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 prime of their recreation. In our new sequence Sport On, we’re interviewing prime athletes about their well-being routines—masking all the things from vitamin that makes them really feel sturdy to the moments that deliver them pleasure.
Thirty-one yr outdated seashore volleyball star Melissa Humana-Paredes simply took residence the Silver medal for Canada through the 2024 Olympics in Paris alongside her associate Brandie Wilkerson.
I received 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 goal to assist change sports activities for the greener), she’s on a mission to deliver the local weather disaster to the forefront in any approach she will.
She’s additionally simply personally inspiring: Following within the footsteps of her father (who performed for the Chilean nationwide volleyball staff earlier than immigrating to Canada, fleeing a army dictatorship), she’s been captivated with volleyball since she was a younger woman.
And now, she has some recommendation for younger girls who may wish to comply with in her footsteps.
Over the 45-minute video chat, we received deep into her routine—together with her in depth 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 things, however let’s begin off with a number of the extra well being centered questions first. What are your sleeping suggestions, particularly the night time earlier than an enormous match?
Humana-Paredes: I’ve positively been in conditions the place the thoughts races—but it surely’s very true earlier than massive 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 once I do not get the correct quantity of sleep. I do know I want optimum sleep to have the ability to carry out.
Now, I’ve been by that situation sufficient to know the best way to utterly forestall it. I’ll do all the things to keep away from it, and that begins with the lead-up to mattress. My night routine begins a number of hours earlier than mattress.
For me, it is so exhausting to simply make that change. So I believe you actually have to be sending these messages to your thoughts and your physique, earlier than you suppose to have the ability to begin truly shutting down.
I’m very massive on temper. As soon as dinner is over, and we’ve recovered from the day, I flip off overhead lighting and lightweight a candle or do some type of temper lighting. I’ll placed on mushy music or some chill podcast. I at all times journey with my very own favourite teas. I have to 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 understand 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 do this final minute scroll of instagram earlier than mattress, it’s not as entertaining when it’s all purple. It makes you place the cellphone away.
Then I’ll begin with my skincare routine. As soon as I begin my skincare routine, which means it’s time for mattress. I’m washing the day without work. I’m getting within the zone.
Then once 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 alternative 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. Truthfully, I often go to sleep in the course of that.
mbg: what meals enable you 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 gasoline for the entire day. Straight away within the mornings we have now coaching, so if I’m not getting that gasoline in the beginning 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 several types of breakfast choices—candy and savory. And I prefer to alternate between the 2. One in all my favorites is the traditional 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 just a little bit hearty as a result of not solely do I want fueling for the remainder of the day, however I additionally have to replenish what was misplaced in coaching classes.
These are my two go-to meals. They’re in order that they’re adjustable to your wants they usually hit all the things. You’ve 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 need. Personally, I’m very protein aware as a result of I’ve to repair my muscles. In each snack or meal I’ve, I want 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 the direction of hen and fish.
And there’s no disgrace in having a protein shake as a fast resolution. That’s one thing I’ve between classes all the staff. Typically after a coaching session, I’m exhausted and I can’t actually even take into consideration meals. I want time earlier than I can eat a meal, however I do know I want 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 quite a lot of psychological turmoil to organize to get into, however. It’s been wonderful. 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’d be within the chilly tub. I’d stay up for it as a result of I simply wanted my physique to chill down. So there are occasions once I’m like, I want this, even when it provides me a complete physique visceral response.
mbg: Do you may have any favourite day by day habits?
Humana-Paredes: Oh, I do have an enormous complement routine.
mbg: Let’s hear the highlights.
Humana-Paredes: The three day by day capsules I take are vitamin D, Omega 3s, and probiotics. In fact it’s important to have day by day vitamin D, despite the fact that I play seashore 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 anyplace 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 crammed with dietary supplements. Some individuals suppose I’m loopy, however I believe it’s a necessity.
mbg: What exercises do you’re keen on that don’t have anything to do along 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 probably the most humbling exercises I’ve ever executed. I truly don’t like telling individuals I’m an expert athlete or an Olympian once I’m there as a result of I can’t maintain these poses.
It simply works all of the little muscular tissues that we do not work. We’re utilizing our massive 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 muscular tissues that I am not paying a lot consideration to and makes me stronger.
mbg: Okay—clearly you do quite a lot of work to prep for video games. Let’s discuss 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 commonly forgotten.
If we’re fortunate, we’ll have a physiotherapist on tour, so we’ll do a session. It’s often some type of mushy tissue work and dealing by sore factors. We’ll additionally do Normatec as properly, that are these air compression boots. They’re improbable 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 possibility, I’m 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 following day. After which I’ll do a chilly plunge—towards my will, however I am going to do it.
However in fact 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 in an effort to get extra sleep. If physio goes to take me too lengthy and reduce 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 believe resilience is such an essential a part of being a prime athlete. I’m additionally at all times so inquisitive about how athletes construct resilience—as a result of it’s one thing which you can domesticate inside you with time.
Humana-Paredes: Particularly on the stage that I play at, all people has the bodily attributes. Everybody’s match. Everybody can play volleyball. Everybody has the talents. But it surely’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 in all our most essential staff members is our sports activities psychologist. We would not be capable to journey with him on a regular basis, however we have now entry to him, whether or not it is textual content messages or cellphone calls. And it is actually essential to have that useful resource—to have somebody to share your insecurities, your doubts, and your fears with. It’s essential 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 preventing by. Even within the moments the place they give the impression of being probably the most calm, they is likely to be preventing one thing inside.
Numerous 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. You need to communicate to your self kindly, such as you would a buddy. As a result of what you say, you’ll internalize.
It takes time and it takes follow to have the ability to handle these destructive ideas and handle these insecurities. And, in fact, 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 are feeling it working.
mbg: I do know in seashore volleyball, your teammates imply a lot extra as a result of it’s solely the 2 of you. What makes an excellent teammate to you? How do you present up on your teammates?
Humana-Paredes: Yeah, in seashore volleyball there’s just one different particular person there—they usually’re relying on you. So I do really feel a bit extra duty to be my greatest self.
I have been so lucky. I’ve had so many alternative nice teammates in my life. The teammate I’ve proper now could be particularly essential to me and we have got a very good thing going. And I believe what makes this actually particular is that there’s similar to an underlying basis of respect and admiration.
We all know the place one another has come from—from our childhood to how we received to the place we are actually. There’s full on appreciation and admiration for our paths. And so they’re utterly totally different paths of how we each received to this place that we’re in collectively.
Compassion and respect will get you very far in life with individuals that you just work with.
However I believe crucial factor in an excellent teammate is vulnerability. I don’t suppose 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 massive targets—you may have to have the ability to get into the nitty gritty.
You need to discuss massive, scary issues: What are you afraid of? What makes you tick? When issues are going unhealthy, what’s one of the simplest ways to speak to you and enable you? What are the stuff you want?
It takes some self-awareness, however in the event you can verbalize that and be sincere 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, but it surely’s essential to consider who you’re surrounding your self with. And you may solely be important about that when who you’re, what your targets are, and what your non-negotiables are.
Everyone has a unique record of issues that they are searching for in sports activities. Some individuals wish to simply get higher and attempt to attain their true potential. Another person might need a unique aim, they usually simply wish to win completely all the things. They’re placing their head down and that is their solely aim. Or somebody simply desires to go and be a very nice chief and actually good teammate.
Everyone seems to be totally different, however you might 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 essential inquiries to ask. It can hold you clear in your path and grounded. And I believe after you have that, you can know who you wish to encompass your self with and what are the qualities and folks that you just wish to have round you.