First of all, I have been sick since the weekend so no training and no posting since i really didn't want to be vertical at all. Lots of TV and cinematic adventures. However, to get something posted, here is a common saying:
THERE ARE NO REST DAYS
This saying can be taking to the extreme. Wodding for an hour or 2 every single day. Not good. This post will look at some suggestions I have had over what to do on your rest day. Options include:
Swimming (Dellus West, BSmitty, Steve P)
Breathing Exercises (Steve P)
100 Turkish Get ups (Mark Gough via someone...)
Running
The positives and negatives:
Swimming
The positives of swimming is that is low impact conditioning on a rest day and can be beneficial to grease up the body on a rest day in a low gravity environment. This allows your body to loosen up and hit ranges of motion not normally experienced on a rest day without many destructive forces. Negatives would be if you don't swim right, it is still possible to obtain an overuse injury. Also, since still is a type of training, there is a possibility that your body wont fully recover anyway
Breathing
There are some breathing apparatuses (apparati?) out there which help promote lung function. I haven't tried it yet but Steve says it has really helped him. Don't go to hard and pass out, but other than that, i am not too sure on negatives so comment on this if you have any thoughts
100 Turkish Get Ups
The TGU is a great exercise to get your whole body moving through a range of motion with resistance. When done right, TGU buildtremendous stability and aid in shoulder and hip function. However, it is a moderately difficult exercise so make sure it is done right if you are using it as a recovery exercise.
Running
Different movement, same story. You have to be able to run correctly to reap the benefits of using it as a recovery tool. Benefits include getting the body moving and warming up all those sliding surfaces but the repetitive impact is more prominent than in the other 3 exercises. Benefits of running are more psychological for me than anything else. Whether it is a morning run on South Beach or a dreary 5k through the Borough of Islington, my mind feels better afterwards, not so much my ankles.
Overall, rest days should focus on resting. If you can add benefits to resting by implementing any of these exercises, go ahead and give it a try. Keep in mind, that the more workload you do during the week, the more important it is to take part in a full rest day.
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