Lot’s of people HATE REST DAY! Hate is such a strong word. Questions I get asked about rest day… “Should I completely stop everything I am doing? Should I foam roll, stretch, do mobility or get a massage? Should I do cardio on rest day?”
ANSWER: What should you do on your off days? Hmmm, I dunno… read a book?
But seriously, this is one of a handful of questions I get asked over and over again. It’s not a stupid question, but there is no single universal answer to it. Typically the best answer I can give is a combination of annoying, complicated and lacking real direct concrete advice (you’ll see in a second).
Why? Because what you should be doing on your off days is one of those things that just depends.
It Depends!
It depends on all kinds of stuff, all of which are relative to you. For example…
- It depends on YOU and YOUR exact situation.
- It depends on YOUR specific needs and preferences.
- It depends on what YOU actually want to do.
- It depends on what YOU actually have the time, capability and work capacity to do.
And possibly more so than all of the above, it depends on YOUR goals.
- Are you trying to lose fat?
- Build muscle?
- Get stronger?
- Improve cardiovascular health?
- Are you training for some kind of endurance or power event?
- Do you have some type of athletic goal in mind where you’re training for some other sport or activity?
- Are you trying to improve mobility or flexibility?
- Trying to increase your vertical leap?
- Are you trying to burn additional calories?
- Are you trying to optimize recovery or minimize soreness?
- Trying to improve your overall level of fitness and conditioning?
The Best Answer I Can Think Of
Based on those factors, the potential answers can be all over the place and range from one extreme (do a lot of something) to another (do none of that same thing).
For example, maybe your off days would ideally involve doing a certain amount and type of cardio. Maybe a certain amount and type of stretching or mobility work. Maybe some form of active recovery. Maybe some other unrelated form of training for some unrelated sport or activity you happen to be training for.
Then again, maybe you should be doing absolutely nothing on your off days.
So, what should you do on your off days? The best possible answer I can give you is this:
Do whatever the hell you need/want to be doing for your specific goals in line with your specific needs and preferences.
It Sucks, I know. Happy Rest day!
Today’s Active Recovery Work:
20 minutes of : Swim 25m *resting 1:1 after every lap. recommend a steady slow pace. keep pace with in 5 seconds difference.
– then –
20 minutes of mobility around trouble areas