Heading into this year’s CrossFit Games, Tia-Clair Toomey is already considered one of the best female athletes in the world. Now she shares her secrets to recovery, so she can train more and maintain this high level of achievement.
As a three-time consecutive winner of the CrossFit Games, and the only woman to achieve this feat, it is safe to say that Toomey is always staying busy in the gym. Over the years she has been able to learn and better understand her body, and what can happen if she pushes herself too far. However she is still a very dedicated athlete who strives to do better and keep improving.
Naturally someone who trains as hard as Tia-Clair Toomey is bound to develop some best practices for recovery in between workouts. She trains multiple times a day usually, so she has had to figure out what allows her to get the best results in this sessions. Speaking in a recent YouTube video, she actually breaks down her recovery program, breaking down how she is able to keep herself actively training without compromising her body.
“For me it’s so important and crucial that I’m doing things, not just in the gym and training hard to get the body ready for competition, but I’m also focusing on my recovery protocols and I’m making sure that I’m getting my body primed and ready to go so that I can train really good, and I reduce the risk of injury.”
Before hitting the gym, and throughout the day, Toomey uses her Hyper Volt massager, to increase blood flow to sore muscles, loosening them up and priming them for workouts. After her first training session and a post-workout shake, she uses an apparatus on her back named Venom. This goes around her waist, and it uses heat and vibrations to relax the muscles, allowing her to stay loose between workouts.
“My back feels good, but I also want to make sure that I’m not feeling fatigued for my second training session.”
Another thing that Tia-Clair Toomey does before her next session, is scrape her joints with some cream and a plastic scraper. She says that this helps her loosen her joints in her knees and elbows, while strengthening her tendons. She then moves on to her last workout of the day.
Her last workout sees Toomey take supplements which she says she helps with recovery as well. Today she was lucky enough to get a massage from her husband, Shane Orr, but this is not a common occurrence. Typically she ends the day with her Normatech boots which massage her legs to aid in recovery, while she watches TV.
As she wraps up the video, Tia-Clair Toomey explains that she will also throw in the occasional ice bath or sauna session. All in all the important thing for her, is to focus on stimulating blood flow and priming her muscles for her workouts. These steps allow her to avoid injuries and keep herself at the top of her game.
