While some people prefer to spend a Saturday Netflix and chilling, for Jill Walker<\/a>, there\u2019s nothing higher than heading out for a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, and topped off with a 26.2-mile run\u2014aka an Ironman triathlon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Walker accomplished her first Ironman in 2007, and was immediately hooked. \u201cI just, you understand, enjoyed being on the market all day,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat higher method to spend a day than swimming, biking, and running?\u201d<\/p>\n Which is why, over the past 16 years, she\u2019s accomplished 68 of those extreme endurance triathlons. That math works out to greater than 4 Ironmans per 12 months. For comparison, the typical athlete takes about 5 – 6 months to coach for this sort of race, after which one other two to 4 weeks to get well afterwards.<\/p>\n Walker doesn\u2019t exactly do average, though. Earlier this 12 months, she and her husband, Dougin, accomplished six Ironman races on six continents in six weeks as a part of their quest to hitch \u201cthe club\u201d of people that\u2019ve done every Ironman on the earth (a club of which there are currently only five members). Last 12 months, they accomplished two Ironmans in a single weekend\u2014one in Kalmar, Sweden, on Saturday followed by one other in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Sunday. The Tampa, Florida\u2013based couple even got married on the bike course through the 2022 Ironman in Cozumel before ending the remainder of the race. Casual.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This begs the query: How on the earth does someone keep their body not only healthy, but recovered enough to compete in major endurance events so close together? (And Walker is<\/em> competitive\u2014during her six-in-six-weeks challenge, Walker won her age group within the Philippines and took second in Brazil.)<\/p>\n \u201cSleep is my superpower<\/a>,\u201d admits Walker. \u201cI get, on average, nine to 10 hours an evening.\u201d Even in foreign hotels, or on planes during travel days, she sleeps well, she says. \u201cI can just lay down anywhere and fall asleep. Once my head hits the pillow, it\u2019s like I am going right into a coma,\u201d she jokes.<\/p>\n This ability to sleep helps explain how Walker can manage such high volume. As experts will let you know, sleep is probably the most powerful muscle recovery tool we’ve. “Non-REM sleep is related to the very best levels of growth hormone release during a day, allowing muscles to heal and grow<\/a>,” Ben Smarr<\/a>, professor at University of California San Diego in bioengineering and data science, previously told Well+Good<\/em>. That human growth hormone helps repair the microscopic muscle tears that occur during exercise, helping your body bounce back and grow stronger.<\/p>\n And for endurance athletes like Walker, the muscle repair process that happens during sleep also helps improve your body\u2019s stamina<\/a>, in response to Jeff Monaco, Gold\u2019s Gym director of education. “If a person is engaged in endurance training, the body will respond by increasing the oxidative capability of those muscle fibers through increases in mitochondrial density and size,\u201d he previously told Well+Good<\/em>, adding that sleep also helps to maintain your endocrine, immune, and nervous systems functioning properly in order that your body can operate at full strength. (FYI: mitochondria are your cell\u2019s battery packs aka energy sources.)<\/p>\n The results of all this physiology are something Walker has long relied on. \u201cI do know there are lots of people who are like, ‘I can sleep six hours and be nice,’ \u201d she says. \u201cI’m just not one among those people.\u201d<\/p>\n Sleep would be the primary recovery technique Walker uses to get her to begin line after start line, but it surely\u2019s not the just one. Listed below are a number of of her other non-negotiables:<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve got chocolate milk after any form of workout, any form of race,\u201d Walker says. Research has shown this tasty childhood treat has an optimal ratio of carbs to protein<\/a> for post-workout recovery.<\/p>\n Walker and Dougin go to a chiropractor and in addition get a 90-minute massage every week. \u201cIt\u2019s not a calming massage,\u201d Walker clarifies, with fun. \u201cOur massage guy beats us up, but it surely\u2019s what we’d like.\u201d<\/p>\n Hyperice\u2019s Normatec 3 Legs<\/a> use a rhythmic series of compression out of your feet as much as your hips to encourage blood flow for faster recovery. \u201cAdditionally they get me to take a seat still,\u201d Walker admits.<\/p>\n Walker repeatedly uses portable massage guns, which have been proven to increase muscle strength and power, and to scale back muscle pain<\/a>. In truth, having one is such a \u201cmust,\u201d that when the couple forgot to bring their Theragun<\/a> to a race, they ended up buying a Hypervolt<\/a> while they were there. Additionally they own the Theragun mini for straightforward packing. “It helps refresh, and make you are feeling higher,” says Walker.<\/p>\n \n Our editors independently select these products. Making a purchase order through our links may earn Well+Good a commission. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWalker\u2019s number-one key to recovering well enough to compete so often<\/h2>\n
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Her other recovery tools<\/h2>\n
1. Chocolate milk<\/h3>\n
2. Consistent body work<\/h3>\n
3. Normatec boots<\/h3>\n
4. Massage guns<\/h3>\n