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Community highlight: How Chris Weidman, UFC Champion, prioritizes recovery with Apollo

Chris Weidman in a fighting pose

The Apollo community is a diverse community who all share a common belief – that the human body is powerful and we have the capacity to heal. We'll highlight powerful stories from Apollo users and their causes through a series of member features. 

Chris Weidman, four-time UFC Middleweight Champion, was introduced to Apollo Neuro fresh off an injury. He suffered a horrific leg break, followed by two invasive surgeries. In his first surgery, he had a rod inserted into the broken tibia — leaving the broken fibula to heal without hardware. After a complicated recovery, he got a CAT scan only to discover that his fibula wasn’t healing on its own. The injury presented mental implications as well. We had the opportunity to learn more about Chris’ recovery journey, how he prioritizes mental health, and how he’s using Apollo to get back to the top of his game. 

Q: We’re willing to guess that your success didn’t happen overnight. You’re putting your body to its limits, day after day — how does all the training and competition test your mental health?

A: Training and competition tests my mental health by building my resilience - the ability to learn how to push through bad days is very important and realize that good things come over time. Don’t look for the quick fix - stay consistent (even when you’re at your worst) and stay positive. The worst days teach you the biggest lessons, and allow you to become an even better person and competitor

Q: How does caring for your health and mental well-being translate into the little, day-to-day things?

A: If I don’t take care of myself and my mental health, it’s going to directly impact my family, friends and training. I take time for myself on a daily basis to make sure my mental health is where it needs to be. I pinpoint both my personal and career goals and build an action plan around it and work with my team to make it happen. Finding the balance between training, eating right, taking time to myself and spending time with my friends and family is hard but worth it.

Q: How has Apollo facilitated your healing process?

A: My Apollo Neuro has helped me both mentally and physically. It has helped me in social environments when I'm tired or not as alert and gives me the extra boost I need to get me through those social situations. It helps me wake up and prepares me for sleep, and assists me through both my workouts and the recovery process. 

Q: What are your current health goals?

A: Get back to having two fully working legs and into fighting shape.  My goal is to be back fighting in 2022 after my April 2021 traumatic injury, so I have to have to fully heal my leg so I can become champion again.

Q: How you use Apollo throughout the day?

  • Wake up - use Energy & Wake-up mode to start my day during my morning routine
  • Training - turn on Clear & Focused and put my Apollo on my ankle 
  • Post-workout Recovery - use Rebuild & Recover for recovery after I shower and make lunch
  • Social settings - use Social & Open for when I need it
  • Evening - Relax & Unwind for after the kids go to bed and I want to relax 
  • Bedtime - Use Sleep & Renew to prepare me for sleep