by Janelle Reserva
Whether your team lost or won, you, the athlete, are still a winner for having the ability to commit and sacrifice your time in every practice and game. Your character, courage, and dedication make you a person worth emulating. But at the same time, you also need your body to function well and to give those muscles some proper recovery because those paperwork and exams are waiting for you like the way the grim reaper with his large scythe waits for the soul of a dying human being. We mustn’t forget about the fundamental things which include recovery and rest. Look at this checklist:
KEEP GOING. Don’t let all those established muscles loosen up; continue with a run or a swim weekly. Masscomm junior and sport enthusiast Jannica Papelleras advises you to try a new activity that doesn’t require the major body part that you used during the entire intramurals week. This will enable you to still be in motion while you ease the aches. Recovery and rest is still a process just like the process of building strength. Most players who abruptly stop strenuous training experience muscle sores. You need to assist your body in returning to its normal strength and quality. Recuperate wisely.
EAT GOOD FOOD. Diet must have been strict for the past days, and it mainly consisted of all the carbohydrates in the world for fueling muscles. BBC News reported 18 times Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps ate a staggering of 10,000 calories, an equivalent to feeding five average men. The combination of a bulky calorie and hard training makes rapid metabolism, but since you can’t do hard training anymore, you can’t do carbo-loading anymore, too. Hence, bring out the fruits and vegetables. You must choose to eat healthy. Eating right is a cliché that will save your life and will let you play in the next year’s intramural competition.
SLEEP & DRINK UP. Resolve to sleep as early as you can in an entire week. Close all the screens including that laptop screen! If you can’t, get a massage and order that masseur or masseuse to give you an hour or two to sleep. Take naps too. Sleep regenerates your cells and achieves complete rest in both mind and body. Just like good food and sleep, water boosts endurance and helps heal fatigue.
REWARD THYSELF. Go buy, eat, and do something you’ve always wanted to do, but in moderation. You don’t want to start a bad habit and destroy good habits you’ve just started. One of the fine things of the intramurals week is that you see the value of our body and the incredible things that it can do. Thou shall not destroy it. Guard it and be a good steward of your body. Just as you are dedicated to winning, put the same dedication to your one and only body. Remind yourself that you don’t have another body or a spare part of your arm. Be accountable for your own life. Focus on what you have gained not on what you have given up.
VISIT YOUR DOCTOR. If there’s swelling, a pain or any odd ills, go and see a doctor. Some ice, elevation of the affected area, or Googling about the illness might help, but you still need to see a doctor. Don’t get out of college with an incurable injury. Real life is out there and you must be well enough to face it. Recovery is a process. Like building vitality for every game, you also build recovery. Commit to it. It is one of the right things that you must value
