Eric Edmonds- Week 2 Reflection

 Week 2 things were a lot smoother because I learned how to make my routine flow during week one. I stuck with lifting in the morning, playing soccer in the afternoon, and stretching out and mobilizing my body. I was a lot more focused on the recovery aspect of things this week for a lot of reasons. Obviously I was waking up sore the majority of last week and I wanted to learn how to fix it. I also just wanted to build good habits and figure out what my body needs and how it recovers. I was eating well and stretching, but I realized that I am missing an aspect of recovery. I wasn’t sleeping long enough. I also found that taking a 30 minute nap after lunch really benefited my afternoon sessions. I saw in a video about sleep coaching and professional players often nap midday after lunch because it is the body’s natural shutdown period. In Spain, they have siesta which is exactly this. You do a little body reset and it sets you up better than tackling the next thing right after. I took more time to do the drills and stretches right which did nothing but benefitted me. I also worked on going to bed earlier which also helped a lot with soreness. More sleep, on top of what I am already doing, has really made a difference. 

This week I noticed that I was performing my workouts better and having a longer stamina both in the gym, and on the field. My body feels adjusted to the routine and I feel more ready and have more clarity for what I am going to do each day and how I am going to do it. I have noticed this especially during my leg workouts. All of week one I would struggle with the supersets at the end of each workout. However, this week I found that I was performing them with struggle, but I could actually complete the workout maintaining good form the whole way through. 

This project has really opened my eyes to what plyometrics can do to my game and stamina. I feel overall more coordinated and light on my feet. I am seeing why pros stray away from bodybuilding and do more complex workouts. They are specific to soccer!