![]() ![]() Whether you're walking, swimming, doing yoga, stretching, going for a light hike, etc, it should be at a reduced intensity from your normal workouts - meaning that even an active rest day is on somewhat of a sliding scale relative to your own fitness levels. If you're looking to stay active even on your rest days, a good rule is that the activity should not be something that would cause you sore muscles. Light physical activity on a rest day can help boost your mood, your health, and your progress or ability to maintain your weight or fitness level. You don't have to spend your whole "rest day" on the couch (you can, that's fine too!). Balancing your workouts to target different muscle groups on different days of the week allows you to take fewer rest days, but even then, you should save at least 1-2 days a week for rest, or at least active rest or active recovery. In this case, it doesn't mean I have to take a complete rest day I could train my upper body or core, or stick to light cardio, yoga, stretching, etc, etc. For example, if my thighs are sore from a lower body strength workout I did yesterday, I should not train them again today - or the next, if they are still very sore. ![]() In a nutshell, this is a good rule if a muscle group is still sore from a previous workout, do not train it intensely again until it has healed and is no longer sore. The number of rest days that you take each week really depends on how intensely you train, especially relative to your fitness level. Forward Lean/Toe Touch + Overhead Stretchīe sure to make any and all of the modifications you need to in order to make this workout your own.So how many rest days do you really need a week?.Bridge Press + Extension + Toe Touch Crunch.3 Marches + Clock Steps or Lunges (F, S, B).4 Pull Down Butt Kickers + 4 High Knee Narrow Pulls.3 Switchfoot Jumps + Knee + Front Kick (on trailing leg).Runner Pull + Tap Back (or Lunge) & Switch.Low impact and advanced modifications shownĤ Minute Warm Up: 30 Seconds each Intervalġ7 Minute Cardio Workout: 45 Seconds Active, 15 Seconds Rest Never diminish your efforts towards healthier habits if you wouldn’t say it to your best friend, don’t say it to yourself.ġ7 Minute Cardio Workout (Bored Easily Style, no repeat intervals) Pro tip: celebrating your “wins” (of any size) helps give you a feeling of satisfaction and self confidence, which makes it more likely that you build a positive association with your workouts, which is a huge part of making working out a consistent and ongoing part of your life. It all counts, so whether you make it through 10 minutes of this workout, or the whole thing, it’s something to be celebrated. Or, if you’re having one of those days, just celebrate the fact that you’ve shown up for yourself, that you’ve made time for yourself and your health in the form of a workout. Slow down the motion, hold onto weights or wear a weighted vest, and/or deepen the movement of each exercise (e.g., a slight hip hinge becomes a full range of motion squat, a tap back or to the side becomes a full side or reverse lunge, etc.)Īll the way through, walk that careful line of listening to your body, and gently pushing your own comfort zone. ![]() Ways to make this routine more strength-focused: Step up the pace and urgency, move quickly and light on your feet, keep the range of motion more shallow (e.g., instead of a deep lunge, tap back and behind the body to spare the muscles of the more difficult challenge of a lunge), try to minimize your breaks, keep moving Ways to make this routine more cardio-focused: Move more quickly, take shorter and/or fewer breaks, jog in place through the rest periods, deepen the range of motion on any give exercise, or add weights/resistance to exercises where appropriate Slow down the movements, take longer breaks, take more frequent breaks to stop and catch your breath, focus on calming your breathing during the rest periods, use a more shallow range of motion Ways to make this routine more beginner-friendly: A lot of this comes down to modifications that you choose to apply to any given interval in this routine below, I have shared tips and tricks to make this routine easier, or more difficult, as well as how to make the exercises more cardio, or strength-based in nature. I’ve heard a lot of requests lately for a cardio workout that doesn’t exhaust the lower body - a good way to get in a cardiovascular challenge without further antagonizing already sore lower body muscles, or something that you can do in between strength workouts, without making the legs sore. ![]()
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