mbg Magnificence Director
mbg Magnificence Director
Alexandra Engler is the sweetness director at mindbodygreen and host of the sweetness podcast Clear Magnificence Faculty. Beforehand, she’s held magnificence roles at Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports activities Illustrated, and Attract.com.
Picture by Dwell Media Publishing Group / Alamy Inventory Picture
August 09, 2024
We love celebrating girls on high of their recreation. In our new sequence Recreation On, we’re interviewing high athletes about their well-being routines—overlaying all the pieces from vitamin that makes them really feel robust to the moments that convey them pleasure.
Thirty-one 12 months outdated seaside volleyball star Melissa Humana-Paredes simply took residence the Silver medal for Canada in the course of the 2024 Olympics in Paris alongside her associate Brandie Wilkerson.
I acquired the possibility to speak with Humana-Paredes main as much as the video games, and after our name I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and impressed.
To begin, Humana-Paredes is on a journey to encourage: It is her mission to make sports activities and the Olympics extra eco-friendly and bring attention to the climate crisis. As one of many founders of EcoAthletes (a set of athletes, coaches, and different professionals that intention to assist change sports activities for the greener), she’s on a mission to convey the local weather disaster to the forefront in any method she will.
She’s additionally simply personally inspiring: Following within the footsteps of her father (who performed for the Chilean nationwide volleyball group earlier than immigrating to Canada, fleeing a army dictatorship), she’s been obsessed with volleyball since she was a younger lady.
And now, she has some recommendation for younger girls who would possibly wish to observe in her footsteps.
Over the 45-minute video chat, we acquired deep into her routine—together with her intensive complement lineup, how she cares for her psychological well being, and what recommendation she has for younger athletes like she as soon as was.
Mindbodygreen: I wish to hear all the pieces, however let’s begin off with among the extra well being targeted questions first. What are your sleeping ideas, particularly the evening earlier than an enormous match?
Humana-Paredes: I’ve positively been in conditions the place the thoughts races—however it’s very true earlier than large moments in life and high-pressure conditions. I’ve been by that have the place I’m simply attempting to go to sleep, however all of the situations are working by my head. In some unspecified time in the future, you simply hit the time the place you’re counting down the hours til the alarm goes off.
I am not myself after I do not get the correct quantity of sleep. I do know I would like optimum sleep to have the ability to carry out.
Now, I’ve been by that state of affairs sufficient to know the way to utterly forestall it. I’ll do all the pieces to keep away from it, and that begins with the lead-up to mattress. My night routine begins just a few hours earlier than mattress.
For me, it is so laborious to only make that swap. So I feel you actually have to be sending these messages to your thoughts and your physique, earlier than you assume to have the ability to begin truly shutting down.
I’m very large on temper. As soon as dinner is over, and we’ve recovered from the day, I flip off overhead lighting and light-weight a candle or do some type of temper lighting. I’ll placed on delicate music or some chill podcast. I at all times journey with my very own favourite teas. I must have some type of chamomile tea or another wind-down tea.
About an hour earlier than I truly wish to go to sleep, I often take some type of sleep enhancement to time it out.
The opposite factor I do is that characteristic on the iPhone that reduces blue mild. I began doing it and observed the most important distinction. I didn’t notice how a lot blue mild was affecting me till I switched it off. It’s additionally nice as a result of if you wish to try this final minute scroll of instagram earlier than mattress, it’s not as entertaining when it’s all purple. It makes you place the telephone away.
Then I’ll begin with my skincare routine. As soon as I begin my skincare routine, meaning it’s time for mattress. I’m washing the time off. I’m getting within the zone.
Then after I’m about to knock out, I’ll placed on my Manta Sleep Mask and earplugs. I swear by them. I’ve tried so many various eye masks, and these are the winner for me.
If I’m feeling a bit extra anxious, I’ll go to sleep to a guided meditation and do a psychological physique scan to chill out the physique and thoughts. Actually, I often go to sleep in the midst of that.
mbg: what meals provide help to really feel strongest?
Humana-Paredes: Once I consider a meal that makes me really feel the strongest, I consider breakfast. Breakfast makes me really feel the strongest as a result of it is the very first thing that my physique will absorb and provides me gas for the entire day. Immediately within the mornings now we have coaching, so if I’m not getting that gas initially of the day, I do know I’m going to really feel fatigued. I often have two breakfasts. One earlier than my coaching session after which instantly after my coaching session.
I’ve various kinds of breakfast choices—candy and savory. And I prefer to alternate between the 2. One among my favorites is the basic greek yogurt, granola, berries, flax seeds, chia seeds, peanut butter—it is simply so versatile.
Then for one thing savory, I like toast with eggs, avocado, greens, and potatoes. That is going to be somewhat bit hearty as a result of not solely do I would like fueling for the remainder of the day, however I additionally must replenish what was misplaced in coaching periods.
These are my two go-to meals. They’re so that they’re adjustable to your wants and so they hit all the pieces. You have got your carbs, fat, and protein.
I do know protein has develop into such an enormous dialogue, particularly with girls, as a result of there have been so many misconceptions about how a lot protein we really want. Personally, I’m very protein aware as a result of I’ve to repair my muscles. In each snack or meal I’ve, I would like protein. What’s nice is that there are tremendous fast fixes like, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are actually nice methods to get protein for a snack. For meals, I gravitate in direction of hen and fish.
And there’s no disgrace in having a protein shake as a fast answer. That’s one thing I’ve between periods all the group. Typically after a coaching session, I’m exhausted and I can’t actually even take into consideration meals. I would like time earlier than I can eat a meal, however I do know I would like protein. And a shake meets all my wants.
mbg: what’s the most intense factor you’ve tried within the hopes of optimizing your efficiency?
Humana-Paredes: Cold plunging actually takes lots of psychological turmoil to arrange to get into, however. It’s been superb. It saved me within the Tokyo Olympics, which is the most popular Olympics ever recorded. Earlier than and after each coaching session and recreation, we might be within the chilly tub. I might look ahead to it as a result of I simply wanted my physique to chill down. So there are occasions after I’m like, I would like this, even when it offers me an entire physique visceral response.
mbg: Do you’ve gotten any favourite every day habits?
Humana-Paredes: Oh, I do have an enormous complement routine.
mbg: Let’s hear the highlights.
Humana-Paredes: The three every day capsules I take are vitamin D, Omega 3s, and probiotics. In fact it’s important to have every day vitamin D, despite the fact that I play seaside volleyball and I am within the solar, I nonetheless want vitamin D dietary supplements.
For powders, I do creatine, a greens powder, and collagen. I additionally take tart cherry and turmeric for restoration. I additionally completely love electrolytes. I received’t go wherever with out them.
I additionally love adaptogenic mushrooms within the type of teas to assist calm me down for the nighttime.
Once I journey, my suitcase is half full of dietary supplements. Some folks assume I’m loopy, however I feel it’s a necessity.
mbg: What exercises do you’re keen on that don’t have anything to do together with your sport?
Humana-Paredes: Just a few years in the past I found Lagree Pilates on the reformer. It’s so totally different from my sport, and it’s so humbling. It’s one of the crucial humbling exercises I’ve ever achieved. I truly don’t like telling folks I’m knowledgeable athlete or an Olympian after I’m there as a result of I can not maintain these poses.
It simply works all of the little muscle groups that we do not work. We’re utilizing our large muscle teams—our quads, our hamstrings, our glutes—and these go deeper than that. It’s an ideal praise to what I am doing as a result of it hits these muscle groups that I am not paying a lot consideration to and makes me stronger.
mbg: Okay—clearly you do lots of work to prep for video games. Let’s speak about what comes after: What’s your restoration routine?
Humana-Paredes: Immediately after a recreation—inside half-hour—we’re getting our vitamins in by way of shake.That begins the restoration course of. That vitamin piece is usually forgotten.
If we’re fortunate, we’ll have a physiotherapist on tour, so we’ll do a session. It’s often some type of delicate tissue work and dealing by sore factors. We’ll additionally do Normatec as effectively, that are these air compression boots. They’re incredible between video games to offer your physique a lift and a few lymphatic drainage. I additionally journey with therapeutic massage weapons.
If there’s a chance, I am going right into a pool or do some type of water remedy. Not too lengthy as a result of I don’t wish to loosen up an excessive amount of if I’ve a recreation the subsequent day. After which I’ll do a chilly plunge—in opposition to my will, however I am going to do it.
However after all the final word restoration is sleep. I am unable to compromise on that. And that is the one factor I prioritize. I’ll scrap different issues in my routine that I simply talked about as a way to get extra sleep. If physio goes to take me too lengthy and minimize into my nighttime routine, I am going to push it and ensure I am getting sleep.
These different modalities are going to offer you that 1, 2, 3% edge, however many of the restoration goes to be coming from sleep and meals.
mbg: I feel resilience is such an necessary a part of being a high athlete. I’m additionally at all times so interested by how athletes construct resilience—as a result of it’s one thing you can domesticate inside you with time.
Humana-Paredes: Particularly on the stage that I play at, everyone has the bodily attributes. Everybody’s match. Everybody can play volleyball. Everybody has the talents. However it’s the psychological half that makes the distinction. It’s about the way you’re going to have the ability to bounce again.
Everybody has totally different routines. One among our most necessary group members is our sports activities psychologist. We would not be capable to journey with him on a regular basis, however now we have entry to him, whether or not it is textual content messages or telephone calls. And it is actually necessary to have that useful resource—to have somebody to share your insecurities, your doubts, and your fears with. It’s necessary to have somebody who you’ll be able to stroll by all that with.
Athletes have moments of weak point and insecurities that we’re all combating by. Even within the moments the place they appear probably the most calm, they is likely to be combating one thing inside.
Plenty of the work that I do is psychological imagery, which helps construct resilience and confidence. It is self-talk. It is actually simply what you are saying to your self and the way you see your self more often than not. It’s important to converse to your self kindly, such as you would a good friend. As a result of what you say, you’ll internalize.
It takes time and it takes follow to have the ability to handle these unfavorable ideas and handle these insecurities. And, after all, they’re okay to have. The most effective instruments I exploit is when one thing comes up in my head, I simply thank it, acknowledge it, however then transfer on to one thing else.
It’s all encompassing. It is a 24-7 job and the psychological piece is probably the most exhausting and probably the most draining, however probably the most rewarding as soon as you’re feeling it working.
mbg: I do know in seaside volleyball, your teammates imply a lot extra as a result of it’s solely the 2 of you. What makes a great teammate to you? How do you present up on your teammates?
Humana-Paredes: Yeah, in seaside volleyball there’s just one different individual there—and so they’re relying on you. So I do really feel a bit extra accountability to be my greatest self.
I have been so lucky. I’ve had so many various nice teammates in my life. The teammate I’ve proper now could be particularly necessary to me and we have got a extremely good thing going. And I feel what makes this actually particular is that there’s identical to an underlying basis of respect and admiration.
We all know the place one another has come from—from our childhood to how we acquired to the place we at the moment are. There’s full on appreciation and admiration for our paths. They usually’re utterly totally different paths of how we each acquired to this place that we’re in collectively.
Compassion and respect will get you very far in life with folks that you simply work with.
However I feel crucial factor in a great teammate is vulnerability. I don’t assume you’ll be able to construct belief or that basis with out vulnerability.
It’s scary to type of present your true colours. However once you’re on this journey collectively—and it’s an enormous journey, with large objectives—you’ve gotten to have the ability to get into the nitty gritty.
It’s important to speak about large, scary issues: What are you afraid of? What makes you tick? When issues are going unhealthy, what’s one of the best ways to speak to you and provide help to? What are the stuff you want?
It takes some self-awareness, however should you can verbalize that and be trustworthy and weak, that creates a basis of belief.
mbg: What recommendation would you give younger girls and aspiring volleyball gamers—or aspiring athletes of any sort?
Humana-Paredes: It took me some time to be taught this, however it’s necessary to consider who you’re surrounding your self with. And you may solely be vital about that after you realize who you’re, what your objectives are, and what your non-negotiables are.
Everyone has a special checklist of issues that they are on the lookout for in sports activities. Some folks wish to simply get higher and attempt to attain their true potential. Another person may need a special purpose, and so they simply wish to win completely all the pieces. They’re placing their head down and that is their solely purpose. Or somebody simply desires to go and be a extremely nice chief and actually good teammate.
Everyone seems to be totally different, however you’ll want to discover out your why. What do you wish to get out of this? What do you wish to go away behind? These are actually necessary inquiries to ask. It would preserve you clear in your path and grounded. And I feel after getting that, you’ll know who you wish to encompass your self with and what are the qualities and folks that you simply wish to have round you.
