Sloane Stephens’ Self-Care Tips for Traveling

One of many largest developments in her profession that she says has been key to her success is prioritizing recovery. “Our batteries don’t keep charged endlessly, so the identical approach you’d prioritize charging your digital units and preserving their battery, you’ll want to do the identical on your physique,” says Stephens.

Utilizing classes she’s realized through the years 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 may take a severe toll when mixed with so many hours of intense coaching. We spoke with the tennis champ to get her prime suggestions for the way she takes care of herself on the street to verify she’s staying wholesome and feeling her greatest.

Sloane Stephens’ prime 5 self-care suggestions

Stephens has had loads of follow honing her methods for staying wholesome and stopping her physique from turning into overly tight, achy, or drained throughout all that touring. Listed below are her prime 5 items of recommendation.

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1. Solely work as exhausting as you’ll want to—after which get well

Somewhat than going all out on a regular basis, Stephens and her group fastidiously handle her output. “I’ve realized to concentrate on very intentional and environment friendly coaching,” she notes. “We block the day trip, go exhausting, obtain the targets we’ve set out, after which take ample time to permit my physique to get well and replenish from that exercise.”

To assist her try this, Stephens wears a WHOOP band all day day-after-day. “I monitor my pressure, coronary heart charge, and many others. through the day, and within the morning, I get a report on my sleep high quality,” she shares. This helps her and her group strategize on tips on how to adapt her coaching primarily based on the place she’s at every day.

She additionally makes positive to provide her physique what it wants, like Normatec compression boots to assist her muscle groups get well after powerful classes.

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 adjustments every week in a unique metropolis, totally different aircraft, totally different lodge room, I do know I can depend on myself to constantly hydrate and assist my physique operate at its greatest.”

Remembering to drink sufficient water might be powerful, however Stephens swears by a pair methods: “I extremely advocate getting a refillable water bottle and marking it with totally different ranges and instances you need to drink that a lot by,” she suggests. And for those who get uninterested in plain water, she shares that she loves Lemon Perfect 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 loads of stretches targeted on hip mobility and backbone mobility to counteract the consequences of sitting on planes or in my lodge room for hours on finish—issues like lumbar twists, pigeon poses, and hip flexor stretches,” she says.

She says she spends loads 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, putting my arm up at a 90-degree angle and gently pressing my forearm—you’ll really feel this in your pecs,” she says.

4. Keep organized

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

She additionally streamlines her day by 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 communicate along with her group and preserve tabs on every part she has occurring, she shares. “Taking the time to deliberately arrange these constructions and methods in all points of my life helps scale back the noise.”

5. Make wholesome consuming straightforward

Retaining wholesome meals available helps Stephens keep energized for her exercises. “I preserve Quantum Energy Squares in my tennis bag for a simple 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 properly. “I’ve been touring to the identical cities for tournaments annually for nearly 15 years at this level, so I’ve my typical routines and eating places the place I really feel comfy and might preserve a constant, predictable schedule.”

Sloane Stephens’ takeaway for feeling your greatest

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

“My recommendation is to simplify and follow what you recognize is achievable constantly,” 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 together with your thoughts and your physique.”