The Recovery Habits That Prevent Burnout and Injury 💤💪

What Every Sports Mom Needs to Know

If your daughter is training hard, showing up consistently, and still feeling exhausted, frustrated, or injured, it’s probably not a motivation problem.

👉 It’s a recovery problem.

In this episode of the Raising Elite Competitors Podcast, Coach Bre sits down with Kelsey Lensman (@xpandyourlimit), founder of Xpand Your Limits and a mobility and recovery expert inside Dream Team, to break down what recovery really means for girl athletes and how it directly impacts confidence, performance, and long-term health.

Here’s what every sports mom should know.

Recovery Is Not “Doing Nothing” 🚦

Recovery doesn’t mean quitting, skipping practice, or being lazy.

It means learning how to:

• Shift out of constant grind mode
  
• Regulate the nervous system
  
• Give the body what it needs to rebuild
  

Kelsey explains it like this:

• Gas pedal = training, competing, pushing
  
• Brake = recovery, rest, downregulation
  

🚨 Most athletes know how to push.
Very few know how to slow down on purpose.

Signs Your Daughter Isn’t Recovering Well ⚠️

Recovery issues don’t always show up as obvious injuries.

Watch for:

• Frequent aches, pains, or injuries
  
• Emotional burnout or irritability
  
• Trouble sleeping or staying asleep
  
• Practices feeling “heavy” instead of sharp
  
• Declining performance over time
  

💡 These are not character flaws.
They’re signals from the body.

When You Can’t Change the Schedule, Change the Habits ⏱️

Most athletes don’t control their schedules. Practices, games, lifting, tournaments; it all adds up.

The solution?

Micro-recovery moments

Small habits that make a big difference.

Examples:

• A 5–10 minute walk outside
  
• Gentle mobility after practice
  
• Deep breathing or quiet time
  
• Talking things through instead of scrolling
  

📌 Recovery doesn’t need hours.
It needs intention.

Talking Counts as Recovery 🗣️

This one surprises a lot of parents.

When girls don’t process stress:

• Their nervous system stays in fight-or-flight
  
• Sleep suffers
  
• Confidence drops
  
• Anxiety increases
  

Sometimes the best recovery tool is simply:

• Asking how she’s doing
  
• Listening without fixing
  
• Creating space to decompress
  

✨ Emotional regulation supports physical performance.

Fueling for Recovery Without the Fear 🍎

Athletes cannot recover if they’re under-fueled.

Kelsey keeps it simple:

• Protein to rebuild muscle
  
• Carbohydrates to restore energy
  
• Electrolytes for hydration and nervous system support
  

🚫 No diet culture
🚫 No fear-based rules
✔️ Just fueling like an athlete

Do You Need Cold Plunges and Biohacks? ❄️🔥

Short answer: No.

If your daughter isn’t:

• Sleeping well
  
• Eating enough
  
• Stretching consistently
  
• Managing stress
  

Then trendy recovery tools won’t fix the problem.

👉 Master the basics first.
They work.

Mobility That Actually Sticks 🤸‍♀️

Mobility doesn’t need to be complicated or long.

Best practice:

• 5–10 minutes after training
  
• Hold stretches 30–60 seconds
  
• Focus on consistency, not perfection
  

💡 Pro tip for parents:
Do it with her. It builds the habit and the connection.

Sleep Is a Performance Tool 😴

Teen athletes who sleep less than 7 hours:

• Significantly increase injury risk
  
• Recover more slowly
  
• Struggle with focus and confidence
  

Simple ways to improve sleep:

• Phones out of the bedroom
  
• Consistent bedtime
  
• Dark, quiet sleep environment
  
• Brain dump worries onto paper before bed
  

Sleep is where the body repairs.
No sleep = no recovery.

The Confidence Connection 🔁

Kelsey leaves athletes with this reminder:

Confidence isn’t something you’re born with.
It’s built through self-trust.

Every small promise kept matters:

• Doing mobility when you said you would
  
• Going to bed on time
  
• Fueling your body properly
  

Those habits don’t just help recovery.
They build belief.

Final Thought for Sports Moms ❤️

You don’t need to have all the answers.
You don’t need to fix everything.
And you don’t need to do this alone.

If your daughter is:

• Training hard but struggling with confidence
  
• Burning out emotionally or physically
  
• Putting a lot of pressure on herself
  
• Needing tools beyond “just work harder”
  

That’s exactly why Dream Team exists.

Dream Team is our six-month, high-touch coaching program for elite girl athletes (ages 14-18) who want to compete at the next level without sacrificing their mental or physical health.

Inside Dream Team, your daughter learns:

• How to manage pressure and expectations
  
• How to recover properly so her body and confidence can keep up
  
• How to build strength, resilience, and self-trust
  
• How to train both her mind and body, together
  

And moms?
You’re not left out.

You’ll finally have:

• Language that helps instead of hurts
  
• Expert support from coaches who get girl athletes
  
• Peace of mind knowing your daughter is learning skills that last far beyond sports
  

✨ There’s no playbook for being a sports mom — until now.

If this episode resonated with you, Dream Team may be the next right step.

👉 Check Next Steps to learn more about the next Dream Team cohort starting January 2026.

Connect With Kelsey Lensman 💬💪

Want to learn more about recovery, mobility, and confidence-building for female athletes?

• 📲 Follow Kelsey on Instagram @xpandyourlimit
• 🌐 Learn more about working with Kelsey at http://xpandyourlimit.com. 
• 📧 Guest Interview or Collaboration Inquiries: kelsey@xpandyourlimit.com

Kelsey brings a rare combination of professional expertise, real-life athletic experience, and calm authority that resonates with both moms and athletes.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:00:47] Meet Kelsey Lensman, founder of Xpand Your Limits and an expert mobility and recovery coach inside Dream Team, and learn why recovery, not overtraining, is often the missing link for girl athletes struggling with confidence, fatigue, or injury.

[00:02:39] Kelsey shares her mission to help women and girls push past limits, including the overlooked skill of slowing down in today’s go-go-go sports culture.

[00:04:11] Discover why lifting weights builds more than muscle and how physical strength directly supports confidence in female athletes.

[00:07:50] Learn what recovery actually means and why it is not about doing nothing but about teaching the body how to shift out of constant grind mode.

[00:09:14] Understand the nervous system through a simple gas pedal and brake analogy and why athletes need both to perform at their best.

[00:11:40] Key warning signs your daughter is not recovering well, including injury risk, emotional burnout, poor sleep, and declining performance.

[00:14:25] Kelsey explains realistic work-to-recovery ratios for athletes who do not control their training schedules.

[00:16:20] What parents can do when they cannot change the schedule and how micro-recovery moments of just five to ten minutes can make a meaningful difference.

[00:18:14] Why emotional processing and talking things out counts as recovery and helps regulate the nervous system.

[00:19:31] Fueling for recovery made simple with protein, carbs, and electrolytes explained without diet culture or fear-based messaging.

[00:21:41] Cold plunges, saunas, and other recovery trends explained and why mastering the basics matters more than chasing biohacks.

[00:23:00] Mobility made doable with five to ten minutes after practice and why consistency matters more than long stretching routines.

[00:26:25] The link between sleep and injury risk and why getting less than seven hours dramatically increases injury risk for teen athletes.

[00:28:03] Practical sleep habits that improve sleep quality, including screen boundaries, bedtime timing, bedroom environment, and brain dumps.

[00:30:55] Kelsey’s message to girl athletes about being more capable than they think and how confidence is built by keeping small promises to themselves.

[00:32:04] Why confidence is not something athletes are born with but something built through habits, recovery, and self-trust.

[00:33:23] Where to learn more about Kelsey’s work, Expand Your Limits, and the importance of strong female mentors for athletes.

Next Steps:

• Come hang out with Kelsey Lensman on social @xpandyourlimit and learn more about working with her! For Guest Interview Email: kelsey@xpandyourlimit.com 
• Our next Season of Dream Team starts in January! To learn more & apply, head here.
• Join our FREE Training for Sports Moms – How to Strengthen Your Athlete Daughter’s Mental Game so She Believes in Herself as Much as You Do
• Visit our podcast website for more great episodes

Thank you in advance for joining us on our mission and leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.