Active Rest!
By now you must know that your body needs regular rest from exercise. Rest is when the body gets stronger, leaner and more toned following a workout. It is outside the sessions that the body becomes fitter and healthier. Resting between the workouts is essential, but avoid being sedentary.
As the term suggests Active Rest is being physically active on your day off. Kicking back and relaxing is essential, but take your foot off the pedal completely and you are at risk of undoing all the good work of the last couple of weeks. Active rest will help you maintain consistency during the 31 Day Kickstart.
Fact: active rest is a great way to absorb the effect of previous training sessions while letting your body heal and recover.
Get in the habit of taking a day or two each week to let your body rejuvenate and recover, but stay active:
- Plan a long walk in one of your favourite parks/around a lake.
- Go for a leisurely cycle in the country.
- Organise an activity day with friends.
- Find an active hobby that you can improve at at the weekends (I am good at falling out of planes).
- Do a gym session but focus on less intensive work that eases the muscle tension and improves flexibility.
- Any training that you do during active rest should be less intensive and different to your normal routine e.g. A gentle swim following few days of resistance training.
Introducing active rest into your training schedule is essential to keep the momentum this month.
With Healthy Wishes,
Dmitri Tkatchev
Read on:
Introduction to the 31 Day Fitness Kickstart
Day 1 – Water
Day 2 – Protein at breakfast
Day 3 – Meal frequency
Day 4 – Sugar
Day 5 – Lifestyle
Day 6 – Carbohydrates
Day 7 – Sleep
Day 8 – Start easy with Cardio – frequency not the quantity.
Day 9 – Get clever with your fats!
Day 10 – Find or become a role model
Day 11 – Coffee
Day 12 – Exercise improves your appetite response.
Day 13 – Consistency over intensity
Day 14 – Add cinnamon to your diet
Day 15 – Energising morning fix
Day 17 – Holistic fitness.
Day 18 – Minimise muscle loss.
Day 19 – Don’t forget steady paced cardio
Day 20 – Eat plenty of fibre
Day 21 – Take up a physically demanding hobby.
Day 22 – Hire a qualified and an experienced Personal Trainer
Day 23 – Eat Cake
Day 24 – Don’t forget that the feeling of hunger is the best cue for when to eat
Day 25 – Tune in to your training
Day 26 – Sort out the calorie density of your meals.
Day 27 – Eat more grapefruit
Day 28 – Eat within an hour after your workout!
Day 29 – Stay in the low range of Glycaemic Index and Glycaemic Load
Day 30 – Cycle crunches.
Day 31 – Learn to listen to your body