Melissa Humana-Paredes’ Pre-Game Routine That Won Her Silver

Thirty-one 12 months previous seaside volleyball star Melissa Humana-Paredes simply took dwelling the Silver medal for Canada throughout the 2024 Olympics in Paris alongside her companion Brandie Wilkerson.  

I received the possibility to talk with Humana-Paredes main as much as the video games, and after our name I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and impressed. 

To start out, Humana-Paredes is on a journey to encourage: It is her mission to make sports activities and the Olympics extra eco-friendly and bring attention to the climate crisis. As one of many founders of EcoAthletes (a set of athletes, coaches, and different professionals that intention to assist change sports activities for the greener), she’s on a mission to convey the local weather disaster to the forefront in any means she will. 

She’s additionally simply personally inspiring: Following within the footsteps of her father (who performed for the Chilean nationwide volleyball group earlier than immigrating to Canada, fleeing a navy dictatorship), she’s been obsessed with volleyball since she was a younger woman. 

And now, she has some recommendation for younger girls who may wish to observe in her footsteps.

Humana-Paredes: I’ve positively been in conditions the place the thoughts races—however it’s very true earlier than large moments in life and high-pressure conditions. I’ve been via that have the place I’m simply making an attempt to go to sleep, however all of the eventualities are operating via my head. Sooner or later, you simply hit the time the place you’re counting down the hours til the alarm goes off. 

I am not myself once I do not get the right quantity of sleep. I do know I would like optimum sleep to have the ability to carry out. 

Now, I’ve been via that situation sufficient to know easy methods to fully forestall it. I’ll do every little thing to keep away from it, and that begins with the lead-up to mattress. My night routine begins a couple of hours earlier than mattress. 

For me, it is so arduous to only make that change. So I feel you actually must be sending these messages to your thoughts and your physique, earlier than you suppose to have the ability to begin truly shutting down. 

I’m very large on temper. As soon as dinner is over, and we’ve recovered from the day, I flip off overhead lighting and light-weight a candle or do some type of temper lighting. I’ll placed on comfortable music or some chill podcast. I all the time journey with my very own favourite teas. I must have some sort of chamomile tea or another wind-down tea. 

About an hour earlier than I truly wish to go to sleep, I often take some type of sleep enhancement to time it out. 

The opposite factor I do is that characteristic on the iPhone that reduces blue mild. I began doing it and seen the largest distinction. I didn’t notice how a lot blue mild was affecting me till I switched it off. It’s additionally nice as a result of if you wish to try this final minute scroll of instagram earlier than mattress, it’s not as entertaining when it’s all purple. It makes you set the telephone away. 

Then I’ll begin with my skincare routine. As soon as I begin my skincare routine, which means it’s time for mattress. I’m washing the time off. I’m getting within the zone. 

Then once I’m about to knock out, I’ll placed on my Manta Sleep Mask and earplugs. I swear by them. I’ve tried so many alternative eye masks, and these are the winner for me. 

Humana-Paredes: Once I consider a meal that makes me really feel the strongest, I consider breakfast. Breakfast makes me really feel the strongest as a result of it is the very first thing that my physique will absorb and provides me gas for the entire day. Instantly within the mornings we’ve coaching, so if I’m not getting that gas at the start of the day, I do know I’m going to really feel fatigued. I often have two breakfasts. One earlier than my coaching session after which instantly after my coaching session.

I’ve various kinds of breakfast choices—candy and savory. And I wish to alternate between the 2. Considered one of my favorites is the traditional greek yogurt, granola, berries, flax seeds, chia seeds, peanut butter—it is simply so versatile.

Then for one thing savory, I like toast with eggs, avocado, greens, and potatoes. That is going to be slightly bit hearty as a result of not solely do I would like fueling for the remainder of the day, however I additionally must replenish what was misplaced in coaching classes. 

These are my two go-to meals. They’re in order that they’re adjustable to your wants and so they hit every little thing. You may have your carbs, fat, and protein. 

I do know protein has turn into such an enormous dialogue, particularly with girls, as a result of there have been so many misconceptions about how a lot protein we really need. Personally, I’m very protein acutely aware as a result of I’ve to repair my muscles. In each snack or meal I’ve, I would like protein. What’s nice is that there are tremendous fast fixes like, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are actually nice methods to get protein for a snack. For meals, I gravitate in direction of hen and fish.

Humana-Paredes: The three day by day capsules I take are vitamin D, Omega 3s, and probiotics. After all it’s important to have day by day vitamin D, although I play seaside volleyball and I am within the solar, I nonetheless want vitamin D dietary supplements. 

For powders, I do creatine, a greens powder, and collagen. I additionally take tart cherry and turmeric for restoration. I additionally completely love electrolytes. I received’t go wherever with out them. 

I additionally love adaptogenic mushrooms within the type of teas to assist calm me down for the nighttime. 

Humana-Paredes: Just a few years in the past I found Lagree Pilates on the reformer. It’s so completely different from my sport, and it’s so humbling. It’s one of the vital humbling exercises I’ve ever completed. I truly don’t like telling individuals I’m an expert athlete or an Olympian once I’m there as a result of I can not maintain these poses. 

Humana-Paredes: Immediately after a recreation—inside half-hour—we’re getting our vitamins in through shake.That begins the restoration course of. That diet piece is usually forgotten. 

If we’re fortunate, we’ll have a physiotherapist on tour, so we’ll do a session. It’s often some sort of comfortable tissue work and dealing via sore factors. We’ll additionally do Normatec as nicely, that are these air compression boots. They’re incredible between video games to provide your physique a lift and a few lymphatic drainage. I additionally journey with therapeutic massage weapons. 

If there’s a chance, I’m going right into a pool or do some sort of water remedy. Not too lengthy as a result of I don’t wish to loosen up an excessive amount of if I’ve a recreation the subsequent day. After which I’ll do a chilly plunge—in opposition to my will, however I will do it. 

However in fact the last word restoration is sleep. I am unable to compromise on that. And that is the one factor I prioritize. I’ll scrap different issues in my routine that I simply talked about with a purpose to get extra sleep. If physio goes to take me too lengthy and lower into my nighttime routine, I will push it and ensure I am getting sleep. 

Humana-Paredes: Particularly on the stage that I play at, everyone has the bodily attributes. Everybody’s match. Everybody can play volleyball. Everybody has the talents. But it surely’s the psychological half that makes the distinction. It’s about the way you’re going to have the ability to bounce again. 

Everybody has completely different routines. Considered one of our most necessary group members is our sports activities psychologist. We would not have the ability to journey with him on a regular basis, however we’ve entry to him, whether or not it is textual content messages or telephone calls. And it is actually necessary to have that useful resource—to have somebody to share your insecurities, your doubts, and your fears with. It’s necessary to have somebody who you possibly can stroll via all that with. 

Athletes have moments of weak point and insecurities that we’re all combating via. Even within the moments the place they appear essentially the most calm, they is perhaps combating one thing inside. 

Lots of the work that I do is psychological imagery, which helps construct resilience and confidence. It is self-talk. It is actually simply what you are saying to your self and the way you see your self more often than not. You must communicate to your self kindly, such as you would a pal. As a result of what you say, you’ll internalize. 

It takes time and it takes apply to have the ability to handle these adverse ideas and handle these insecurities. And, in fact, they’re okay to have. Among the finest instruments I exploit is when one thing comes up in my head, I simply thank it, acknowledge it, however then transfer on to one thing else.  

Humana-Paredes: Yeah, in seaside volleyball there’s just one different particular person there—and so they’re relying on you. So I do really feel a bit extra accountability to be my greatest self. 

I have been so lucky. I’ve had so many alternative nice teammates in my life. The teammate I’ve proper now’s particularly necessary to me and we have got a extremely great point going. And I feel what makes this actually particular is that there’s similar to an underlying basis of respect and admiration. 

We all know the place one another has come from—from our childhood to how we received to the place we at the moment are. There’s full on appreciation and admiration for our paths. And so they’re fully completely different paths of how we each received to this place that we’re in collectively.

Compassion and respect will get you very far in life with individuals that you just work with. 

However I feel an important factor in a very good teammate is vulnerability. I don’t suppose you possibly can construct belief or that basis with out vulnerability.

It’s scary to sort of present your true colours. However if you’re on this journey collectively—and it’s an enormous journey, with large objectives—you have got to have the ability to get into the nitty gritty. 

You must speak about large, scary issues: What are you afraid of? What makes you tick? When issues are going unhealthy, what’s one of the simplest ways to speak to you and allow you to? What are the belongings you want? 

Humana-Paredes: It took me some time to study this, however it’s necessary to consider who you might be surrounding your self with. And you’ll solely be important about that when you recognize who you might be, what your objectives are, and what your non-negotiables are. 

All people has a distinct listing of issues that they are on the lookout for in sports activities. Some individuals wish to simply get higher and attempt to attain their true potential. Another person may need a distinct objective, and so they simply wish to win completely every little thing. They’re placing their head down and that is their solely objective. Or somebody simply desires to go and be a extremely nice chief and actually good teammate.