Day 2 of the 2XU Ultimate Performance Training camp was my favourite day I think! Every day was awesome but this day we went paddle boarding which I’ll go into a little more later.
We started off at the Yard to talk about alignment, refuelling and recovery and work on strength.
We were introduced to two companies, Bonk Breaker (protein bars) and BioSteel Electrolytes (recovery drink). Jeff highly recommended both companies’ products which is enough to convince me they’re awesome!
When it came to strength, I had my mind blown (again) when I realized my alignment in squats was completely wrong! I had been told my whole life to stick your butt out and stop at 90 degrees but you’re supposed to tuck your butt in and squat all the way down. When Jeff was taking us through the motions I kept getting stuck because I had my butt out. It took a lot of practice with holding onto something to finally get that alignment and motion right!
Another interesting tid bit I learned from Jeff is that “it’s not about the exercises, it’s about the movement.” For instance, he said it is more important to maintain control and proper form when going down in a push up than the actual push. When we were going through push ups I automatically dropped to my knees and he said he preferred proper form down and if I needed my knees to get up that’s fine, it was the movement of going down that was most important. (mind blown moment)
He said the same thing about pull ups. That it’s not the pull up but the movement down that is most important. So he has those of us who couldn’t do a pull up, jump up and then slowly and with control lower ourselves down. Another mind blown moment about pull ups- when you tuck your feet behind you, you are sticking you but out and wrecking your alignment. This means you won’t get a much range of motion. You are supposed to keep your feet in front of you to maintain alignment.
That session was seriously AMAZING and I learned so much!
After our strength session we went to lunch and headed to Tarsan Paddleboards for ocean water paddle boarding!
Half of our team had never been on a board before but we all opted to head out to the ocean despite the high winds for some fun and to challenge ourselves.
Paddling through the marina was actually pretty challenging with the wind but as we paddled along I go to get within 3 feet of a sun bathing seal. He was so cute he looked like a big dog. We also passed two seals on the rocks play fighting just like Rocky and Apollo do.
I loved it though! I was laughing and enjoying the waves splashing over my board and the salty spray in my face. I may be a mountain gal but that ocean gets to me too!
When they finally gave us the ok to turn around, I think everyone was relieved. But the way back was almost as hard as the ocean! The wind had picked up even more and you would paddle hard and fast and barely move. You only had to paddle on the right side because of the wind and my left shoulder got real sore, real fast.
When we finally made it to the calm of the marina everyone was happy. Tarsan was great and had set up a tent for us and even given us little grab bags with AWESOME hats that I’m going to rock all summer long!
It was such a fun experience and we all laughed about it the rest of the trip! I definitely want to try out on the ocean again, but maybe in calmer conditions. Ha ha ha!
After paddle boarding we sat in a park with Dr. Sullivan to talk about sleep. I’m going to do a separate post to talk about all the amazing things I learned from him in this seminar but I’ll leave you with this tid bit- an athlete needs 7-10 hours of sleep a night. Boom! I’m not a weirdo!
After the sleep seminar we ran to our rooms to shower and dress for dinner. We went to this wonderful restaurant a few blocks up the hill from the beach (I forget the name) but it has an incredible view and we were all able to enjoy and capture an amazing sunset.
Another treat at dinner on Day 2 was that one of the participants, Thad is a professional musician and he and his wife Annie Clements have played with the likes of Sugarland, Lady Gaga, & Amos Lee. They played for us that evening and did some really fun covers including some Beyonce!
As dinner was winding down and my bed began to call, Jeff announced a fun little night session that we were welcome to join him at. He was going to give us all a teeny taste of Navy Seal training by showing us some ocean drills. It was completely optional, but I knew it was a life experience I had to try.
We didn’t do anything too hard. Jeff had us link arms and walk into the ocean. I found it extremely warm but veryone else said it was cold. We then had to sit in the ocean, then lay down in it with our heads on the sand and let the waves wash over us. The salt and sand got in my nose, eyes and ears and when I felt a wave on my feet I knew to take a deep breath and prepare to blow out until the water receded and I could breathe again. Then Jeff would tell us to unlink arms and put them in the air. Without the stability of the group the waves would start pushing us all over the place.
We only did 6.5 minutes, it wasn’t meant to be an actual training exercises but really an experience. I ran straight to my room and hopped into the tub. There was so much sand! In my clothes, in my creases, in my hair, in my ears. That tub looked like a sand box when I got out!
So that was Day 2 in a nutshell, it was such an incredible day. The whole week was amazing but this day was my favourite I think.
Watch the Day 2 video Recap (see yours truly mug for the camera on a paddle board- lol)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsHBS6oCaoQ]
Next up- Day 3- Power, Speed & Hot Yoga
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