At Utah Lacrosse, we take responsibility for our success. To give ourselves a chance to show up with the energy we need to achieve our goals, be great teammates, and simply show up at our best to embody the pillars of Utah Lacrosse (Humility, Honesty, Passion, Gratitude, Trust), we first must honor our fundamental habits (eat, move, sleep, breath, and focus). We make sure to train our recovery equally as strong as we train our stress-inducing activities.
We prioritize this on our journey to be the best lacrosse players we can be. Where in your life are you trying to improve? Wherever this may be, James Loehr, in The New Toughness Training for Sports tells us that the secret to sustainable success is; stress + rest.
“Great stress simply requires great recovery. Your goal in toughness, therefore, is to be able to spike powerful waves of stress followed by equally powerful troughs of recovery. So here is an essential Toughness Training Principle: WORK HARD. RECOVER EQUALLY HARD.
From a training perspective then, training recovery should receive as much attention as training stress. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.”
Stress + Rest = Growth.
We need to make waves with our energy as we stretch (but don’t snap) ourselves outside of our comfort zone. This optimal level of stress is where we find our flow state; it’s where all growth occurs. Success is about the long game. Compounded, incremental, sustainable growth is what we’re after. We need to be in a state where we can show up each day and continue chipping away at our goal. Some days
Many high performers, tend to overload the stress portion of the equation. That is why we go to great lengths to make sure that the recovery portion of our training receives equal attention. We bake in specific times to rest, stretch, and relax to allow our bodies and minds to recover. We stretch, ice, practice yoga, roll out our muscles, meditate, etc.
However, when it comes to recovery, the primary habit that we need to optimize is our sleep. How are you doing on this list of habits that science tells us is important for optimal sleep? These aren’t preferences but scientifically proven strategies that will give your recovery an edge.
Ask yourself, what habits are getting in the way of you prioritizing your recovery? For example, do you enjoy watching TV as you fall asleep? This isn’t the end of the world, but understand, that science says it does
