What to do on a day off from hard training…
A classic mistake of people trying to lose weight and get fitter is the urge to throw themselves into their workouts and training schedule trying to achieve crazy goals and results in a ridiculous amount of time.
For the average person, especially someone who has not trained consistently for a while, this is a recipe for disaster. Potential for injuries and perhaps the biggest obstacle of all, losing all motivation to continue longterm thanks to the style of this type of training.
Training and working out must be fun as well as challenging otherwise it is simply not sustainable. On the other hand, once you have your mojo and vigor in place, you don’t want to have a day off from training. That is where the info below comes into its own!
Please read on for some fantastic ways to get your butt up off the couch and get moving activities that you can do on your training day’s off so that you continue to build momentum yet you don’t lose any motivation!
Old-Man Bodyweight Warm-up and Off-Day Workout
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS, CTT
Fat Burning Exercises For Men
I’ve left writing this article for too long already!
Today I want to show you some of the best off-day workouts you can do between hard sessions of Turbulence Training.
For the most part and for most people, simply walking, biking, hiking, stretching/easy yoga, and easy bodyweight exercises are all good enough off-day activities. They stretch you enough and help build momentum of keeping active at the same time.
After all, doing 500 kettlebell swings and 200 pushups on an off-day might be fine once in a while for an advanced person, but in reality, that is not an off-day. That’s a workout.
The 5 true purposes of off-day activity are:
1) For health (if your life is sedentary, i.e. desk job + commute + sitting down leisure time), then you simply need to get up and get moving for 30 minutes each day at a minimum.
If you are a manual laborer who walks 3+ miles per day or does 1+ hour of moderate activity (lifting boxes, etc), then you really don’t need to obsess about off-day activity – stretching, foam rolling and massage, and meditation are probably best for your health and are also great alternatives that you would probably not normally seek out.
We’re not trying to do a fully blown workout on our off-days. We’re just trying to improve our general health and well-being and who does not want that?
2) Mobility (aka TT Yoga) – In many cases, we can do low-intensity bodyweight exercises and mobility drills to fix our bodies. This is also great for easing back into exercises after injuries and ailments.
This includes foam rolling, simple torso (ab endurance exercises), shoulder mobility drills, hip mobility drills, moderate bodyweight exercises, and stretching. This will not qualify as a workout, but will get you a bit of a sweat going.
Bodyweight exercises are able to be done anywhere, without any equipment and are also a heap of fun. There are some cool new bodyweight exercises in this program:
Combined with walking, mobility exercises – such as those found in my “Old Man Warm-Up” would be an excellent way to spend 45 minutes each day.
3) Enhanced recovery from past workouts and preparation for future workouts – same movements as above but this is a different benefit.
By doing light activity, we get blood flow to the sore areas and this might help recovery, decreasing soreness and getting us ready for our next training session.
4) Social time with family and friends and errands – Incorporate light activity into your daily life. Take the dog for a longer walk, meet your friends for a walk, play extra long with the kids outside, or do your errands by foot rather than by car. Heck, walk around a shopping mall and people watch.
5) Relaxation – Unplug. Go for a walk without a phone, ipod, or in my case, a portable CD player. (Yes, I have one and I use it regularly.) Let your mind wander as your body wanders. Breathe deeply and simply take in Mother Nature.
That said, what I do on my off-days is something that I call my “Old Man Warm-up”, that I also do before all of my hard workouts.
It lasts about 25 minutes, and in the list below I’ve added a few other exercises to give you a little extra sweat without stealing from your recovery.
The Old-Man Warm-Up/Off-Day Activity Session
1) Foam rolling: Upper back, lats, upper back/posterior deltoid, TFL, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, adductors, hamstrings, glutes.
2) Acuball rolling: calves, glute, biceps (i have a sore left biceps).
This takes about 5-10 minutes. I’ll make a video of 1 & 2 soon.
Then I move into a bodyweight circuit.
3) Cross-body arms (also called X’s in some manuals)
4) Bodyweight squat
5) Bird Dog or Bird Dog with Leg Abduction
6) Glute squeeze
7) Plank or side plank or ball plank or bird-dog plank 8] Band pull (done 4 times at various points in circuit)
9) Overhead lunge (using broomstick)
10) 1-Leg RDL
11) Stick-up
12) Chest stretch, shoulder stretch
13) Psoas/hip flexor stretch
14) Downward dog stretch (hips up position)
15) Cossack lunge
16) Yoga Pigeon stretch
*17) Stability Ball Leg Curl – 10 reps
*18) Pushup – 25% of max reps
*19) 1-leg lying hip extension
*20) Chin-up – 25% of max reps
21) Spiderman Climb with 3-second hold at top
22) Forearm stretches
23) Neck/trap stretches
24) Leg swings
*25) Total Body Extension – 10 reps
I hope this off-day activity guide clarifies the purpose and recommendations for these days.
For an extra holistic touch, add a little gratitude and meditation for bonus karmic points and you’ll feel like you’ve done something without doing too much.
Keep rocking,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS, CTT
=> TURBULENCE TRAINING $4.95 Trial Offer! <=
So there you have it! No need to work yourself senseless and punish yourself into the ground every day in the quest for that amazing body. By incorporating the tips and ideas mentioned above into your training days off, you will not only feel a whole lot better but will also maintain your exercise momentum and even try new things that you might not have ever thought of!
All the best with your workouts and don’t forget that if you are really trying to change your body and your life, click the link above and get a full 21 day total access trial to Turbulence Training for the low price of only $4.95! Surely, your health and fitness is worth checking it out!
Train hard – expect results!
Cameron
