By We know Brie Larson for her next-level workouts and jaw-dropping fitness accomplishments, like pushing a 5,000-pound car or holding a pull-up for a whole minute. You know, the usual. But one reason why she can accomplish all of those unbelievable feats, work out every day, and get superhero- strong, is because she knows how critical it is to recover.
“Recovery is important,” Larson stresses in her newest video. “If you’ve been injured, you know what I’m talking about. After you experience your body not being able to do something that it was always able to do before, you start to become obsessive in backtracking and wondering what steps could have been taken. Because if you’re going to train hard . . . you need to restore your body.” (Personal aside: I’m recovering from a frustrating injury myself, and I can confirm. Do the work now so you aren’t forced to take a break later.)
So how does Larson do it? The actress touched on six different aspects of her recovery routine.
- Theragun and Hypervolt: Larson says she has both of these deep massage tools, which are expensive but easy to use and very effective on tight muscles.
- Muscle rollers: Larson has a small handheld roller and three different types of foam rollers, including the traditional smooth option, one with pressure points to encourage deeper release, and another that vibrates. “Where it gets tender, that’s where the knots are,” Larson explains. “I just put as much weight as I can [on the foam roller] to really get up in there.” She especially focused on rolling over her hip flexors, which she said have been “super tight” lately.
- HyperIce Venom Leg: Another expensive recovery tool, Larson uses this vibrating, heated wrap to loosen her muscles. (Larson says WWE star Tegan Nox, one of her workout buddies, uses the Venom too.)
- Stretching and yoga: Larson demonstrates some of her favorite stretches and yoga poses, including standing hamstring stretches, Downward Facing Dog, Upward Facing Dog, and seated spinal twist. (More on her tight hip stretches below!)
- Heat and icing: Another classic recovery tip, Larson says she does both after a workout, by taking a hot shower and icing sore muscles with bags of ice. There’s conflicting research about which to do first, but it’s worth experimenting with your body to see what works best.
- Eat protein: “If you’re training, make sure you consume amino acids,” Larson says. In other words, eat protein, a macronutrient that consists of amino acids and helps your muscles build back stronger after a workout.
Larson mentioned that her hips have been especially tight lately. “I don’t know why!” she said, which, same. My hip flexors just coil up like old rubber bands in there. Larson called out a couple of moves she especially likes for opening up her hip flexors, including:
- Arching three-legged dog: this Downward Dog variation involves lifting one leg and bending it at the knee so your hip flexor opens up to the side. “I’m doing [this] every chance I can get because my hips are so tight right now,” Larson said.
- Kneeling quad stretch: A low lunge will open up your hips on its own, but tacking on a quad stretch makes it even better. “I never want to do this,” Larson admitted, “but it’s the most effective stretch.”
- 90/90: You can’t beat this simple, effective mobility exercise, the last one that Larson shared.
Larson said she’s training every day (probably for Captain Marvel 2!), so she doesn’t have time “to come in the next day and have something be tight.” When she’s not in the gym, “I’m doing everything I can to recover,” she said, and we’re all for it. Watch Larson’s full video above!
