Author: wakecarro

Being an athlete comes with so much more than you see on social media. Our bodies are our most important asset and so much time goes into taking care of them to be able to handle the impact of being on the water. (Especially when you’re like me and you’ve been in the game for over 10 years and 5 knee surgeries.)

I’ve learned a lot along the way that I wish I would’ve known before. One of my most eye opening discoveries happened just a few years ago so I thought I’d share it with you: More is not always better.

I used to ride cable until I got out of breath from just putting my bidnings on. I thought that pushing myself to the breaking point every single day was the way to make sure I progressed my riding as much as possible. However, I’ve since then learned that a mix of training volume and intensity is key. Yes, those intense days are absolutely essential for progression but it’s important to complement those days with more mellow training because once you slow down, you work on different parts of your body that get “overshadowed” when you are pushing yourself to the max.

This goes for off water training as well, in the gym or on the bike, whatever it is that you do. If you go 110 percent all the time, you might run out of fuel and your overall performance will decrease. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your body and for your progression is to give it a solid 75 percent. This is something I am learning as I go as I used to be a “110 or nothing” kinda girl. But when you go from zero to hero you miss out on those important minor details that make all the difference. For instance, then you work with lower intensity you usually have the energy to practice longer which gives you more TIME to work on your technique. You also target the smaller muscles and different muscle fibres in your body when the load is lighter which will help your overall strength. 

Basically: if you are looking to progress, more does not always equal better. I wish I would’ve known this when I started wakeboarding but I am happy that I know it now. How intense your training should be is individual but if you are anything like me, let this be your sign to incorporate some medium intensity / active recovery into your routine. 

(Source: Swedish Sports Research / Svensk Idrottsforskning )

I just had to show you these images from a photoshoot I did with Arisa Yoon from my HOME, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina! So happy how they came out!

Check out this little wakecation the heyday team and our families did to Jupiter, Florida with Alliance!

– In paid partnership with @SlingshotWake –

Stoked to introduce my 2022 Pro Model Wakeboard: The Slingshot Contrast! This board is the most fun carving, wake popping, rail pressing free ride board you’ve ever tried! It fits all abilities of riding as it will progress with you, however to shred this stick you must be down with some flex! The flex tips makes pressing really fun on the rails and landings really soft off the wake. The narrow body design makes it a fast carving board with a high level of responsiveness, taking you wherever you want to go!

I’m thrilled to be working with Slingshot on my 5th Pro Model and can’t wait to watch you all rip it! Per usual, don’t forget to tag me in your content on social!

– Paid partnership with Exxentric –

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’ve been through two ACL reconstruction surgeries. You’ve probably seen how ever since I got hurt the first time, in 2016, I’ve taken my off water training very seriously. Both because it makes me perform better as a rider but also to do everything to prevent future injuries. I was first introduced to flywheel training and Exxentric at the Swedish Sports Complex, “Bosön” when I was going trough rehab. I had struggled to feel a good contact with my quads and my glutes since surgery but I was at the stage in rehab where I had full mobility and now needed to focus on regaining my strength. After my physical therapist Britta explained to me how the wheel works, I started to feel that burn almost instantly and I was so happy to wake up the next day to the type of soreness in your muscles, you only get after a really good session.

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Fast forward to earlier this year, as I am now recovered from my second ACL surgery on my other knee from 2019. I am now back competing and riding at the highest level I’ve ever been at and much of that I can contribute to the hard work I’ve been putting into the gym. After realising it would be hard to keep up with my training routine during the summer where my travels (usually) takes me all around the world, I came across Exxentric on instagram. It suddenly hit me that the flywheel could be the solution to my issues as I discovered there now was a version designed to be lightweight and easy to travel with, so that I’d never have to compromise my training again. After reaching out, the team at Exxentric welcomed me with open arms and sent me my very own kBox4 lite and tons of accessories meaning I now have a full body gym that fits in my suitcase.

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So how does it work? It might not be news to you that the Exxentric Flywheel works with an eccentric overload. But what does that mean and why is it good for you? Basically, humans are much stronger in the eccentric phase of a movement than in the concentric. I saw it in my ACL rehab a lot where I would use two legs to push up various machines (leg press, leg extension machine etc) and one leg on the way down, in the eccentric phase. The reason for this was because my injured leg wasn’t strong enough to push the weights up on its own, but it was strong enough to resist the eccentric forces. In order to optimise my load so that I could quickly rebuild my strength, the eccentric work was crucial and even now, when I’m back training without injuries it is ideal for building strength in the most efficient way. Normal bar-weight training carries the same weigh both up and down but the flywheel actually overloads your eccentric phase so that it is heavier than what you experience in the concentric and therefor brings your training to the next level.

Now that my contest season is in full swing and I spend a lot of my time out training on the water, I still try and keep up with at least 3 strength sessions a week on land and usually 2 of them includes my flywheel in various aspects. There is simply so much you can do with this machine. Everything from traditional squat training, by using the harness, to one legged RDL’s. Or like in this case, trying to incorporate some core into my leg routine by mixing hands to hold the workload. The kBox app also features a ton of exercises and tracks your performance so yesterday I did a full upper body session with the inspiration from there. My training usually consists of movements that activate the entire body as that is what I am encountering while on my wakeboard.

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I’m super grateful to be working with this Swedish Company and hope to show you a lot more of my workout routines in the future. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about my training! I’d be happy to answer them!

Rock on!
/Carro

The new promo for my sponsor, the 2021 Heyday Wakeboats boats is out! I am so hyped on working with this company and check out how good the new lineup looks!! Which one is your favorite?

As the cold weather in NC continues I found this leftover footage from a warm morning in Florida behind Dylan Millers WT2. I cannot wait for the season to start back up again but until then, here are some hits from that warm fall morning.

Ever wanted to learn how to wake surf? Check out this little instructional I filmed with my sponsor Heyday Wakeboats!