.

[upbeat music]

I'll usually fly home the day after I fight.

I don't really have much time to recover,

'cause we'll get right back into training.

Ice baths, stretching,

you know, NormaTec, those big inflatable legs,

that type of stuff.

I try my best to physically recover,

but the sport is ever-moving,

and we gotta get to the next thing real quick.

To mentally recover, usually, if I can,

I'll try to hit the beach or something

or go on a nice drive when I get home.

I just gotta disconnect and get in touch with nature.

Something, just touch the grass.

I'll go home and I'll touch grass. [laughs]

We fly out quite quickly after we fight.

So if I do have the time,

then I will be basically doing the same thing.

I'm a person of routine,

basically, same thing for dinner,

just eating whatever it is.

I've just had some type of protein, some type of carb,

some vegetable source of some sort,

and then just a long shower, that's it.

As well as packing, just in case,

so I don't leave my passport anywhere,

not that I've ever done that before.

If my doctor's there, he will readjust me,

he'll reset my system,

so it allows me to just recover a lot better.

If there's an ice bath available, I'll do that.

I'll do a lot of stretching and mobility work,

if it's not too late.

I like to have a really good meal.

I like to maybe even go out to a restaurant

if it's the end of a tournament.

Debrief with my teammates, like watch video,

try to learn from what we did.

If we have another game, look forward to the next one,

and start moving forward.

Whatever gets your mind moving, gets those things flowing.

I definitely do a lot of reflection,

whether that's individually or with others.

You'll find me talking game a lot with my teammates,

and then also just getting recovery in.

Nutritionally with food,

but also, you know, if I need to see the trainer,

or, you know, flush out my legs or stretch,

because water polo is a super tough sport,

and we gotta be able to bounce back.

So, just getting the recovery in that's needed.

I always go get sushi with my mom,

but after that I think we usually have about two days off

after World Cups and things.

So just taking those two days,

I like to unpack right away,

do all the laundry, get all that stuff done.

Recover and rest before my next meet.

I like to stick my legs up in the air

and lay down for like hours.

That's my favorite form of recovery, yeah.

I try to convince myself to eat,

because I think that eating

right after a hard workout or a race,

is really beneficial to start that recovery process,

especially for the next day.

I do some stretching while my muscles are still warm.

Try to cool down my muscles after a race with a light spin,

and then take a shower,

and then just try to really focus on listening to my body,

seeing what needs more attention,

if something needs a massage,

if my leg muscles are more tired

than the day before,

if my left leg is a little bit more sore than my right,

and just try to make sure that

I can get that recovery process

so that I can be ready for the next race day.

So it's usually Theragun, usually before and after icing,

if there's some really like nagging injuries,

and then just a lot of like extra stretching.

After a competition,

I'm usually out celebrating with friends

and traveling back home.

Once I'm home, I always take a week off away from the gym,

and I'm usually out just like enjoying good food,

and it's pretty relaxed.

Normally, my physio will be falling with me,

so he would do some routines for that.

Sometimes if my muscles feel

a little bit sore or something,

I will do some icing bath,

and then hot tub for a switch over, yeah.

I feel like a good walk is how I like to recover,

and then just laying down and resting.

It's pretty simple, but that's what I like to do.

This has gotten more and more important

the longer I'm in this sport.

I love cold tubs, I love massage, that's my favorite.

I work with a PT,

so sometimes we'll do some stuff at the meet,

sometimes more at home.

I also love NormaTec,

all the Hyperice, like massage guns and everything,

so those are some of my go-tos.

Recovery from contests is always really hard.

Those moments, especially mentally, take a toll,

and you love being in that atmosphere

if you're very competitive like I am.

It just kind of consists of getting back in the road,

and kind of taking some time off the board,

maybe getting on the golf course.

Pretty mellow.

[bright music]