Sloane Stephens’ Self-Care Ideas for Touring

One of many greatest developments in her profession that she says has been key to her success is prioritizing restoration. “Our batteries don’t keep charged perpetually, so the identical manner you’d prioritize charging your digital gadgets and preserving their battery, you want to do the identical to your physique,” says Stephens.

Utilizing classes she’s discovered over time to enhance how she takes care of her physique, Stephens continues to dominate the skilled tennis scene. But that success has her touring as much as 40 weeks yearly, which might take a critical toll when mixed with so many hours of intense coaching. We spoke with the tennis champ to get her high suggestions for the way she takes care of herself on the highway to verify she’s staying wholesome and feeling her finest.

Sloane Stephens’ high 5 self-care suggestions

Stephens has had a whole lot of apply honing her methods for staying wholesome and stopping her physique from turning into overly tight, achy, or drained throughout all that touring. Listed here are her high 5 items of recommendation.

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1. Solely work as onerous as you want to—after which get better

Quite than going all out on a regular basis, Stephens and her workforce rigorously handle her output. “I’ve discovered to concentrate on very intentional and environment friendly coaching,” she notes. “We block the day trip, go onerous, obtain the objectives we’ve set out, after which take ample time to permit my physique to get better and replenish from that exercise.”

To assist her try this, Stephens wears a WHOOP band all day each day. “I monitor my pressure, coronary heart charge, and so forth. in the course of the day, and within the morning, I get a report on my sleep high quality,” she shares. This helps her and her workforce strategize on learn how to adapt her coaching based mostly on the place she’s at every day.

She additionally makes certain to present her physique what it wants, like Normatec compression boots to assist her muscle mass get better after robust periods.

2. Drink sufficient water

“Hydration is the important thing to every part in life—pores and skin, restoration, and general well being,” Stephens shares. “With so many variables and modifications every week in a distinct metropolis, totally different airplane, totally different resort room, I do know I can depend on myself to persistently hydrate and assist my physique operate at its finest.”

Remembering to drink sufficient water might be robust, however Stephens swears by a pair tips: “I extremely advocate getting a refillable water bottle and marking it with totally different ranges and occasions you wish to drink that a lot by,” she suggests. And in the event you get tired of plain water, she shares that she loves Lemon Excellent a lot that she invested within the firm. “It’s a cold-pressed lemon water with zero sugar,” she says.

3. Stretch

Stephens makes use of stretching not solely to maintain her physique free and limber, but additionally to fight muscle soreness from coaching—and on a regular basis life.

“I do a whole lot of stretches centered on hip mobility and backbone mobility to counteract the results of sitting on planes or in my resort room for hours on finish—issues like lumbar twists, pigeon poses, and hip flexor stretches,” she says.

She says she spends a whole lot of time hunched over her laptop computer, so she’s additionally cautious to work on opening up her chest. “A good way to do that is by standing within the doorway, placing my arm up at a 90-degree angle and gently urgent my forearm—you’ll really feel this in your pecs,” she says.

4. Keep organized

When Stephens is on the highway for competitions or different engagements, she makes a degree to remain organized. “I hold my resort rooms tremendous tidy and am very organized with my baggage, laundry, and toiletry kits,” she says. “Not solely does it assist me hold monitor of all my belongings, however I’ve discovered it actually helps my thoughts keep clutter-free and centered on the job I’m there to do.”

She additionally streamlines her every day routines to optimize her time and psychological vitality. As an example, she takes benefit of on-line instruments like Slack and Google Drive to simply keep up a correspondence together with her workforce and hold tabs on every part she has happening, she shares. “Taking the time to deliberately arrange these constructions and programs in all elements of my life helps scale back the noise.”

5. Make wholesome consuming straightforward

Conserving wholesome meals readily available helps Stephens keep energized for her exercises. “I hold Quantum Power Squares in my tennis bag for a straightforward snack always,” she says. The plant-based vitality bar helps her keep away from the dreaded afternoon crash.

She additionally depends on tried-and-true meals choices that she is aware of gas her nicely. “I’ve been touring to the identical cities for tournaments every year for nearly 15 years at this level, so I’ve my traditional routines and eating places the place I really feel comfy and might hold a constant, predictable schedule.”

Sloane Stephens’ takeaway for feeling your finest

Self-care isn’t simply aggressive athletes: All of us should really feel our greatest, Stephens emphasizes.

“My recommendation is to simplify and stick with what you understand is achievable persistently,” she says. “With journey choosing up and our lives seemingly getting busier by the minute, consider your self-care routine as a chance to deal with your self with kindness and spend these 5, 10, quarter-hour checking in along with your thoughts and your physique.”