Q: Take me through a typical training day for you - what do you do first thing in the morning?
A: I wake up around 7 a.m. every day. The first thing I do in the morning is chug a glass of water so I don’t feel dehydrated when I get up. I try to eat something small like a banana then drive to the stadium from my house in Boulder. Once I get to the stadium, I immediately eat breakfast there because it’s provided. Then, I take all of my vitamins - C, D, potassium, omega 3 – I stay on top of it. Then I hop into the hot tub to get my body going and get dressed to begin my prehab. This usually consists of rolling out (tissue work) and stretching. After I go to the training room to get any knocks sorted out that are bothering me. Before we head to the training pitch, we watch film or have a meeting.
Q: How do you approach each training session? Does it depend on the day of week or is there some similarity to each session?
A: You’ve got to go in with the mentality that you’re going to get the most out of each training session. Some are a lot higher intensity levels and some are a lot lower, but you’ve got to go in with that mentality that you’re going to get something out of it. Sometimes it’s just focusing on set pieces or watching film, and that is just as important as when you’re going through an intense training.
Q: What about recovery after a typical training session? Massage? Weights?
A: When we (the young guys) get a chance, we like to take advantage of the massages. Other than that, we have weights and roll out with stretching and some core work.
Q: What about technology and all the resources you guys have available to you - what’s one thing you get to use or take part in because of your professional status?
A: We wear a stats tracker at training which is nice because Miguel (Motolongo) can monitor our workloads. If we ask questions he’ll sit down with you and explain where you’re at. As far as everything else goes, the massages are nice because we weren’t used to getting those at the college level.
Q: And food is obviously a big part of any athlete’s diet - what eating habits do you stick to?
A: Your eating habits a couple of days before a game are crucial. I usually want to load up on carbs and hydrate. I’m cramped prone, so I take the salts very seriously. I put a salt packet in my drinks pretty much every day, but I load up on them before a game. Other than that, I just try to eat healthy – make sure I have plenty of fruits and vegetables on every plate. My favorite meal is a Chipotle bowl where I can just go in and get good protein, beans, rice, lettuce, vegetables – that’s my favorite.
In college, I was not as mature about my diet. You don’t stick to one until you realize that it has a good benefit to it. When I didn’t eat healthy on somedays, I could feel it the next day. Through those experiences, I know now that you definitely have to prepare yourself with a good diet.
Q: What about travel, it’s not easy to stay healthy and on your routine when you’re on the road. Any tips?
A: The club is really good about making sure that we have healthy foods on every trip, and are eating often. The food they provide is really healthy so it is easy for us to stick to our routines. Even when we have per diem, we usually get a few guys together and go to find a nice healthy restaurant so we can stay on that healthy routine.
Q: How about after a match? Any routines? Are you already thinking about the next match or training as soon as you finish?
A: It depends on when the next home game is. If we have a mid-week game, I’ll want to bike, get a massage, ice bath or use the compression pants. We really take advantage of those things when we have a mid-week match. If we have a whole week until the next match, I take the next two days to worry about that instead of right after the match.
I take the night to rest after a match, but the next day it’s important to get the legs moving.
Q: What about the off-season - do you have to watch what you do and eat or is it mostly a recovery process followed by a ramp up to preseason
A: In college, it was all about maintaining our fitness, our diets didn’t really change. However, since it’s such a long season it’s important to get a few weeks of complete rest. It’ll be a learning curve for me. I’ll talk to some of the older guys to see where they’re at. I’m sure they get to eat a little bit unhealthy for the first few weeks, but that’ll be a learning curve. I’m a big ice cream guy, so maybe I’ll eat a bit more ice cream.
Q: What advice would you offer to someone trying to live a healthy lifestyle?
A: It’s all about the routine. You can set goals for yourself in your head but if you can’t get into that routine, it’s so easy to break. It takes a while, but notes in your phone really help. Even diet planners to help keep track of what you eat are good. Once you get on a routine it’s easy to maintain because it is consistent.
