Three things Jon Rahm always does to recover after a long flight.
The world’s No.3 male golfer has played multiple times since his victory at the Masters in April, jumping from Mexico to New York, Ohio to California, even a long-haul return to the UK for the Open Championship.
For anyone’s body – let alone an elite professional athlete like Jon Rahm – it’s a lot of miles to put on the clock. But Rahm, who has a deal with global private aviation company VistaJet, has learned how to manage it. And speaking with us recently, he shared some good advice for the rest of us to help our body recover, too.
“It goes back to basics,” Rahm says.
1. Get hydrated
You may have heard this one before, but probably because it’s important. Aeroplane cabins have lower air pressure and lower humidity levels. It draws more moisture out of your body, and can leave you feeling dehydrated in a hurry. Which is why Rahm’s first piece of advice is simple: drink more water!
“My main thing if I have a long flight like that would be staying hydrated, making sure I’m hydrated,” he says. “You can get dehydrated on a plane when you’re there for five hours very, very quickly, so making sure I’m keeping up [drinking water] takes care of a lot.”
2. Get your meals in
Your body draws energy from food and water. We just learned why drinking water can be a challenge, but eating can be just as tricky – especially when you’re jumping ahead time zones. You could go to bed after an exhausting journey having lost an extra meal, which will make it harder for your body to recover.
“Making sure you get your meals in so your body can recover after a long week like the US Open is very important,” Rahm says
3. A little exercise can go a long way
The first two tips were relatively easy – eat more and drink more – but Rahm’s third piece of advice will probably help you the most.
We get it, you get off a long flight, you’re tired, you just want to crash and go to sleep. But that’s one of the worst things you can do.
“If you just sit for five hours and then you arrive here late, have dinner, and go to bed, I don’t feel my best the next morning,” Rahm says.
Why? Because when you’re sitting for long periods of time, your muscles get deactivated. The relative lack of blood moving through them can cause them to get stiff, achy and painful. Some form of active movement can get blood moving through your system, and prevent soreness the next day.
“If you have time and a gym, whatever it may be, get a little bit of exercise in,” he says. “It doesn’t need to be crazy. It could be 30, 40 minutes of just some kind of stretching or walking on a treadmill to get the blood flowing a little bit more so your body can just naturally recover and get things moving.”
Three relatively simple things that will loosen up your golf swing and have you feeling great, physically. When you win your next mates’ golf trip and they ask you what your secret was, you can credit Jon Rahm.
Photos by VistaJet
