As you get older, the summer is less of a vacation and more of a training period by yourself away from the team. It's exciting for me. I felt like I've been really getting better as far as my conditioning every single season as I get older.
I'll get out and do Pilates. I'll get in the ring and do some rounds of kickboxing and grappling and MMA conditioning. There's a lot of unique stuff that I do, too, that a lot of people wouldn't imagine or think about doing, like box jumps. You get a 42-inch box and dumbbells and practice working on your explosion jumping up on those boxes.
When I'm training, I come to the gym twice a day and sometimes three times. My coach and I make our schedule: wrestle in the morning, strike and conditioning, jujitsu later. And we mix it up as well. I always move everything around. I don't keep everything the same every day.
You've just got to train hard. Conditioning is key, recovery is key. As hard as you work, recovery is just as important. All the soft-tissue work daily, all the things that keep me clean. And you've always got to be aware of what you're eating, what you're putting inside your body. That's key as well.
My husband is in charge of all phone, email and texting duties at home. He even has to turn on the TV and air conditioning because I'm so hopeless with technology.
The questions don't happen when you hit 30 homers, right? If you hit 30 home runs, you hit 40 doubles, I don't think anybody questions your conditioning or your offseason program.
Think of it this way: performing is like sprinting while screaming for three, four minutes. And then you do it again. And then you do it again. And then you walk a little, shouting the whole time. And so on. Your adrenaline quickly overwhelms your conditioning.
I do hate air conditioning and early mornings, but my friends all know this and plan accordingly.