What an opportunity, what a city, what an adventure!
I feel like one of the luckiest girls in the world to have been given the opportunity to explore a new city, meet inspirational people, create delicious treats and host nutrition workshops for a studio hub of health. Also to have been able to ride side-by-side with the enthusiastic, fit and energetic clients of 7cycle was amazing.
This last week in Singapore has been a whirlwind of hard work and play, averaging close to 50km back-to-back days of riding, with a bonus 95km ride thrown right in to the middle of the week!
As you can imagine, my priority was to ensure I was consuming the right fuel in order for my body to recover and reboot for the next day’s ride.
So, I thought that I would share my quick and easy top 5 tips for recovery, replenishing and nurturing your body when training for long periods of time:
1. Go Green! (Seriously!)
MyMaha; an all-in-one greens powder, saved me after my intense rides.
This super greens powder is…
Made of 11 organic nutrient-dense ingredients designed to gently cleanse the body of unwanted toxins, boost energy levels and promote healthy digestion.
It is made to support the body’s natural metabolic systems promoting general health and well-being.
MyMaha is one of the essential ingredients added into my green smoothie recipe created especially for the 7cycle menu. ‘Greenie goodness,’ the perfect combination of fats, protein, antioxidants and digestive enzymes to help boost your metabolism, energy and refuel the body before any workout.
2. Mining for Minerals
At the beginning and end of almost every Singaporean street are food stalls and restaurants selling homemade nutrient dense broths, which cost next to nothing. If you haven’t heard me rant about how nutritious bone broths are, then get ready for it because here it goes…
Here's the deal - bone broth is a bowl of dressed-up stock. You can make it with any animal bones preferably organic beef, chicken, fish. These bones are roasted and then simmered in water with vegetables for over 28 hours. It's not exactly a new rave, as grandmothers have been making it for generations.
Those who swear by it (myself included) stress the fact that it is loaded with essential vitamins and minerals that are leached out of the broken down bones. These vitamins and minerals have powerful healing properties to help alleviate muscle and joint pain; repair the gut; boost your immune system; brighten and tighten skin as well as repair collagen damage; fight against disease and contains anti-aging properties… just to name a few of the benefits! (stay tuned for more benefits of bone broth and recipe in my next post)
3. Stretch, breath and repeat
I was lucky enough to be working at a studio where I met an inspirational and soulful yoga teacher named Ni.
Her gentle and radiant energy brightened up my day. Her dynamic Vinyasa and restorative Yin yoga flows were exactly what my body was yearning for after my high intensity and endurance classes.
Yoga, another passion of mine, (and soon to be next adventure in the tropics of Hawaii!) is extremely important and is the perfect activity for the whole body and mind. It is great before and after, or instead of intense workouts. It gets the blood pumping, increases circulation and relaxes the mind and body simultaneously.
4. Sweat it out
I was lucky enough to be put up in the beautiful M hotel where I had a pool, sauna and Jacuzzi at my disposal. I made use of these facilities in between rides, and when I wasn’t conducting a workshop or playing around in the kitchen with the amazing 7 cycle team. I used the pool for recovery and would jump into the Jacuzzi for a minimum 20 min and then soak up some Vitamin D. Bliss!
Jacuzzi jets are great for muscle recovery by:
1. Giving yourself a reflexology massage by placing your feet directly in front of the water jets. Your feet contain thousands of nerve endings, and their stimulation can improve your overall well-being and mood.
2. The water jets inside the tub allow for a high-pressure hydro massage that you direct to specific parts of your body simply by moving around and adjusting your body to receive the full force of the water. When running at full intensity, the jets can provide something akin to a deep-tissue massage, soothing aches and pains. Sitting in a Jacuzzi can help heal sports injuries, as the heat can soothe muscle spasms and speed up recovery time.
5. Snack attack
Literally it’s all about attacking those markets, grocery stores and stocking up on nuts, fruits, veggies, oats and avocado…my absolute saviours! If you came into my hotel room you would have found nuts, fruits, oats and peanut butter. Then if you opened my mini fridge, you’d have discovered cottage cheese, carrots, avocado, and raw balls (check out my previous blog post for protein ball recipes including a FOD MAP friendly version) I had made for clients who attended my nutrition work-shops at 7 cycle.
One of the most common questions I was asked during the nutrition workshops was “What is the best pre and post snack for energy, recovery and weight maintenance?”
My answer was 4 simple ingredients: dates, nuts, raw cacao powder and coconuts.
These ingredients can be blended together to make delicious treats or consumed on their own take your pick.
It is the perfect balance of healthy fats, magnesium and protein needed for muscle repair amino acid breakdown, glycogen syntheses (kick start your body into a fat burning state) and electrolyte balance.
Below are some photos from my workshops, spinning classes, yoga flows and foodie adventures whilst abroad my Singapore working adventures!
Lastly, I would love to thank the amazing health studio 7cycle for having me and allowing me to expand their health horizons, create recipes, conduct workshops, teach spinning classes and be a part of their fitness haven. What an incredible team to be a part of!
Good news is they want me back, but before then I will be heading off to Hawaii to complete my 200 hours and journey to becoming a qualified yoga instructor. So sit tight for my next adventure and travel updates.
Love
CR
xx