The Fitness320 program provides you with 2-3 workouts a week, but it is important to stay active on your “off” days!
Make sure to tune in on Saturdays to our Facebook Live core and mobility workouts or plan an active rest day!
What is an active rest day? Napping with frequent tossing and turning? Hahaha…nope! 1 hour walk? Nope!
Working at a lower intensity, as opposed to doing absolutely nothing, will help increase recovery from your previous workout by increasing blood flow to your muscles and tissues. Giving your circulation a little boost helps get nutrients (like amino acids and oxygen) to your muscles so they can repair themselves. It also helps flush out waste products that built up during exercise (like hydrogen ions and lactic acid) and contribute to muscle damage and fatigue, Michael Rebold, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.,, department chair of the integrative exercise program and assistant professor of integrative exercise science at Hiram College in Ohio, told SELF.
Here is what an active rest day looks for Coach Barb:
5 minute warm up walk
15 minute EMOM (every minute on the minute) of 20 jump lunges followed by power walk
5 minute recovery walk
That’s a total of 300 jump lunges (Coach Barb shows 3 different levels you can do in her Facebook video) mixed in with walking.
The workout ended with 6 minutes of glute bridge/adductor squeezes and pelvis lifts for the “Core Dessert”. (Train the Core every day!)
So you might be thinking…. Coach Barb is strong enough to run so why not run? Because this is her ACTIVE REST. She spent the last 2 days going heavier with her strength and cardio training. Her body needed a low impact day- you must not beat yourself up all the time without proper recovery!
What exactly did Coach Barb accomplish in this workout? While walking she focused on breathing correctly and keeping her posture correct and abs engaged. If you can’t walk correctly- how do you expect to be able to run correctly? When lunging she hit all areas of her legs and upper body because of the reach and pull motion.
And with the core dessert, she hit her lower abs, rectus, glutes and adductors!
Share with us how you are spending your active rest days!