MANILA -- Former men's national football team skipper Aly Borromeo shared his routine that optimizes both physical recovery and mental resilience anchored in his AB Well brand.

From taking charge of the Azkals, Borromeo is now leading his own wellness brand.

Focused on stress-resilience, he gives importance to starting one’s day with physical activity right away.

READ: Submerging in Ice Water Is Good for You—Here's Why

“First thing in the morning, you workout right away. Do breathing exercises. Look forward and just walk. God gave us muscles for a reason. You have your quads, your heart, and your lungs,” Borromeo said.

“Nothing too stressful, just nice and easy cardio, jumping jacks, jump ropes for five to ten minutes,” he added.

After that, Borromeo said he usually goes straight to the ice bath to mimic the stress-adaptation process, training both body and mind to handle challenges better.

“I would say its sweet spot is around 2 to 5 minutes at 2 to 5 degrees,” Borromeo said.

“But you don’t wanna do it too much,” he added. “Just do it short but sweet.”

In turn, an individual rises their cortisol level which he said is highly-beneficial to feeling less stressed throughout the rest of the day.

“[When you] bring up your stress capacity everyday, that way, everything else in life comes much easier,” Borromeo said.  

“The main purpose is to adapt to the stress,” the former team captain added.

The idea that mastering the discomfort of cold exposure can translate to better control over daily stress is something many athletes and wellness enthusiasts swear by.

With AB Well, the football standout aims to make his practice more accessible, offering both sessions and specialized tubs.

“There’s numerous benefits from immune system functioning to blood circulating much better. Then you get this steady increase of dopamine for hours, energy for hours,” he said.

Borromeo himself shared testaments on how the program he offers has benefitted his lifestyle.

“The best thing about it is it takes away the inflammation throughout the whole body.”

“I’ve had four knee surgeries in my career. I was the only one who wanted to stay in the ice after games because it felt so good, so I’ve developed this whole practice.”

According to studies, ice bath therapy, combined with controlled breathing, exercise, and heat therapy, is a powerful way to manage stress, improve circulation, and reduce inflammation.

“That’s what I teach,” Borromeo said. “From eating right, strength and conditioning, all these come hand-in-hand to actually be optimal for game day.”