How mindfulness is part of NRL star’s training

After suffering a ruptured tendon in his finger that refused to heal, he was given a choice by his doctors: either lose the game you love, or lose the finger.

He chose the finger. That was back in 2017. Just six months later he made his State of Origin debut, one digit down.

So as you’d probably expect from the Sydney Roosters’ hard man, Crichton says he is now acutely aware of how his body works and exactly how he needs to treat it.

“The older you get, the more aware you become of your body and how you have to use it as a tool,” the 25-year-old tells Health Hacker.

“Especially in professional sports. When you are younger you are just going with the flow and you can recover a bit quicker and faster, then as you get older the importance of recovery becomes a lot greater and you have to listen to your body on when to push it and when to relax.”

While rugby league might be every bit as tough as it ever was, it’s also far more modern in its approach to health and fitness.

So there are still plenty of gruelling high-intensity sessions designed to push players beyond exhaustion, but the training doesn’t end there.

“We do a lot of mindfulness work at the Roosters and a few different left-field techniques including meditation and breath work,” Crichton says.

“Breathing is such a powerful tool which we have been taught to harness and use to our advantage.

“I also think when you feel good physically, that transfers into a better mental state. The more physically active you are, the more mentally happy you are. That dopamine release in the body gets you feeling really great.”

ANGUS CRICHTON ON ….

Diet

“If we’re talking the things I always keep in my fridge, then steaks in my freezer are always handy. I’m a big tea drinker as well, so a bit of milk for my English Breakfast tea. Tuna and rice are also a big go-to for me and are a quick snack I whip up with a bit of pepper, aioli and avocado.”

Routine

“I always try be in bed before 10pm, but I don’t always hit that. It’s definitely an important part of recovery.”

Exercise

“I love trying different styles of training and I am really interested in learning about different styles of training and how other athletes train in their specific sports. I think the body reacts well when you surprise it with different types of training, and if you try something new and don’t like it, you never regret it.”

Pre-game superstitions

“I don’t really have any but I always like to have a big bowl of pasta the night before and make sure I have some hydrolytes before the game.”

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