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I love when I see young athletes or retired athletes using their story to encourage and support others going through the same thing. That is exactly what I experienced in today’s episode. I am joined by author Emily Coffman and we talk all about thriving after your sport. She is a former NCAA Division I Athlete in rowing from the University of Oklahoma. She was awarded the OU Athlete of the Year in her senior year and was on the Big XII All-Academic Team all four years at the University of Oklahoma. Emily also served on the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee where she provided input on rules, regulations, and policies that affected student athletes.
Emily is the creator of the top health and fitness podcast entitled “Live Your Personal Best” which has over a quarter of a million downloads. She is also the author of Elite to Everyday Athlete. Emily is best described as the fastest growing advocate for athlete wellness in life after sport. In today’s episode, she opens up about her struggle with relearning her body after she graduated college and her career as a collegiate athlete was over. She had to teach herself how to get back in the game. Now she has made it a personal goal to make it easier for other athletes to move from being an elite, high intensity, competitive athlete to being an everyday athlete.
I was so encouraged by her words. As a former athlete and now a mom, life looks a little different now. My body looks and feels and works differently than it did when I was an athlete. To know that there are people like Emily out there advocating for people like me makes me feel so seen and loved. Our conversation was so beneficial and I know you’re going to love it just as much as I did.
3 key takeaways from this episode:
Relearning your body
After retiring or even taking time off, your body reacts to that, so relearning how your body world is so important. Emily, through her book and podcast, teaches us and shares insight to living a healthy life that works for you.
9 steps to getting off the SIDELINES of life
As a former competitive athlete, Emily uses personal experience to outline and explain what she refers to as the “9 Steps to Getting Off the Sidelines of Life.” Those 9 steps are:
S- Slow down
I- Intuitively eat
D- Develop body acceptance
E- Explore your identity
L- Love your workout
I- Improve nutrition knowledge
N- Nurture your new athletic role
E- Expand your comfort zone
S- Spark a new interest
Mythbusting your “all or nothing” mindset
Most days, your brain is probably trained to want to do your full 100%, break a sweat, kick your butt workout. The reality of it is the fact that a 20 minute walk is good enough. You cannot keep the same workout routine that you did when you were in your freshman year, and that is okay. YOUR best, healthy life is tailored to you right now in this moment.
Here are all the things mentioned in this episode:
Find Emily:
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