Bridget Moroney  00:04

Welcome to the performance RX podcast the ultimate destination for anyone who wants to perform better in the gym and live a better life outside it. Whether you're just starting your journey or you're a seasoned pro. This show covers a wide range of topics to help you reach your potential and live your best life. Each week on this podcast, I'll be bringing you expert interviews, personal stories and actionable advice to inspire, educate and empower you to reach your goals. So hit follow, grab your headphones and get ready to take your health and performance to the next level. Welcome back to another episode of The formance RX podcast powered by aspire to coaching. I'm your host, Bridget Moroney. And today I'm going to be delving deep into the world of the comeback athlete, the final archetype in my series of athlete archetypes. And before we get into today's episode, if you haven't had the chance to check out what your unique athlete archetype is, I highly encourage you to go over and take the quiz so that you can get your own personalized podcast playlist and other unique resources tailored to your strengths, your goals, and just where you are in your athlete journey. So head over to aspire to coaching.com forward slash athlete archetype. Hit pause right now and go ahead and take that quiz. And you're going to find out which unique athlete archetype you are. And then you're gonna get a little gift from me as a thank you for taking the quiz and as a way to support you on your journey. And I just want to make a note that this is for all intents and purposes a living document. That means that the podcast playlist is going to be updated weekly, because of course, I'm always putting out content on the performance arts podcast weekly. And then once you're in your specific group of athlete archetypes, you're gonna get some special gifts for me, from time to time tailored to you. So be on the lookout for some upcoming resources from me to you to help you. Not only are you going to get your personalized podcast playlist, but you're also going to get future resources from me, including nutrition training routines, and just overall information to help you out. So take the quiz, www dot aspire to coaching.com forward slash athlete archetypes that you can get on that list and get all of these awesome resources just to help you keep crushing it in the gym and then live a better life outside. Alright, let's get into today's episode. So like I said, we're going to be talking about the world of the comeback athlete. And these are the resilient individuals who know that setbacks are just stepping stones to their ultimate comeback story. So if you're someone who has ever faced burnout, injury or complacency in their training, then this episode is going to be your blueprint to reignite that fire within you to make your triumphant return to peak performance. Let's get started. As you know, as a comeback athlete, the journey from setback to comeback is no easy feat. I've definitely been there in my own life through my ACL injury through periods of my life where I was overwhelmed with stress and really fell off my routine. But I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that is where the true magic happens. So as a comeback athlete, you've got the grit, passion and the unwavering spirit to push through any challenge. And in this episode, I'm going to help you with some evidence based strategies that will guide you back into the game stronger and more determined than ever before. So let's go ahead and start with the essential foundation, especially if you're coming back from an injury and that is physical recovery practices. When your body is in peak condition, you can tackle any challenge that comes your way and a couple of side notes. One, even if you're not injured, I still encourage you to listen to this segment, because staying healthy and resilient is going to keep you from being injured. And again, if or when you do get injured, these will help you bounce back. The next thing that I need to point out is of course, this is just general advice. So if you are injured, don't take this as any sort of medical diagnosis or treatment plan course you want to talk to the doctors and people who you are under care and follow their advice and protocols. But again, this is just some food for thought and some overall best practices that you could possibly use in tandem with whatever your doctor say. And again, if you're healthy already just use this as a way to keep yourself healthy and resilient. So of course, you all know I'm going to start off with step one, which is rest and regeneration, whether you're injured or not. Recovery is going to begin with your rest. So just make sure that you're making sleep a priority aiming for seven to nine hours each night in general and again if you're coming back from a major type of injury or even surgery, you might need a lot more than that. But basically bottom line consistent quality sleep is going to be your secret weapon against injury. And then also, as I talked about with Amanda balcom last week burnout, beyond rest and sleep, here are some other recovery protocols for injury that you might want to consider. So as already mentioned, physical therapy is going to be your best friend. Now, I'm not going to get into specific physical therapy exercises. If you are injured and you're working with a physical therapist, they already have your protocol. But I just have to say injury specific rehabilitation exercises, guided by a professional and certified and credentialed physical therapist are going to be so crucial for your recovery. And just make sure that you're following your therapists recommendations diligently going back really quick to when I injured my ACL last year, since I couldn't work out my physical therapy became my workouts, that was my full time job. And I followed it to a tee without fail all the way through my injury. And even now, I still implement a lot of the exercises and strategies and techniques that they gave me just to ensure that my knee and other parts of my body do stay resilient, and injury free. So physical therapy is the part that people don't like, because it's hard, it's painful, but honestly, that is going to be the biggest part of your journey. If you are injured. It's what kept me from having to do surgery and knock on wood, it's hopefully going to keep me from having to go through that in the future. No guarantees in life. But this is one way to set yourself up for some of the best outcomes also on recovery protocols is hot and cold therapy. So depending on which stage of healing you're in, alternating between heat and cold therapies can be very useful. Ice packs can reduce inflammation during the initial phase, and then heat packs can promote blood flow and relaxation in later stages. And my experience going through injuries most of the time, once you get past that 24 or 48 hour window, most doctors and physical therapists recommend alternating there so maybe five or 10 minutes of cold 20 minutes of heat, just kind of going back and forth for that contrast there. Again, whatever your doctors and physical therapists are recommending, I would definitely follow that on top of ice and heat Cryotherapy is something that has gotten really popular over the past couple of years. Of course, you have actual cryo chambers where people will go and sit in there for a couple of minutes there and the temperatures get extremely cold. And then of course you have the popularity of ice plunges people like Wim Hof and everything else like that do it but basically cold water immersion or any sort of cryotherapy can help reduce your inflammation and muscle soreness after intense training sessions. So again, even if you're not injured doing this on a regular basis can help. I would say that if you are going to do any sort of ice bath or ice plunge, don't do it. Initially after training in episode two of the performance RX podcast biohacking pain with Aamir Khan, we talked about the idea of hormetic stress, and that if you jump into an ice bath immediately after training, you're actually preventing your body from doing what it needs to do and using that, quote unquote, healthy inflammation to repair itself. So a lot of people do ice baths first thing in the morning for all various types of health and mental health reasons. But if you're gonna do a post training, I would wait a couple of hours there 10 to 15 minutes is definitely the upper limit. If you're going to do an ice bath, maybe start off with one minute and slowly build yourself up to that 15 minute threshold or you can just do a very, very cold shower all of it helps also going back to the whole contrast of heat and cold. And speaking of showers, alternating between hot and cold baths or showers is another way to improve your circulation and reduce muscle soreness. So again, a good way to start maybe to start with three minutes of hot water followed by a minute of cold water and you can repeat this three to four times while you're in the shower. And I would say always finish with cold water. But yeah, contrast baths can be a very effective and less expensive DIY recovery strategy. Next you have elevation and compression. Basically, I'm taking you guys through the rice protocol, which if you don't know what rice stands for, it's Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. So going back to elevation and compression, elevating the injured area above your heart can help reduce swelling and then of course compression garments or bandages can give you a little bit of support and reduce swelling or edema. There's a lot of popular compression boots and other really fun and interesting but expensive types of equipment out there, if you have access to them use them, you know, under the supervision of whoever you're working with. But if you don't have that type of money, or access to those types of equipment, just using some sort of compression leggings or even stockings, I know I sound like an old person at the hospital. But those can be very helpful and supportive. One of the things that my doctors and physical therapists warned me or cautioned me about when I injured my ACL was the development of blood clots, especially if I was going to have surgery, which I didn't thank God. But again, like just having that circulation and compression there can help you overall with healing and then just having other sorts of uncomfortable or even complicated things happen. So yeah, bottom line, wearing compression garments can enhance blood flow, reduce muscle swelling, and potentially aid in your recovery. So like I said, you could use stockings, leggings, sleeves, socks, wearing it in general while you're recovering from an injury. Or if you're healthy, a few hours post workout can make a big improvement in your circulation and just reduce swelling, edema and soreness. All right, moving on to the next step of physical recovery. After you've mastered rest, sleep and physical recovery practices. Let's talk about nutrition. As you all know, I do a lot of nutrition coaching. I'm very passionate about nutrition in general for our overall health. And you're probably not surprised to know that nutrition plays a crucial role in your comeback journey. So again, this is just some general guidelines and best practices. But I would say consult a sports nutritionist or registered dietitian to develop a nutrition plan that supports your training, recovery and overall health. Let's start with the first part of macros. So following any injury, athletes should pay close attention to your macronutrient intake, I would say to maintain a balanced diet of around 50 to 55% carbohydrates, 20 to 25% protein and 20 to 25% healthy fats. The reason why carbohydrates are a little bit higher is because they are essential for healing, it's going to give your body that energy it needs. Of course, protein is so important for tissue repair, whether that's muscle, ligaments, tendons, whatever it is, that's going to be super important for you to hit your protein requirements. And then of course, you have healthy fats. So olive oil, avocado, but that's going to help with overall health and of course reducing inflammation, so important for you to get healthy fats and not fats that are going to cause inflammation, especially if you're in that initial healing phase. Speaking of quality, on top of macronutrients, you also want to take a look at your micronutrients. So these are vitamins and minerals. Again, this is where the quality of your diet is going to be super important and getting those micronutrients in so that you can heal and recover and be healthy focus on micronutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc, all of these support tissue healing and boost your immune function. Eating foods like citrus fruits, leafy greens, and lean meats are all going to be excellent sources of these Additionally, I would say Vitamin K is something you can look into. So foods like broccoli, kale, spinach are good things to add into your diet. And then of course, magnesium also plays a critical role in so many things in your health and physiology. Everything from muscle contraction to relaxation, so having foods like nuts, seeds, leafy greens can also be beneficial. Of course, calcium is another one for bone health. So dairy products, fortified plant based milk leafy greens are all excellent sources. And then of course, I need to highlight the importance of vitamin D which is often overlooked but is definitely crucial for your overall health and immune function. This is one of those vitamins where you should consider getting your levels tested just to see what type of supplementation and dosage is necessary. The last thing I'll say about general nutrition protocols before I jump into supplements and nutrient timing is hydration. So even though you may not be training as much or as hard while you're injured, Staying hydrated is going to be essential for the healing process. So a good rule of thumb is to consume 64 to 80 ounces of water daily. Again, this is going to help transport nutrients to the injured area and just remove and flush out any sort of waste products that your body is producing while it's trying to heal. Okay, moving on to some supplements. So as I always say, good quality nutrition is going to be the foundation for your overall health. And in this case, injury recovery. But especially in the case of injuries where your body is in a compromised position, adding in a few key supplements could be helpful and beneficial in facilitating that recovery. So first on the list, I'm just going to throw it out there, creatine, again, even though you're not training creatine monohydrate, is well researched and safe. And most research shows that you should take it even on days or times when you're not training not just for the physical benefits, but also the cognitive ones, you don't have to do any sort of loading phase, especially if you're not training, but just a typical dosage of three to five grams a day should get it done. Like I said before, it's going to help your muscles with strength and power, but also there's just so much cognitive benefits for your brain. So even if you're taking time off, it's just something to take on the daily if you can next Ira mentioned omega three fatty acids, eating high quality fish once or twice a week should be more than enough to get it done. If that's not an option, then taking two to three grams of combined EPA and d h a is going to be a good dosage for most people. As I mentioned, omega threes reduce inflammation and support overall cardiovascular and again, cognitive health. Next on the list is collagen. So collagen is one of those supplements that is kind of debatable right now, I would say it's in the worth a shot buckets, especially if you are injured, it's not going to do any sort of harm to your body or healing. If you don't have the money or if it's too expensive, then you can skip it. But if you do want to try it, I would say give it a shot, there has been some evidence and some research that shows it can promote the healing of tendons, ligaments and cartilage. Again, individual responses may vary as far as dosage 10 grams a day is more than enough. And then as far as the quality of it, look for collagen peptides, because those are going to be the most easily absorbed. And you can add them to any sort of beverage or smoothie, lots of people throw it in there, coffee, et cetera, et cetera. Really quick, going back to the absorption of collagen, something to point out for all of these supplements is that is the key point there. So you can take any sort of supplement whatever you want all day long. If your body's not absorbing it, it's not doing you any good. This is where supplements and vitamins get the bad rap of you're paying for expensive pee. So whatever you decide, make sure first of all, you're just you're choosing something that you actually need is going to benefit you and then make sure you're choosing something that is going to be well absorbed into your body so that you can actually get the benefits out of it. Going back to vitamin D for a second. So I already mentioned that you should definitely consider getting your levels tested so that your doctor and health care provider can give you personalized recommendations. But aside from that most dosages around 1000 to 5000, I use per day are pretty effective and safe for most people. But again, that optimal dose is going to depend on your individual needs. So definitely go ahead and get yourself tested. As already mentioned eating citrus fruits and other types of foods that are rich in vitamin C is going to be more than enough to keep you healthy. But again, if you are in that healing phase for recovery, adding in a little bit of supplementation might give you that extra support you need not only just for overall immune function, but going back to collagen. If you are taking collagen, Vitamin C is that key ingredient in its effectiveness. In fact, most research studies that show the effectiveness of collagen actually have vitamin C as part of the protocol. I think one of the most successful research studies out there was actually orange jello like I'm not even kidding. I talk about this in the performance RX podcast episode where I do a deep dive on collagen if you all listened to it, I'll put it in the show notes. But yeah, basically vitamin C if you are immune compromised, sick recovering from surgery, recovering from injury could be beneficial. Take five to 1000 milligrams a day. Just be careful of stomach upset taking too much can lead to that one more supplement that I think could be very, very effective when it comes to managing inflammation is Tumeric or curcumin. So the supplements have an anti inflammatory property and can definitely be helpful in reducing pain and inflammation in general and certainly that associated with injury taking 500 to 1000 milligrams a day could be of benefit. Again, make sure that you're getting good quality. There's a lot of conversation around the types of curcumin or Tumeric supplements you should take there are those who say making sure it is put in with pepper and other spices enhances absorption. There's others that say that it's the oil from the pepper, I would recommend going back and listening to Episode 11 of the performance RX podcast with Christina Hackett, we talk a lot about curcumin, vitamin C, vitamin D, honestly, all of these supplements, and many, many others for health, longevity and performance, and she gives her best advice and best recommendations on which supplements are helpful. And more importantly, which brands because like I mentioned, quality plays an important factor. Christina is a pharmacist and also a certified health coach, so she knows her stuff. So I would definitely go back and listen to that episode. And again, if you are in the combat athlete archetype group than you already know that that episode is on your playlist. Alright, the last step in your physical recovery is going to be injury prevention and functional movement. So as I already mentioned, if you're in the acute injury phase, hopefully you are but if not, you definitely should be working with Dr. And certified physical therapist, they are going to give you the specific protocols for your specific injury and where you are at that time. But as I also mentioned, the physical therapy doesn't stop once you are pain free. So as I mentioned, using myself as an example, I still use certain movements in my warm ups and cooldowns. And on my off days, just to make sure that my body is continuing to stay stable, resilient, and injury free. So as you make your triumphant return, injury prevention becomes paramount. So if you are working with a coach, I would ask them to create a dynamic warmup routine that targets specific muscle groups and movement patterns. And then of course, in general incorporate mobility exercises and stretches that can address your body's unique needs and vulnerabilities. So here are a couple of considerations that you could add in or Ask your coach to add into your program. Again, I would recommend these whether you are returning from an injury or not. Again, the whole idea is to prevent injuries. So starting off with single leg exercises, so doing things like lunges, Bulgarian split squats, any sort of single leg deadlift, or RDL can definitely help you address imbalances in your legs, hips and give you just overall better stability. Next on the list, I would consider adding in rotator cuff exercises. This is such a neglected part of our physiology. For a lot of people we like to focus on what you call the mirror muscles, right biceps front delts pecs, but our posterior chain especially areas like the rotator cuff often get neglected. Also, if you do sports like CrossFit, baseball, swimming, that is a lot of wear and tear. So incorporating rotator cuff specific exercises with resistant bands or lightweights, you don't even have to go super heavy. This is the thing that people mess up. When it comes to shoulder exercises, especially in the rotator cuff, get some bands use a cable machine get a pair of super light dumbbells, a pair of fives, 10s, maybe 15, I probably wouldn't go too much higher than that will get the job done. And just do a couple of external and internal rotation exercises in your warmup and cooldown. One of the best things that I have learned from Cory Gregory over the years is the addition of rotator cuff exercises and horizontal pulling exercises to build up that area of my body like the rear delts and rotator cuff moving down the list core strengthening. So a strong core is essential for overall stability in everyday life, whether you're injured or not. So of course, when people think about core strengthening and stability, they automatically go to planks. But I would say more important than that are anti rotation exercises. So the pull off press is probably one of my favorite core stability and anti rotation exercises. If you don't know what it is go ahead and look that up on YouTube. But basically you're using a resistance band to create that core stability and resist rotating one way or the other. Other things you could add in hanging leg raises, I would do it in three different directions so that you can target different areas of your core. And then again, I mentioned planks. I'm not trying to dismiss them, but there's so many other variations out there. So you could do side planks, standard planks. You could even do a plank with a leg lift. If you're super advanced. All of these exercises are going to stabilize your spine and just improve your overall core strength. Last but not least on the list of exercises and practices for injury prevention is of course mobility work. So make sure you are incorporating dynamic stretching and mobility exercises for tight muscles and joints so that they don't get injured things like yoga is going to enhance your flexibility and balance while foam rolling can release muscle knots and adhesions and just improve your overall tissue quality. So incorporating these things into your weekly routine can yield some very great long term benefits. And beyond specific exercises, I mentioned functional movements. So when we talk about functional movements, we're talking about couple of things. But first thing that comes to mind is range of motion exercises. This is something you have to be very careful with, especially if you are coming back from an injury. And if you are, make sure you're doing this under the supervision of a physical therapist, but gentle range of motion exercises such as ankle circles or shoulder pendulums can prevent stiffness and maintain joint mobility. Something you could also add in is isometric contractions. So isometric exercises involve static muscle contractions without any joint movement. So this is good if you are injured, and you don't have that range of motion just yet, they're such a great thing to add in because you can maintain muscle strength during your injury recovery. So one thing that I did, and as a great example is quad sets for knee injuries. Or if you have a shoulder injury, you could even do something like wall pushes. But yeah, when I had my ACL tear, I was doing quad sets like I was on a leg extension machine. And even though it wasn't very exciting or dynamic as some of my other workouts, it was very, very helpful for me maintaining my muscle strength in my quad and preventing any sort of atrophy of that muscle, which is a major challenge if you have a knee injury because you're not engaging it by walking in other exercises. Another type of functional movement for injury recovery is proprioception and balance training. So basically, the reason why you want to include these is because they improve body awareness and stability. Doing things on one foot or wobble boards or wobble pads can be beneficial. The last thing that you can add in as you progress in your recovery is incorporating movements that mimic everyday activities, or sports specific actions. Now, of course, this is going to be towards the end of your recovery. When you're stronger, and you're having more range of motion and you're getting ready to return to sport or everyday life by doing things like lateral leg lifts. For hip injuries, or any sort of functional squat for knee injuries are going to be helpful in getting that mobility back, make sure you're following whatever your physical therapist and or doctor advises. Okay, let's move on to the next segment of navigating your comeback journey which has to do more with the mental side of all of this. So the physical side was quite extensive there. But there's just so much especially if you are injured, that needs to be taken care of. And again, even if you're not injured, a lot of the things that I mentioned are just general overall best practices and good protocols to prevent you from being injured in the first place. But let's take a look at this next part. Like I said, it's the mental side of the comeback. So this pertains to whether you are injured burnt out from stress or just feeling complacent, these tips and pieces of advice can help you in navigating that. So the first thing that I need to say is that your compact journey is a marathon not a sprint. So one of the best things that you can cultivate is patience and resilience. One thing about resilience is this is that just because you're resilient doesn't mean that you're never going to fall I would probably say the most resilient people fall all the time and fall often. But as the old saying goes it's not about the fall it's about rising after each time you do fall and just know that no matter who you are or what you're going through setbacks are part of your journey. So cultivating that patience and realizing that your progress may be slow but as ultimately rewarding is going to help you move through your comeback all the much more easier. The next part I would say is reconnect with your deeper why so deeper Why is probably one of my favorite things to anchor to in my own life and with all my clients, no matter what they're seeking from me as far as coaching goes, and I do Just want to say this as far as the process and this was something that was said to me when I experienced my injury, I just acknowledge and accept grief. So it is totally normal to feel grief and disappointment when you're facing a setback, whether that is a physical injury, burnout, whatever it may be. So just realize that these emotions are valid and part of the healing process and just overall human experience. So I would just say don't be afraid to express your feelings, whether that is through journaling, or if you need to talk to a trusted friend or therapist or sports psychologist, this can be a great way to help you through the process of grief in your injury or setback, or whatever it is that you're going through. So once you have accepted and processed the grief of your setback, let's go ahead and go back to your deeper why the first step I would say is Reflect on your athletic identity. So over the past couple of weeks and episodes, I've been talking a lot about athlete archetypes. This is essentially what I mean when I say athlete archetypes is your athletic identity. So take a moment and reflect on what an athlete means to you. A lot of people who aren't athletes, or aren't fitness enthusiast think an athlete is just someone like Tom Brady, professional athlete on TV, but you know, as well as I that you are an athlete, you don't have to be a paid professional to be an athlete. So what does being an athlete mean to you? How does it define you? What sort of legacy do you want to leave behind for your kids, for your peers, for your family, for your community? Again, your setback is just a chapter and it's not the whole story. So using things like journaling, not only for self reflection, but also for tracking your setbacks and progress can be super helpful. You can analyze your emotions and behaviors. And this can help you identify patterns that can be adjusted for improved performance, both physically and psychologically. So totally up to you whether you do it daily or weekly, but I would set aside time where it's a space for you just to kind of put down your thoughts, feelings and experiences related to your athletic journey overall. And again, this specific moment in that beyond thinking about what being an athlete means to you, maybe some other things that could help you along the way, or just what are some of your proudest moments and biggest challenges and how has your identity evolved over time. And then as far as progress tracking, of course, you can put in your training sessions, nutrition choices, emotional states, how ready you feel how rested and recovered. This is a great way just to have some data in front of you to identify what's working and what needs adjustment. And of course, when you are experiencing a setback this can help you explore the circumstances surrounding them and provide some insights into potential triggers and patterns to address especially if we're talking about burnout or complacency. The next step with connecting to your deeper why on your comeback journey is setting intentional goals. And in this particular case, I want you to set intentional goals that go beyond your performance metrics. These goals should reflect things like your growth, resilience, and overall well being. Of course, SMART goals are usually the gold standard. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and time bound. But basically, they're the gold standard because they provide clear direction and motivation. So there's many other ways to do goal setting. But SMART goals are a great way to start. And it's a format where you can review and adjust your goals regularly based on your progress, whether you do smart goals or not, or some other sort of goal setting format. The biggest thing, especially when you're navigating a comeback is to really look at that achievability and relevance just to make sure that they are realistic and meaningful to you, especially in this moment. So this is why I always bring up the deeper why because any sort of goal that's aligned with your deeper Why is going to be more motivating. And I'll just say this as well, I would highly recommend shifting your focus from outcome based goals like winning a championship getting a peon, your lifts or your runs to process based goals. So consistently following your training program, maintaining a positive attitude. The reason why I say this is because process goals are within your control and give you a better sense of purpose and achievement. And this holds true for anyone whether you're injured or not, but especially if you are navigating a comeback. The last piece of navigating your comeback as far as your mindset goes has to do with mindfulness and just overall positive mindset. So I'll just start off by saying you need to be kind to yourself and just celebrate any sort of progress you make. So it's so easy, especially when you're in the middle of a setback whether that injury, burnout, complacency, it's very easy to be critical of yourself and or set unattainable standards. And the unattainable standards doesn't even have to be anything wild. It is very easy to compare yourself to where you are now to where you used to be, just realize that you will get back to where you were, eventually, and perhaps even surpass it. But just in this moment, recognize your effort and your growth. Even if you haven't reached your ultimate goals. Yet, a great thing that I like to advocate for is self compassion. What I mean by self compassion is treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you would if it were your best friend, or just someone that you love, who is in a similar situation, you wouldn't talk to your best friend or someone who truly care for in the same type of harsh or critical way that you are talking to yourself. So self compassion involves and not acknowledging your pain, but doing so without self criticism. One person's work that I would recommend looking into is Dr. Kristin Neff. I'll put her link in the show notes. But basically, she has a lot of work on self compassion. And she offers a lot of practical exercises and meditations that you can use to cultivate that. Speaking of close friends and loved ones, I would 100% foster community engagement. And this can be with so many people in so many different ways. We live in the world of the internet and social media. So sharing your story on social media and engaging with a supportive community can be a powerful motivator. For one thing, you're using your platform to inspire others. And you're creating a network of like minded individuals, which if you listen to any of my other athlete archetype, podcasts that is key for anyone in any part of their journey, just being able to share your challenges. And triumphs basically fosters that sense of belonging and reinforces your comeback mindset. And just makes you realize that you're not alone, you're not the only person in the world who's going through this, nor are you the last, it's also going to give you connections with other athletes who have experienced similar setbacks to what you're going through and sharing those experience and advice can help create a sense of community and just reduce the feelings of isolation that may come up along your journey. And then of course, last, but definitely not least lean on your friends, your family, your coaches, your mentors, the people that have been there for you through all parts of your journey for emotional support, and guidance. And then the last step, this is the little cherry on the top, but visualize your success. So once you fostered that self compassion, and you're feeling supported by your community, you can start to visualize yourself achieving your goals and making progress forward. And basically, this reinforces belief in your abilities and helps maintain a positive attitude. So things that you could maybe visualize are things like overcoming your current and future challenges visualizing a successful comeback, and again, I would just say try to have positive self talk there. So anytime you feel like you have some sort of negative or self critical thoughts, just try to flip those around and added constructive and affirming statements. And again, this goes back to building your mental strength and resilience. Man, we didn't y'all this was a longer episode, but there was just so much information that I wanted to share with you all that I hope you found a lot of value and actionable advice there. So just remember that the road ahead might have its twists and turns, but this journey is going to be one of true resilience. Thank you so much again for joining me on this episode of the performance RX podcast focused on the comeback athlete archetype. Until next time, keep pushing your limits, keep embracing the challenges and keep inspiring the world with your incredible journey. Hey, really quick before you go, I need you to do one thing for me. If there was something in this episode that you think would be a value to someone else, please share it for me. My goal is to empower as many people as possible on their health and fitness journeys and one of the best ways to do it is to share awesome information like what you heard in today's episode out with many others. So do me a favor, copy and paste that link, send it to one of your friends, your family or anyone who you think would get some enjoyment and value out of this. I appreciate you for listening. I'll see you next time.