Andi Jackson's Guide To Training, Nutrition, & Recovery For Peak Performance
Andi Jackson vowed she would never play volleyball. Growing up watching her older sister Denny play, she dismissed the sport as "girly" and dreaded sitting through her games. Basketball was her thing. She dreamed of playing like Michael Jordan.
But Jackson's mom spotted her innate skills and signed her up for a tryout with an elite volleyball club in her hometown of Denver, Colorado, when she was going into eighth grade. Her mom encouraged her to test it out, reminding her there was no harm in trying, and that there was steep competition to make the team anyway.
When Jackson made the team, she and her mom were stunned. And three practices in, she was hooked. Unlike basketball, where a standout player can take over a game, volleyball requires all six players on the court working in sync. Jackson loved that team dynamic, along with the huddles after every point and the momentum that builds when a team is clicking. "It's such a fast game," she says, "and I just fell in love with everything about it."
Now, Jackson, 21, is a fourth-year middle blocker at University of Nebraska, which is widely regarded as one of the best women's volleyball programs in the country. And as she enters her senior season, Jackson is ready to play at her peak. Here's what she told us about how she balances strength, nutrition, and recovery while playing at such a high level.
From "baby deer" to explosive athlete
Jackson started strength training the same year she started volleyball, working with Eric Schmedeke, owner of CrossFit Salvo in Brighton, Colorado, at a gym five minutes from her club. Jackson describes herself back then as "raw athletic" but unsure how to use her body. It was a running joke in her family that she moved like a baby deer, all long limbs and no real control. All that's to say, she is grateful she started building muscle when she did.
She credits those early years of weight-bearing work, starting at 13 or 14, with keeping her largely injury-free. Aside from one sprained ankle, she hasn't had a major injury, something she attributes directly to building strength early. She believes every young athlete should do some form of strength training.
At Nebraska, her training has evolved but stayed true to volleyball's specific demands. Because the sport rewards speed and explosiveness rather than raw heavy lifting, her program centers on plyometric work: front squats, hang cleans, box jumps, split squats, and jump variations over hurdles, with and without added weight. The team tests vertical jump height weekly. As Jackson puts it, volleyball demands quick reaction time, and "fine-tuning that in the weight room really translates onto the court."
"Strong is healthy and strong is beautiful"
Jackson understands the fear of being "bulky" that many young women carry into the weight room, especially amid a resurgence of "skinny culture." But her response is unequivocal.
"Strong is healthy and strong is beautiful," she says. She and her teammates take pride in the culture they've built around the weight room, cheering each other on and moving heavy weight together.
Her advice to women intimidated by strength training isn't to abandon Pilates or yoga, but to lean into lifting with confidence, trusting that the health benefits of weight-bearing exercise are real and worth pursuing. "Lifting weights is so good for the mind," she says. "It's good for the body. It's good for your muscles. It's good for your bones. It's just good for your overall wellbeing."
Food as fuel, not fear
That same philosophy extends to how Jackson eats. Nebraska's nutrition staff has shaped a team culture built around one idea: food is fuel. Jackson says the nutrition program for athletes is "arguably the best in the world," so she always has access to quality protein, carbs, and fresh produce. And, given how much the team trains and competes, they have been taught to see hunger as useful information rather than something to override.
"We don't need to be scared of food," Jackson says. "We don't need to be scared of calories."
Jackson's days follow a consistent, protein-forward rhythm. Breakfast is heavy on eggs, cottage cheese, and other proteins. Lunch and dinner follow the same formula: protein, carbs, and vegetables, with a palm-sized portion as a rough guide, adjusted upward given how much the team trains. Oikos Triple Zero yogurt, specifically the vanilla flavor with granola mixed in, has become a daily staple for her, valued both for its protein content and its calcium, which she considers especially important for female athletes given how much their bodies go through each month.
She's unapologetic about how much she eats in a day, framing it as a direct input into recovery, sleep, and performance. "It's all interconnected," she says.
Recovery is not optional
With a season that stretches roughly 15 weeks, Jackson treats recovery as a performance requirement, not an afterthought. She sleeps nine to nine and a half hours a night, more than the commonly cited eight-hour benchmark, which she believes female athletes in particular need given everything their bodies are managing internally.
Her recovery routine includes curated recovery vitamins provided by the Nebraska program, hot and cold tub sessions, and Normatec compression leg sleeves. On the mental side, she meets with a sports psychologist every week, a practice she considers essential for any athlete. Journaling, meditation, and prayer round out her routine, helping her stay grounded throughout the demanding season.
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Pressure as a privilege
Jackson also leans on her teammates as a support system, any one of whom she feels comfortable confiding in. While playing on the national stage comes with a lot of weight, she and her teammates lean into the mantra, "Pressure is a privilege." The program is expected to compete for Big Ten and national championships every year, a standard Jackson says the team tries to hold as a source of gratitude rather than dread, understanding that many volleyball programs never get the chance to feel that kind of pressure at all. She describes it as representing something larger than herself: "We're representing the name that's on the front, and not the name that's on the back."
She doesn't hesitate to admit that, even as a senior, she feels nervous before every game. But she has deliberately built a consistent pregame routine to help her cope. She meditates using the Calm app, follows the same warmup and reps every match day, and eats the same pregame meal each time: chicken noodle soup, a carb, a protein, and chocolate pudding (and sometimes an Oikos yogurt—she doesn't like to play hungry!). She wears all black on game days, does her makeup and hair in the same order, and stays off her phone before matches, preferring to be present with her team in the locker room rather than distracted by "unnecessary noise." That consistency, she says, is what lets her play with confidence instead of feeling scattered by the moment.
The takeaway
A consistent thread runs through every part of Jackson's routine: strength is not something to fear, and neither is taking care of yourself the way your body requires. "It is so beautiful to be strong, lift heavy weights, and go hard in the gym," she says. "Women weren't created to be twigs. We got a lot to do, and our bodies need that fuel."