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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —** For Bradley Roby, it's mother knows best.

She always told him the key to keeping from getting sick was washing his hands and abstaining from touching his face, and it seems to have worked for him, he says, considering he rarely, if ever, gets sick.

With the crucial games that could have postseason implications on the horizon and given that we are now near the end of the regular season, staying healthy is of the utmost importance.

Naturally, a big part has been giving the players' bodies time to heal and get refreshed at a time of the year when the mileage on their legs starts catching up to them. Practice was a bit lighter on Wednesday with players out of pads and in hats instead of helmets.

"I think we needed it. It's a point in the season where you want guys fresh. Their health and restoration off of a long season is most important," Head Coach John Fox said on Wednesday. "We're going to need to be energized, especially on the road in San Diego. We had an early bye. So [there were] a lot of reasons, but I thought their focus was great today."

"I think he wants us to get our legs back a little bit," Roby said. "[Coach Fox] knows that it's deep into the season now and just being healthy and not sore and stuff like that is going to be key right now because we've got the contact part down, you know. That's going to happen on the game day, but all the other stuff is what, you know, just keeping your body fresh for the games is what's most important."

For Roby, that means maybe getting another massage, spending more time in the cold tub or using the air compression recovery equipment — whatever tools he can utilize to make sure his body is refreshed every week.

Obviously another main part is keeping illness at bay and ensuring they're doing what they can to be at their most healthy.

"I think everybody, no matter what you do, this time of year our whole society is a little more susceptible to getting sick, obviously it's flu season," Jacob Tamme said. "So it's just trying to take the little steps to minimize your chances with that."

Eating well is an obvious part of this, and Tamme targets that specifically, drinking smoothie man up of greens, as well as vitamins and minerals.

"[It's] a little bit of a multivitamin but kind of liquid form. It's really just like a little mix," Tamme said. "So I just try to stay on top of that, just make sure I'm getting my vitamins and minerals every day. Trying to eat healthy is the main thing, really, just the food you put in your body everyday. And then for me, I kind of add just a little extra vitamin and mineral mixers to try to keep my immunity up as good as I can and just focusing on that diet and getting exercise, which is pretty easy for us."

Of course, rest is also a huge part of the equation.

"It's definitely vital for us as pro athletes to get that rest because when we get here, we're working hard," Tamme said. "It isn't always easy when you have little kids like me, but I think it's good, as much as you can, to get that rest."

So maybe sometimes you can't plan everything out for your health, but the Broncos are doing what they need to do to keep their bodies in the best shape they can.